Superintendent Carrie told the RSU 52/MSAD 52 school board on Aug. 7 that the district will focus this year on data use, safe-school reunification plans and continuing curriculum implementation, and she said the district had received a $516,107.04 final grant award.

The update matters because the plan guides classroom instruction, safety protocols and near-term capital and staffing decisions across the district's elementary, middle and high schools.

Carrie opened the presentation by asking board members to review the packet and said the administrative team had spent the summer analyzing data and aligning it to the strategic plan.

"For this year, focusing on the use of data," Carrie said. "We have gotten better and better at that, but the moment over the summer was that we need a team because right now, we all work to collect data, but then I'm the one who's putting it all together." She said administrators will form a team to make data review a routine practice in buildings.

The superintendent described several priorities: finish revised emergency and reunification plans (she said Central Maine Community College has been identified as the reunification site for the high school), finish implementation of new math materials in grades 3'8, continue second-year implementation of the adopted elementary reading materials, expand professional development and finalize capital-improvement decisions.

On federal funding, Carrie said the district had received a final award of $516,107.04 after resubmitting Title II and Title IV allocations. "That is more money than last year," she said, adding that Title I funds will primarily support Green and Leeds schools and that principals will meet with her on how to use the funds.

Board members asked for clarifications. Board member Antoinette questioned the choice of Central Maine Community College as the high-school reunification site and whether it would gather students from multiple schools. Carrie said the college has an on-site public safety team and that district leaders met with college officials, the college president and safety staff. "I feel really confident that we can get them all down there," she said, noting the location is about a 15-minute drive and that sending all high-school students to one location reduces confusion for families in an evacuation.

Carrie also presented outcome data from last year: the district's percent of students with IEPs spending 80% or more of their school day in general education rose modestly to about 50.6%, and the number of special-education referrals continued to increase while qualifying rates have held steady. She highlighted reading-growth data showing that the share of students meeting or exceeding individualized growth goals roughly doubled in most grades after implementing the new reading materials, with especially notable growth among students with disabilities in elementary grades.

On staffing and professional development, Carrie said coaches increased instructional cycles districtwide (68 individual coaching cycles reported last year) and that early-release time will be used for PD aligned to reading and math implementation.

On facilities and safety, Carrie summarized progress on capital projects and reserve-account spending; she said some projects have funding identified and others remain to be scheduled by the board and facilities committee.

Board members gave no formal votes on the strategic plan at the meeting; the presentation served as an annual update and as the basis for next steps, including further work by the district data team, PTV (facilities/budget committee) and building leaders.

Carrie closed by reminding the board the full strategic plan is in the packet and will be posted to the district website for public review.