WARREN – SAD 40 officials plan a public meeting Thursday to explain steps they are taking to “raise the bar” for standards and learning districtwide, starting at Medomak Valley High School.

Administrators and staff members will brief the public at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15, at the high school auditorium, on Manktown Road in Waldoboro.

Changes at Medomak Valley High are “the first thing we’re focusing on,” Superintendent Pamela Carnahan said Tuesday, but the long-term goal “goes beyond high school.”

Another change coming to MVHS is a partnering with a community college for on-site college courses. The classes will be offered to high school students at half price and they will earn both high school and college credits for their participation.

This bar-raising effort “makes postsecondary education a possibility in students’ minds,” Carnahan said, also “making it more affordable.”

Two courses planned for spring will focus on college writing and on starting a business.