RSU 16 Spotlight

On August 25, RSU 16 proudly celebrated the outstanding dedication of our staff who reached significant service milestones. We honored employees for their 10, 20, 30 and 40 years of committed service across our schools.

40 Years of Service to RSU 16: In the photo, we acknowledged Sue Lasselle from RSU 16 Adult Education.

30 Years of Service to RSU 16: Thank you, Laurie Callahan, for 30 years of service and for all you have given to our schools and students.

20 Years of Service to RSU 16: Twenty years is a remarkable commitment. These people have spent two decades shaping RSU 16 and the lives of the students they have served.

David Luna, Tracy Ray-Lavoie, Charles Franklin, Kimberly Yorkey

10 Years of Service to RSU 16:Shannon Briner, Diana Skvorak, Neisha Strom, Brittany Linscott, Rebecca Ducharme, Tracy Watson, Patrick Martin, Clayton Jones. Not pictured: Suzette Moulton, Diane Belanger

Join an after school club, make new friends, get involved!

The PRHS Co-curricular Fair shared after school activities and clubs with students - terrific opportunities to get involved with the community at school and beyond!

Elm Street School recently welcomed Joy and Aaron: Circus Theater for All-Ages! Through Celebration Barn, funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission. Students in grades K-4 enjoyed a live performance of “To the Moon and Back”. What a fun way to bring the arts to Elm Street School!

Whittier Middle School's Tri-Town Family 5K will take place on Sunday, November 8, 2026 at 10:00am.and it is open to everyone. Join us for a fun family morning on the Minot trails and fields.

Registration is open...and it's free! Let's get the word out there and make this the biggest and best event so far.

We are seeking local sponsors to help make the big day a special one. Tell your friends. All sponsors of at least $100 by October 8 will get their logo on the back of the event shirt. Interested potential sponsors should contact Shawn Vincent (svincent@rsu16.org or 998-3462). This is a great event for students, families and all members of our communities.

Access the full school calendar on our website to stay informed and organized. We appreciate your partnership in creating a successful and well-prepared school year for your child.

Our Tip Line represents one approach our schools and communities may use to share the responsibility of school and student safety and well-being. This Tip Line provides students, staff or other members of the public with a safe and confidential way to report a threat or potential threat to student or school safety. Call 911 in cases of immediate emergency. It is located on our website: rsu16.org and scroll down.

Q: How does the school conduct a threat assessment?

A: The Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines walk team members through a

five-step decision tree as they gather and evaluate information related to the situation and the

person of concern, analyze the information to determine the correct classification for the threat,

document any actions taken in response to receiving the threat, conduct a variety of interviews to

determine the level of support needed and develop a case management plan to support the person

of interest. Not all threats are created equal and they vary in how specific or plausible they are,

and in the motivation, capacity, and intent of the person making the threat. All threats, however,

need to be assessed quickly and dealt with in a timely, appropriate manner.

FACILITIES

PCS Water Damage Restoration: Repairs are nearly complete, with “finishing touches still underway,” and classroom contents and electronic equipment are still being replaced.

WMS Water Damage Repairs: All work related to the burst pipe has been completed. The gym floor required sanding, refinishing, and new court lines to ensure consistency. The total project cost was $39,321, and due to the district’s $50,000 water-damage deductible, the district now owes a refund to Liberty Mutual.

MCS Ventilation Project: Work is 95% complete, with two days of insulation remaining and one day of commissioning and balancing. All units will be operational for the first day of school.

Central Office Structural Concerns: Excavation of a sinkhole and pavement divot revealed decomposed stumps beneath the parking lot, resulting in an unbudgeted $6,500 repair. A widening crack in the building's foundation pad continues to grow and damage sheetrock. A secondary fracture has also formed. The district will commission an engineering assessment to determine long-term solutions.

Despite an exceptionally demanding summer, our maintenance staff delivered outstanding work across all campuses. Beyond routine seasonal tasks, the team took on numerous unexpected projects—from water-damage restoration to construction support and accelerated classroom turnover—and handled each with professionalism and urgency. Their commitment ensured that every building was ready for the start of the school year, even as timelines tightened and project scopes expanded. I deeply appreciate their dedication, flexibility, and pride in our schools.

CIP Budget

For FY 2025-26, all but $2,600 of CIP funds were expended (pending audit). For FY 2026-27, spending has begun, with $450,000 of the $610,000 allocation reserved for the third of four payments on the high school roof payment. $100,000 was also added to the CIP budget for the current year to cover the two $50,000 deductibles for the water damage incidents.

Staffing

Maintenance staffing is fully restored for the first time in over a year, which includes the hiring of two returning employees and one Adult Ed intern participant.

Emergency Management Plan

The updated Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan is ready for board review. Updates include revised contact information and incorporation of ALICE protocols. Due to sensitive content, public copies are not released.

John Hawley, Director of Operations

Clothing, including jewelry and other accessories, is expected to be appropriate for the learning environment. It should strengthen school spirit and pride and focus attention upon learning and away from distractions. Immodest clothing is not acceptable.

• Clothing that openly exposes a student’s back, midriff, rear end, chest hair, shoulders, bra straps, or underwear is unacceptable.

• Tank tops are acceptable with straps wide enough to cover undergarments.

• Sheer shirts that reveal a student's back, midriff, chest hair, shoulders, or underwear are not acceptable.

• Length of skirts and shorts must provide appropriate coverage.

• Clothing, including face coverings, advertising, depicting, featuring, or referring to alcohol, tobacco, weaponry, violence, drugs or profanity is not allowed. Racist, sexist, or otherwise harassing material is also not allowed.

