New private academy planned for Medway

MEDWAY – A newly formed education association plans to offer the parents of high school students in northern Penobscot and southern Aroostook counties another education choice by creating a new private regional academy.

Members of the Katahdin Valley Education Association said their plans for a new academy have nothing to do with the pending proposals for consolidation of public schools in the area, but have been in the works for about two years.

Citing Great Northern Paper Inc.’s bankruptcy, officials said current and future economic conditions would cause severe budget cuts in all of the surrounding communities resulting in financial setbacks for education.

“As educators, concerned citizens and businesspeople, we realize that education is the means to revitalizing the economy in our area and providing a stable future for residents,” association officials stated in a letter to area public school superintendents this week. The group sent information about their plans to area school officials before making it public.

Officials said the new academy would provide parents with school choice and students with a diverse and stable school environment and could help to draw people to the region.

At least 11 of the association’s 17 members are area educators. Officials said membership and support are growing. The group plans to hold an informational meeting March 13, time and place to be announced.

The association is laying the groundwork for the new private academy on a 27-acre piece of land bordering the Penobscot River and the northbound exit of Interstate 95 in Medway. John Farrington of Medway, president of the association, said the site is centrally located, easily accessible and highly visible from the interstate.

Officials said the river would provide an excellent backdrop for an outdoor physical and environmental science program. Dale Fiske of Medway, secretary of the association, said the location would allow officials to use the natural beauty and resources of the region to develop programs of study focusing on the natural sciences. “We will combine a challenging core curriculum with a unique focus on outdoor physical and environmental sciences, and natural resource management,” he said.

Fiske, a teacher, said the group believes there is a need for school choice in northern Penobscot County. “We want to provide an option,” he said.

Despite the significant declines in the region’s public school enrollments, officials plan to recruit students from across the state, country and internationally. Plans include dorm facilities in the second or third year.

Fiske said the group wants to offer a strong curriculum that meets standards of Maine’s Learning Results and the standards in the national No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Officials will seek proper accreditation and hire state-certified teachers and administrators. A board of trustees will govern the private academy.

Architectural designs are being developed, but construction costs are not yet available.

Bob Cram of Medway, an association member, said funding for the new academy would come from a variety of sources including several grants, donations, student tuition and fund-raisers. Officials said tuition rates would not exceed those established annually by the Maine Department of Education, which is currently $6,333.

The group has an ambitious goal to at least open one new school building by this fall. “For the clearing of the land and construction of the first building, we are going to depend a lot on volunteer labor,” said Cram. He said some local contractors have agreed either to give of their time and equipment or to provide services at reduced prices.