Foxcroft Academy officials reach out to SAD 4 to be district’s secondary school

Foxcroft Academy officials have reached out to the SAD 4 community to have a conversation about the Dover-Foxcroft secondary school becoming the high school for students from the six towns in the neighboring Guilford-based school district and what could be accomplished by working together.

A letter was sent to SAD 4 town officials on Nov. 6 and posted on the Foxcroft Academy Facebook page the day after. 

The letter is on the agenda for the next SAD 4 School Board meeting set for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 12 at Piscataquis Community Elementary School.

The letter reads, “Together is better! That’s the idea at the heart of what we hope will be a meaningful conversation about the future of our students. At Foxcroft Academy, we believe that by working together, we can build something truly special for our high schoolers — and we’re excited to explore the possibility of welcoming (Piscataquis Community High School) students to our community.

Foxcroft Academy offers a broad range of college preparatory opportunities, including IB and AP courses, as well as dual enrollment classes that help students get ahead. For students eager to work with their hands, our campus offers industrial technology classes such as welding, automotive repair, woodworking and engineering, along with additional pathway options at TCTC.

We’re eager to expand our career & technical education programs as well. By partnering with PVAEC and exploring the use of the PCSS building, we see real potential to expand opportunities, including the popular truck-driving program, CNA training and internships.

We’re also planning to develop an innovation center that will give students access to the latest technology, challenging them to investigate, analyze and create unique solutions to real-world problems.

Of course, we want our students to be able to explore their interests fully — so they’ll have plenty of elective options in science, social studies, math, English and world languages. Our support services cover everything from alternative education and academic support to 504 and special education, as well as peer tutoring.

When it comes to athletics, all students are welcome — whether it’s football, soccer, basketball, cheering, baseball, softball, ice hockey, field hockey, wrestling, indoor or outdoor track, tennis or cross country. We’re even exploring adding volleyball.

Music: jazz ensemble, select choir, chorus, rock band and concert band. Visual and performing arts: AP Art, IB Art, pottery, digital photography, theater, stagecraft, one-act play and a host of clubs — like fencing, Key Club, Student Council, Global Ambassadors, Chess Club, Civil Rights Team and many more (we constantly add clubs based on students’ requests).

We’re also committed to making this partnership meaningful at all levels. We’d gladly welcome two representatives to join our board of trustees and have a dedicated administrator attend your board meetings to provide updates and answer questions. To support students, we’d work to create a new student union and ensure classroom space meets everyone’s needs.

There will be many details to discuss, and we have experience contracting with districts to provide high school programming, as we do with RSU 68. We would be ready to partner as early as the fall of 2026. What matters most is our readiness to sit down together and, with enthusiasm and respect, explore how we can make this vision a reality for our students in a way that’s both cost-effective and enriching for everyone.

Let’s talk. After all, together is better.”

For decades, Foxcroft Academy has contracted with the Dover-Foxcroft-based RSU 68 to serve as the high school for the district made up of Dover-Foxcroft, Charleston, Monson and Sebec.

Foxcroft Academy has an enrolment of approximately 410 students while SAD 4 has about 140 grade 9-12 pupils.

During a Nov. 4 meeting of the RSU 68 Board of Directors Head of School Arnold Shorey was asked about the impact of class sizes should there be 550 students in the building.

Foxcroft Academy class sizes would not change, but five more classrooms would be needed and Shorey said the school has a plan for this.

“There’s a lot of things we could do together,” Shorey said.