RSU 16 Spotlight

Over the past few years, our district has made significant progress in reducing chronic absenteeism, but we still have work to do. A student is considered chronically absent if they are enrolled for at least 10 days and miss 10% or more of those days—this includes both excused and unexcused absences. Since the 2020-2021 school year, we've seen steady improvements. For example, Poland Regional High School has decreased chronic absenteeism from 59.8% in 2020-2021 to 30.65% in 2023-2024, while Whittier Middle School improved from 42.5% to 20.07% during the same period. Across the district, our overall chronic absenteeism rate has dropped from 30.5% to 20.74%. These gains are encouraging, but we still need your support to ensure every student attends school regularly. Let's continue working together to help all students thrive!

Shoutout to The Log Yard Dairy Bar! To celebrate wrapping up their Economic Choices unit in Social Studies, 2nd grade teacher, Ms. Harvey, invited Chrissy Kimball from The Log Yard Dairy Bar in Poland, Maine, to talk to their class about her ice cream business, how she earns and manages money, the goods she makes as a local producer, and even some possible hardships she faces as a business owner. She generously brought in and donated a sample of her goods: strawberry custard with sprinkles! Thank you for your generosity and willingness to donate your time to educate our students about your experience as a local business owner! What an awesome firsthand experience for our Wildcats!

Access the full school calendar on our website to stay informed and organized. We appreciate your partnership in creating a successful and well-prepared school year for your child.

Whittier Middle School's Tri-Town Family 5K will take place on Sunday, November 10th, 2024 and it is open to everyone. Join us for a fun family morning on the Minot trails and fields.

Registration is open...and it's free! Let's get the word out there and make this the biggest and best event so far.

We are seeking local sponsors to help make the big day a special one. Tell your friends. All sponsors of at least $100 by October 11 will get their logo on the back of the event shirt. Interested potential sponsors should contact Shawn Vincent (svincent@rsu16.org or 998-3462). This is a great event for students, families and all members of our communities.

Our students today are different from those we encountered 5, 10, or 20 years ago. Their learning needs now encompass not only academic development but also social and emotional growth. At our schools, we are committed to meeting students where they are, recognizing and celebrating the diversity of their needs and strengths. The beauty of public education lies in our inclusive approach—we welcome all children and work alongside them, regardless of any labels. Together, we strive to create an environment where every student can thrive.

We're seeing some changes in the number of students who need special services. While we might have fewer students identified for these services, some of our students have significant needs due to the severity of their disabilities.

In RSU 16, when a student's academic, functional, or safety needs can't be fully met in a public school setting, the IEP (Individualized Education Program) team may decide that the student should attend a Special Purpose Private School. This decision is always made with the student's best interest in mind. The IEP team also carefully considers when a student is ready to transition back to their public school.

Last year, we successfully brought two students back into our district, and we're proud of how smoothly these transitions went. Every year, the IEP team meets to discuss whether a student is ready to return to their public school. These transitions are carefully planned to ensure that both the student and the school are prepared for a successful return.

Providing specialized services, whether in-district or through external placements, comes with costs. However, these investments are crucial to fulfilling our legal and ethical obligations to every student. Our budget must reflect our commitment to providing all students, regardless of their challenges, with the public education they deserve.

As much as we all love a good snow day, I wanted to share how we make the tough call on whether it’s time to break out the sleds or bundle up for the school bus!

For closings and delays due to weather or other emergencies, families will receive a notification via phone message, text, and/or email around 5:30am. Closings and delays will be posted on Regional School Unit 16 Facebook and local news stations.

You will receive voice, text, and/or email notifications via our ReachMyTeach message system. ReachMyTeach uses your contact information in Infinite Campus. Contact your child’s school Administrative Assistant if any of your contact information needs to be updated.

It is necessary that the school office, in the building where your child attends, is notified of the alternative childcare arrangements that you have made for your child(ren) so that we have the necessary and/or updated information before our first storm.

In certain circumstances, we may delay the opening of school to allow the town crews to plow, sand and salt the roads.

• If school is delayed in the morning on a Wednesday, there will be no early release. Students stay until regular release times.

• If school is delayed on any morning, there will be NO morning PreK.

• On a delayed start, no breakfast will be served.

If early dismissal is necessary, the decision will be made by 11:00 am or earlier. You will be notified via phone message, text, and/or email and posted to our Regional School Unit 16 Facebook Page.

These are not always easy calls to make due to the timing and unpredictable effect of some storms. We will make every attempt to hold school as scheduled as our facilities and transportation employees work diligently to provide a safe commute for students. Still, there may be days when you disagree with the decision that is made. If school is in session on a day when you question your child’s safety, please use your own best judgment when deciding whether or not to send your child to school.

As of now, the final day of the school year is scheduled for Monday, June 9th, assuming no snow days are needed. If we do have to utilize a snow day, it will extend the school calendar, pushing the last day of school ahead by one day for each snow day used.

Kindergartners at MCS were so excited learning about math. They loved counting their collections of bears, bugs, boats, and many different animals. They especially loved singing and acting out five frogs on a log to practice counting backwards.