• Clothing that causes disruption to the learning environment is not allowed. School administration reserves the right to determine whether clothing is disruptive.

• Clothing that presents a safety concern, such as shoes with wheels in the soles, high heels or large chains on clothing or worn around the neck, or that causes maintenance problems, such as cleats, shoes that scratch floors, are not allowed.

At Poland Regional High School

Clothing, including jewelry and other accessories, is expected to be appropriate for the learning environment. It should strengthen school spirit and pride and focus attention upon learning and away from distractions. Immodest clothing is not acceptable.

• Clothes must be worn in a way such that the chest, pelvic/groin area, and buttocks are fully covered with non-see-through material.

• Length of skirts and shorts must provide appropriate coverage.

• Underwear, with the exception of bra straps, are not to be exposed.

• Shoulders may be visible but strapless shirts are not allowed.

• Crop tops are allowed but must fully cover the chest area and must look like a shirt, not underwear.

• Clothing referring to alcohol, tobacco, weaponry, violence, drugs, or profanity is not allowed. Racist, sexist, or otherwise harassing material is not allowed.

• Clothing that presents a safety concern to people and/or property is not allowed.

• Students must wear appropriate footwear at all times.

• Clothing that causes disruption to the learning environment is not allowed. School administration reserves the right to determine whether clothing is disruptive.

Students not wearing acceptable attire will be reminded and given the opportunity to change into acceptable attire. Parents will be contacted if there is an ongoing issue with appropriate attire. Final determination for appropriate dress is at the discretion of administration.

Dear RSU 16 Families and Community Members,

I want to share an update about ALICE, the active shooter response training we are implementing across RSU 16.

I know this is not an easy topic to talk about. As a parent/caregiver, I understand that the idea of preparing for a violent intruder in our schools can be unsettling. None of us wants to imagine that happening in our schools. At the same time, part of our responsibility is to make sure our staff and students have information and strategies that can help them respond if they ever face a dangerous situation.

ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate. The training provides people with options for responding to an active shooter or other violent intruder based on the circumstances around them.

It is not about creating fear or asking students to live in fear. It is about being prepared, making informed decisions, and giving people tools that may help keep them safe.

What is different about ALICE?

Some of the strategies we are introducing are different from the way we have practiced emergency response in the past.

• Barricading: In the past, our lockdown practice focused primarily on staying together in one area of the classroom. ALICE teaches that, when possible, staff should also consider barricading the door to make it more difficult for an intruder to enter.

• Creating distance: Rather than everyone staying together in one place, ALICE teaches that spreading out within a classroom, when appropriate and possible, can provide additional options for responding.

• Distraction: For students who are developmentally ready, ALICE introduces the concept of using readily available objects to distract or disrupt an intruder if there is no safer option. This is taught carefully and in an age-appropriate way.

• Evacuation: In the past, staff waited for an announcement or intercom direction before evacuating. ALICE recognizes that staff may have information that an intruder is in another part of the building. If a teacher knows there is a dangerous situation elsewhere in the building and can safely get students out, they may evacuate rather than waiting for an announcement.

The goal is not for students or staff to memorize a single response. The goal is to have options. What someone does should depend on what they know, where they are, and what is happening around them.

How will this look for students?

We will approach ALICE thoughtfully and in an age-appropriate way. Our staff have received training, and students will be introduced to safety strategies that are appropriate for their age and developmental level.

For our youngest students, the focus is primarily on listening, observing, and recognizing that different emergencies may require different responses. As students move through the grades, additional skills and concepts are gradually introduced, including barricading a door, identifying additional evacuation routes, and understanding distraction strategies.

These are not simply skills for one particular emergency. Situational awareness, listening, observing your surroundings, knowing more than one way out, and thinking about your options are skills that can be useful in everyday life as well.

We also want families to know what we are not doing.

You may hear about other districts, including districts outside of Maine, conducting armed drills or using Nerf guns or similar simulations as part of their training. RSU 16 will not be conducting this type of practice. We believe our students can learn important safety strategies without creating unnecessary fear or trauma through simulated violence.

We have created a dedicated section on our website where families can learn more about ALICE, watch a five-minute introduction video, and review the age-appropriate situational awareness lesson plans being used with our students:

RSU 16 ALICE Training Resources

I encourage you to watch the video and look through the resources. We want families to understand what we are teaching, why we are teaching it, and how you can support conversations about safety at home.

And if this raises questions, concerns, or simply leaves you wanting to talk with someone, please reach out. You can contact your child's principal, SRO Deputy Westleigh, or me. We are happy to listen, answer questions, and talk through any concerns you may have.

We hope we will never need these skills. But being prepared is an important part of our responsibility to keep our students and staff safe.

Sincerely,

Amy Hediger

RSU 16 Superintendent

A Big Thank You to the RSU 16 Community!

We want to take a moment to thank the RSU 16 community for supporting the improvements at Minot Consolidated School. A tremendous amount of work took place over the summer, and we are excited to see the new systems in action as we head into heating season.

The project is approximately 97% complete.

Early testing is very encouraging. Carbon dioxide levels have remained below 700 ppm, which is a great early indication that the new ventilation system is doing what we hoped it would do.

There are just a few pieces remaining: final air-quality testing and completing the connection/VPN that will allow staff to monitor the heating and ventilation systems and view real-time information remotely.

Thank you to our community for investing in Minot Consolidated School and our students. We are looking forward to seeing the full system operating throughout the heating season and continuing to share updates as the project is completed.