Dirigo High School’s new principal Kaelyn Thompson began her duties July 1 at the high school. She is a native of the Skowhegan area and says she’s glad to be back in Maine after her most recent position as a high school/middle school principal in Vermont. Submitted photo

DIXFIELD — Among the reasons Dirigo High School’s new principal was drawn to the school is because of the district’s philosophy about education and her roots here in Maine.

With her own background as a principal at a middle/high school in North Clarendon, Vermont, Kaelyne Thompson found programs at Dirigo that drew her interest. Thompson’s job in Vermont dealt with a student population of 380 students, compared to DHS’s student population of around 234 students.

In an interview with the Rumford Falls Times, Thompson explains why she accepted the principal’s position at Dirigo, discusses some things she’d like to accomplish and describes what excites her about her new job.

Before Thompson began her duties July 1, Superintendent Pam Doyen was the school’s combined principal and superintendent for Regional School Unit 56, since the district voted to make budget cuts and combine the position in October 2019.

Why did you seek the principal position at DHS? I grew up in rural Maine, I knew that eventually I wanted to get back to Maine but I wasn’t going to just take any job offered to me — I really wanted to focus on a school district that matches my philosophy of education. And so, when the position was posted for DHS, there were a couple of things that drew me to apply.

One was they just started the BARR Program — Building Assets, Reducing Risk. There’s a lot of components to that, and I’ll definitely be learning as I get into this role as well, but it really looks at the whole child, and it really focuses on meeting as teams, and working as teams to build relationships with kids, look at data, and provide interventions to support kids.

And so that was a big thing that drew me to this school, is that they are starting this program, and (they are) really focusing on those interventions; that building that relationship and working in a team dynamic to support kids.

Also, Superintendent Doyen made it clear in the (job) posting that she was willing to support and mentor whoever takes this role and I’m always open to learning. And I really was looking for a small, rural school that matched how I was raised and brought up in Cornville.

More about her philosophy.  I taught for 10 years prior to getting into administration at both the middle and high school level and true to my very core through all my years of teaching, and through administration I really believe in connecting with students; not just in a content (matter) but like finding out their interests, finding out what their strengths are, and then supporting areas where they need to grow. I believe that sort of mentality is what’s best for kids and what’s best for schools.

What are a couple issues or problems in this district that are at the top of your list to begin working on? This summer I (was) devoted to just getting to know as much about systems as possible, so I’ve been meeting with folks, working really closely with the main office staff that work throughout the summer just to understand systems.

My hope is to go into the school year and really take some time to really learn (about) the community and the school before I jump into areas that I want to focus on, because I want input from staff, students and the community. You know, across the board (when) I think of areas that all schools are (concerned with), when I talk with administration from other buildings, we look at attendance and how we can support kids getting to school and reducing truancy. It (attendance and truancy) would be one of the big points of focus going into this year that I know about. But I definitely want to get to know this building and the needs that staff are telling me that they need support with.

How are DHS and the RSU 56 school district similar and different to other schools you’ve worked at?
What I will say about transitioning into this role that I’m really excited about, is everybody here so far has been just incredibly welcoming. I’ve appreciated we have a largely new main office staff: Justin Onofrio is our school resource officer, (who) just started at the end of this past school year; we have a new athletic director, Sara Thurston; we have a new guidance counselor, Brenna Parent; and we’ve had two administrative assistants who have been in the school working in previous years that have just been incredibly supportive in this transition.

So, I’m super excited about getting to know the folks that I’m working with, and I think we have a really strong staff with similar philosophies and so I’m really looking forward to that.

You were also a math teacher at Lake Region Middle School in Naples. Have you always enjoyed math? Which subjects did you enjoy most in school?
I think I knew very early on I wanted to be a math teacher and so I went to the University of Maine at Orono and got a degree in math and secondary education. I taught at both the middle school and high school (levels) in Maine and New Mexico, and I think what drew me to education was I had a phenomenal teacher who made learning fun and engaging and hands on through math. And so that’s always been my drive, is to make learning hands on, to connect it to the real world, as much as possible.

When I was working at Lake Region Middle School I worked very closely with a science teacher on my team and we did a lot of projects together to connect math with more application. So that’s a core of my philosophy, is making finding those connections about what’s happening in the classroom to what students are going to experience when they leave school.

Earlier in your career, you worked as a math teacher in New Mexico. What was that school like and did you enjoy the climate and community?
I loved my time in New Mexico. I taught at two different schools there, one was a high school, and one was a high school and middle school, and I learned a lot. I also coached varsity girls basketball while I was down there as well. I think my roots are always in Maine, though and so that (brings) me back.

What are your hobbies or personal interests?
I love the outdoors. I like to mountain bike, I love hiking. I’m a huge fan of sports; students will catch me at a lot of their games because I just really enjoy seeing sports in action and also participating in sports.

Do you have other comments about your new position at DHS?
Just that I’m really excited because during the interview process, I met with a whole panel of individuals that work in this building along with board members and (others). I got to spend three hours in the building as part of the second round of interviews and it immediately felt like a really good fit.

Also, through that process, I got to meet with the student council members. They asked really thoughtful questions, and it just was really nice to be able to interact with students and staff and visualize myself in this building. And through that process I just knew this was going to be a good fit for me.

And so, I’m really looking forward to hearing from the staff and community and seeing what they need for support. And we’ll go from there.