BLUE HILL – The Blue Hill Harbor School has state approval as a private school, officials announced this week.

The Maine State Department of Education Office of School Approval Services has approved the application for the school, which opened in September. The approval makes BHHS eligible to receive public tuition funding from Maine school units in the 2007-08 school year, and the school is now listed on the Department of Education’s 2007-08 Tuition Rates Web site. This approval also means BHHS will be in a position to issue state-recognized and -approved diplomas when its first class graduates in June 2009.

The Blue Hill Harbor School is a secondary school serving students in grades nine through 12. It is affiliated with EdVisions, an intermediary organization funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to create and sustain small secondary schools that foster student-directed, personalized learning.

For information, call 374-5501, e-mail bhharborschool@aol.com, or mail PO Box 1629, Blue Hill 04614.