(upbeat music) - Do you remember coming back to school after the winter holidays in early January during the peak blahs?

Your face probably looked something like this, (upbeat music) or this.

Well, if you were a student at Casco Bay High School, you might have started off 2025 looking like this.

Or even this.

Because for you, it's Intensives Week.

How can a high school summon January joy and deep learning in a week?

Let's find out.

- All right, ready, deets.

- We are with 20 kids for a week solid.

- It's a great way to get back into the school year and just to say, "Hey, this is something I love.

I wanna share it with you."

- We have our highest attendance rate during Intensives.

- [Matt] Let's put everything we have into this one idea topic project to really go at it.

- It busts out learning into whole other world.

- Welcome to "Learning from Maine."

A new series is part of the Maine Loves Public Schools campaign.

In "Learning from Maine," we'll be sharing stories from Kittery to Madawaska, from Pre-K to Adult Ed, highlighting both what's happening and what's possible in Maine Public Schools.

My name is Derek Pierce and I will be your companion on "Learning from Maine."

I had the great honor to teach and lead in Maine's Public Schools for over 30 years.

Full disclosure, for the last 19 years I worked here at Casco Bay High School.

It made sense to start this series where I ended and where I already knew all of the students hiding places to vape.

(gentle music) We started doing Intensives 20 years ago.

It's a great way for small schools to offer both electives and unique intense learning opportunities.

It's also a great way to get students learning in and from their community.

Intensives are one week courses, 20 to 25 students work with two teachers all day each day for a week on a specialized topic.

They get immersed in their topic on day one, and by day five they're expected to showcase their learning.

We're gonna take a closer look at two of these Intensives , Casco Teaches and Learning to Swim.

(students clamoring) - Yes, yes!

Yes!

(claps) - [Derek] Before Taking the Swim Intensive where the goal is to make novice and non-swimmers into swimmers in a week, Jamilson got a clear message from his mom.

- She just told me to be prepared and not drown.

(laughs) - [Derek] Jamilson's goal is to swim in the deep end by weeks' end.

He assesses his odds as- - 50-50.

- [Derek] Cardell's last swim over the summer did not go well.

- I was hanging out with my family, then I sleep in the water and then I started like drowning.

I see myself in the water and then I try to get back up, I couldn't.

- [Derek] Too many Portland youth have a similar fear of drowning.

That's why two Casco seniors worked with teachers to create the Swimming Intensive in 2014.

A few years later, tragedy struck.

- I looked at the newspaper and sure enough, one of my students' brothers had drowned in Sebago Lake, and I said, "That's it.

I'm never gonna stop doing it until I can't do it anymore."

It is the difference between life and death.

99% of drownings are preventable.

What I'd like to hear now is what you did that you didn't think you could do before.

- [Student 1] Float.

- [Derek] Over 50 volunteers and experts help out at Casco during Intensives week, including 15 alums.

- Awesome!

Just like that!

- [Derek] Former swim intensive teacher, Brooke Teller, was moved by the course to found Maine Community Swimming in 2024.

It's dedicated to helping Mainers statewide learn swimming essentials.

- Maine is a state that is surrounded by water and water sources.

We have so many lakes, streams, rivers, and, of course, a whole beautiful coastline.

Our new Mainers are a focus area.

I'm finding that especially amongst our high school population, they're courageous enough to step forward and say, "I don't know how to swim and I'm ready to learn."

But part of my thinking behind Maine Community Swimming is that we can take some of that fear away and turn it into joy.

(water splashing) - Beautiful.

Keep going.

(gentle music) Beautiful.

- [Matt] Let's teach!

- [Derek] Back at Casco, Matt Bernstein, and Priya Natarajan's intensive aims to have their students experience what it's like to be a teacher.

In so doing, they hope to help address a different major challenge, the teacher shortage.

Maine's teaching force is aging.

The average age is 46 and just in the last 10 years, there's been a 50% decline in the number of students in Maine teacher training programs.

