Vision for Wiscasset High School

A Vision for a High Quality 9-12 Smaller Wiscasset High School

The Current Reality

First, we are already a high caliber high school with the following structures in place:

1. AP Classes in English, Biology, Calculus, Chemistry and Studio Art
2. Honors Classes for Grades 9-12 in English 10 and 11, Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, American History, Modern Western Civilization I and II, and Honors Options within regular classes Grade 9.
3. Concert Choir, Madrigal Choir, Concert Band, and Jazz Band offered with individual band lessons provided. Musical instruments are provided.
4. Free Early College course for every student who wants to participate.
5. Extensive cutting edge computer access and coursework- 1 to 1 Computers, CAD Programs in Technology Education, Digital Imaging Classes, Lights, Camera Action Class, Computer Skills for College class, Media Literacy class using Web 2.0 tools, and ATM Distance Learning Classroom
6. Extensive Technology Education courses including: Fine Furniture Making I and II, Wooden Boat Building, Hand-made Musical Instruments, Video News, Video Production, Multimedia Lights, Camera, Action, Introduction to Light Construction, Small Engines, Architectural Design and Mechanical Drawing, Introduction to Engineering
7. Range of student services available through guidance, social worker, special education, and alternative education.
8. One of 5 extensive high school science research programs in the state with students winning recognition regionally and nationally.
9. Our students continue to be accepted at extremely competitive colleges throughout the northeast and the nation.
10. 86% of 2008 seniors went on to post-secondary training, community college, or 4-year college.
11. Strong Advisor Advisee Program that focuses on developing a post-secondary plan for every high school student over a 4-year period.
12. Excellent, highly functioning Student Assistance Team
13. Confidential Sobriety Support Programming on campus
14. Extensive co and extra curricular activities including: Math Team, Science Olympiad, Jazz Band, highly effective Student Council with extensive community service record, Civil Rights and Students for Social Action groups, two or more theater productions annually, One-Act Play Award Winning program, Outing Club for outdoor weekend adventures, District and All State opportunities in instrumental and vocal music, Future Business Leaders of America, Guitar Club, and Video Club.
15. MELMAC Grant Support for College, Community college, and training facility visits.
16. SAT/PSAT Prep embedded in Advisor group

The Future

Steps That Will Insure Maintenance of Comprehensiveness with a Smaller Student Population.

1. First, renovate the high school with improvements that will address safety and modernization necessities that will keep our students competitive and safe, including renovated high school science labs, improved locker room facilities, improved drama and art spaces, etc.
2. Second, ensure that renovated spaces in the high school will make for a more efficient energy use and will allow Art and Tech Ed to be in proper spaces. Renovations and ventilation will make the school more energy efficient and safer. All of the renovations would both improve the high school aesthetically, and allow us to consider programs in many areas that cross grade levels, thus exposing our younger students to more accelerated experiences.

Programmatic Changes that would maintain comprehensiveness

1. Potentially pilot a satellite a program from BRVC to Wiscasset High School, specifically Mariner Occupations/boat building.
2. Share resources such as, Foreign Language with Middle School students by providing a block of the day in which 7th and 8th Middle School students receive Foreign Language.
3. Create a regional opportunity for students of the Arts by collaborating with other schools that have lost programming and pulling their students into visual or performing arts options for part of their day at a cost to their schools.
4. We plan to offer an enrichment program of classes via Virtual High School that allow for Gifted and Talented students at both middle and high school to expand opportunities, and to take AP classes of increased variety. The absence of a Business Program at WHS could also be offset by the varied offerings in business through VHS. Virtual High School offers 250 courses via on-line learning at a cost of $9,700 in the first year, and $4,750.00 for each year after the initial teacher training. This could be funded with GT monies or with Mary Bailey Funds. A regionalized approach with Boothbay might cut the costs and allow Wiscasset and Boothbay to share the training and VHS seat costs over 2 schools rather than just Wiscasset.
5. We will provide PLATO credit recovery programming via the Computer lab with an Ed tech as supervisor of those classes. This program allows students to enroll in an online course that recoups failed credits and work independently to recover those credits, thus insuring on-time graduation.
6. Add a component of high quality internships for seniors with local industry, artisans, professionals, and trades-people.
7. Continue Early College, ATM, Adult Education and ITV options for all students.
8. Provide stipends to teachers who handle the curriculum writing and coordination vertically – K-12 since an RSU Curriculum Coordinator will need district, grass roots level staff to insure curriculum will be cohesive and vertically aligned to state standards and practices.
9. Use existing staff creatively by offsets to costs from sharing a teacher with a satellite program, interventions for lower grade students, use of a designated block of several high school teachers for coordination of programs such as Virtual High School, internships, early college, and pre-apprenticeships.

Positives for the town and school department as whole

1. Facilities renovations will provide better learning and working environments for Wiscasset students and staff members.
2. The above programming changes and facilities renovations will attract and retain more tuition students.
3. The above programming changes and facilities renovations will result in correction of a multitude of code violations to will improve school safety and access. Voicing commitment loudly and clearly to structures that will keep a comprehensive high school and continue and expand high quality programming across the district sends a strong positive message to parents and students about the future of education in our RSU. Secondary benefits include reducing insurance rates and reducing liabilities.
4. Static enrollment on the high school campus will benefit the instances of sharing staff between buildings.
5. All towns in the RSU, and especially Wiscasset, benefit from maintaining a high quality small high school with many more opportunities than some larger schools offer. The affective benefits of having a school in which every student is a known as an individual is incomparable in the other schools available in our geographic vicinity. Closing the high school entirely and tuitioning out all students would eliminate local control over curriculum, staff, and budget. Moreover, it would likely be quite expensive. This would essentially be the model of Westport and Alna. They pay the state-determined tuition high school rate plus transportation costs and real costs for special education programs.