NEWPORT – The recently released results of a unique survey of Nokomis Regional High School students attending the University of Maine in Orono has SAD 48 Superintendent William Braun encouraged about the local school’s success.

“I looked at this data and said ‘Wow!’ It answers the question of whether we are doing a good job preparing our students for college with a resounding yes,” Braun said Wednesday morning.

Braun said Penquis Superintendents Association requested the survey, which included data on individual high school graduates who are enrolled as freshmen at UM as compared with all other UM freshmen from Maine high schools. He presented the study on Tuesday night to SAD 48 board of director members.

“What this shows is that Nokomis is as good or better than other high schools in Maine,” Braun said.

A wide variety of categories were surveyed, including aspirations, goals, grade point average and degrees sought. In all categories, Nokomis graduates were either at the same level as the other Maine students or slightly above.

“They were higher in their degree of confidence with their career choice,” Braun said. “They were higher in the numbers that aspired to seek a doctorate level. They felt they were well prepared for college classes.”

The grade point averages were very impressive, he added. Nokomis graduates scored above the average in English, general science and biological science, while staying about the same as everyone else in math and social studies. They were markedly lower, however, in foreign languages.

Last year, 180 NRHS students applied to UM; 134 were accepted, and 91 enrolled.

Braun said the superintendents will continue the UM study for the next four years, tracking how many students remain at UM and how they are doing.

“This is fantastic information, data we’ve never had access to,” he said.

Braun said 70 percent of NRHS graduates go on to college, an impressive gain from 10 years ago when it was just 30 percent.

“This has been an uphill battle,” said Braun, who noted that a full quarter of SAD 48 parents do not have a high school diploma.

“The Eastland Mill and Dexter Shoe just aren’t there for our graduates anymore,” Braun said. “This acceptance and aspiration for a higher education of course has put a greater burden on our guidance services, but they have really stepped up to the challenge.”

In other business, the SAD 48 board:

. Approved the appointment of Don Roux, formerly assistant principal of grades six through 12 at Searsport, as principal of Somerset Valley Middle School in Hartland.

. Appointed Rene Mercer as math instructor at Nokomis, Alan Richmond as science instructor at Nokomis and Coreena Horvath as a long-term substitute for the district.

. Honored former board members Lyn Cianchette and Robin Duplisea for a combined 25 years of service to the district.