Expanded SAD 41 pre-K program underway

MILO — Classes have been back in session for several weeks, and now the Marion C. Cook School in LaGrange is the home of an expanded pre-kindergarten program for 3- to 5-year olds.

Everything is off to a great start, Superintendent Darcie Fournier said during a Sept. 10 SAD 41 School Board meeting at the Penquis Valley School.

“Both students and staff are settling into routines,” she said, as about 35 students are in their third week.

The district received approval from the Maine Department of Education for the school in July, previously the site of the AOS 43 central office, to be part of a state pilot program for the pre-K program.The initiative is fully funded by a state grant for the first two years.

State law requires all school districts to offer the expanded pre-K by September 2028 to serve young students with special needs who previously would have been enrolled in Child Development Services programs. 

SAD 41 pre-K had been housed at the Milo Elementary School but the 60-year-old building does not have the capacity for more students or additional programs. Grants will cover needed building renovations to fit the young age group — such as lowering sinks to be fully reachable — and equipment in LaGrange, program and supply costs and additional staffing.

The expanded pre-K program runs all day and follows the same school calendar as the rest of the district. 

Students will begin their day with breakfast at Milo Elementary and at 8 a.m. they will be bused to Marion C. Cook for the school day – snacks and lunch are delivered to LaGrange. Students return to Milo Elementary at 2 p.m. for dismissal.

There is still a lot to learn about serving this age group, Fournier said. Lunch is currently being served in the classrooms so the students can be eased into sitting in a big group in a larger space and learn how to use their listening ears. Many of them are in school for the first time.

In other business, Board Chair Mary Lynn Kazyaka inquired about the new no cellphone policy at Penquis Valley during the academic day from 7:30 a.m. to 2:25 p.m. and how students have been handling the change.

“I would say exceedingly well,” Co-Principal Katie Joyner-Robertson, saying there has been great compliance all around.

For some students having their cellphone in hand is muscle memory, but when told to put it away most do so immediately. “They put it away with a ‘sorry’ and we don’t hear from them again,” Joyner-Robertson said. 

In only a couple of instances the office needed to get involved.

It has been nice to see students talking at lunch instead of being on their phones, Dean of Students/Athletic Director Jason Mills said.

In the board report from Joyner-Roberston and Co-Principal Danielle Libbey, feedback from the change in cellphone policy shows it is helping to minimize distractions and promote greater focus in the classroom.

Kazyaka said she had a resignation letter from board member Amanda Fernald of Milo. In the letter Fernald cited other commitments as her reason for stepping down as of Sept. 12.

In March Fernald was elected to a 1-year term through March of 2026.

“The town can and will appoint someone to that position, who will be in that position until our town meeting in March,” Kazyaka said.

The Milo Select Board would likely appoint someone to fill the vacancy at its October meeting.