FARMINGTON — The Regional School Unit 9 board of directors held a meeting June 25, where they received a detailed presentation on social and emotional learning [SEL]. The goal of SEL is “to prepare our students to succeed in our community and be able to take on these challenges,” said Elizabeth LeClair, a graphic arts teacher at Foster Career and Technical Educational Center [FCTEC] in Farmington.

LeClair, along with Assistant Superintendent Monique Poulin, Mount Blue High School Principal Joel Smith and plumbing/heating FCTEC instructor Thomas Harrison highlighted the importance of SEL. The board has previously heard presentations on SEL

LeClair cited the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional [CASEL]’s definition of SEL as the process through which individuals acquire and apply the knowledge, skills and attitudes to manage emotions, show empathy, form supportive relationships and make responsible decisions. The SEL approach is one way the board hopes to combat chronic absenteeism.

CASEL is an organization that promotes SEL in public education. It works to implement SEL programs in school districts and to build support among parents and educators.

The presentation included data from a three-year survey showing that 90% of teachers recommend working in the district – an increase from 89%, which LeClair noted as a point of pride. The survey showed that the staff’s willingness to recommend working in the district went up to 98% from 92%. Additionally, the percentage of teachers who found their working environment extremely positive increased from 10% in 2023 to 16% in 2024.

“We pulled out highlights to celebrate and some data points,” LeClair mentioned. “The survey indicated that 69.4% of respondents agreed they have an idea for what they would like to try in their work for SEL this year, with only 7% disagreeing, based on 160 responses. The results also showed that 34% of respondents noted increased enthusiasm among students, and over 40% are optimistic that the school will improve.”

However, some areas require further attention. The survey showed a slight decline in how supportive students are in their interactions with each other, decreasing from 16% in 2023 to 15% in 2024.

Reflections from the survey emphasized that people trust and respect their colleagues and that teachers and staff recommend RSU 9 as a great place to work. “The intentionality in professional development opportunities has been received as valuable,” noted LeClair.

The SEL committee announced they are currently working on an online SEL playbook, a resource for sharing ideas and activities to foster engagement among students and staff. “We have access to great resources, so we’re putting it together in an online platform that’s easy to break into different categories, whether it is elementary all the way up to high school,” added LeClair.

Steps already taken to improve include restructuring faculty meetings to be more collaborative, restructuring the Academic Support Block, continuing collaboration between teachers, building career education into the schedule, redeveloping student celebrations, and intentionally focusing on SEL in faculty meetings.

While there has been notable progress, the district aims for greater enthusiasm and engagement from students. “It looks great, but we are hungry for more to get students more enthusiastic and engaged,” LeClair concluded.

According to another recent survey, separate from the three year survey there has been significant progress in the implementation and impact of SEL initiatives across the district. “We were intentional and purposeful with our professional development, specifically with the SEL time that we’ve been gifted with this year,” said LeClair. “This is a separate survey result from the three-year survey. We asked teachers and staff in November how we can help with this SEL practice, and the survey shows that they have an idea of how they would like to implement SEL into their work throughout the school year. This shows that we did reach that goal of being very mindful.”

The meeting also honored outgoing board members Carol Coles of Starks and Judith “Libby” Kaut of New Sharon, presenting them with plants as a token of appreciation. New board member Dina Spenciner of Farmington was welcomed following her appointment in May.

Additionally, the board noted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Bjorn Center for Career and Technical Education, attended by Gov. Janet Mills. “The ceremony had a good turnout,” said Chair Dorothy Robinson, who praised the event. Superintendent Chris Elkington highlighted the center’s impact, noting it as a significant investment in hands-on learning opportunities for students.