- It's the third year I've gotten to teach this Intensive and it really is soul filling.

It's so great to come right back after winter break and the first thing you get to do is talk about why you love teaching.

- This is a place where we celebrate teachers and support them, and so it just makes sense that we try to help students understand what an amazing profession it is.

So we had two days of kind of a Teaching 101.

- You're writing down one to three qualities of a great educator.

- What makes a great educator is like, to know how to understand our students.

- And then for three days we had them welcomed into the classrooms to all over the district.

- [Derek] Ninth graders, Moises and Norah, were getting to work with their favorite former teachers and mentors.

- He kept telling me that I should consider teaching and I was like, "Ah, I don't know."

I want to get the kids to, like, pay attention.

Like, I don't know how I'd be able to do that.

- [Derek] Brinelle just found out that his second grade placement is with Josh Chard.

- Really?

- Yeah.

- Wow.

- (chuckles) So you are getting to work this week with two main teachers of the year.

- That's nice.

- That's nice.

- Is three greater than three?

- I did.

- No.

- It's three equals to three.

- I mean, right now you have a whole bunch of little people who think you're like the coolest thing they've ever met, and that is one of the amazing perks of being a teacher is that you get to be in front of a bunch of young people, make a difference in their lives, and be someone that they look up to and admire.

You've been really friendly with the students and the students really like you, but today I watched you also establish yourself as an authority.

- Before, I didn't know if I really wanted to be a teacher, but now I feel like the chances, like, increased more.

- [Derek] Ninth grader, Norah, has always known she wanted to be a teacher, but in Ms.

Gurney's class, she finds herself teaching the one subject she used to think she never could, math.

- She didn't like math, and math is my favorite.

And she was just really down on herself.

By the end of the year, I knew that she felt a little different about math and that was my goal for her.

- I'm really grateful that I had you as a teacher because you helped me a lot to be who I am.

- Thank you.

I've had kids come back and it's just special.

It's all a teacher can ask for.

- Moises is someone who really stuck out in my mind as a possible really great future teacher and community leader.

He had a mixed and kind of rough experience at times in middle school, and sometimes I think kids who've had a rough experience and remember that can be really great teachers.

- No, I was kind of like annoying to, like, all the kids and like I make class harder for them, and they didn't really need that.

- So I want to remind kids like Moises that like, you got the possibility to lead your community and this is a way that you could totally do it.

And I think it would've made a really big difference for you, or gonna be a young Black man who's a teacher.

- When you told me that I could be a teacher, I just like kept that with me and then... When he told me that, I was like, "Honestly, no one has ever told me anything like that."

(students clamoring) - [Derek] Back at the Swimming Intensive, students were working on more than their strokes.

They were also becoming authors.

- [Leslie] Our students are also writing books that they will share with elementary students to teach them about why it's important to know how to swim.

- Her friends were there to cheer her on and make sure she was safe.

(kids clapping) (gentle music) - [Derek] But by day five, the biggest applause was earned in the pool.

- I think he did it.

- I think he did it.

- All right, yeah.

(people cheering) - Did you get there?

- Did you touch the bottom?

- What happened today?

- I swim in the deep end.

- Yes.

(water splashing) - Yes.

(people cheering) - [Cardell] I actually know how to swim.

- And go.

(water splashes) That's gorgeous.

- [Derek] And Cardell not only met his goal, he's got a new one.

- Swim team?

I'll probably try it next year.

(gentle music) - [Derek] This past January, Casco students chose among 18 different Intensives, from Fiber Arts to Shark Tank, to a Winter Camping overnight deep in the Maine woods.

At Casco Bay, Intensives occur once in January and once before spring break in April.

Otherwise, Casco students are involved in year-long classes.

When Casco staff tell us something like Intensives can occur in any school at any time.

- I have always thought the the Intensive model was a great way to introduce our schools across the state to interdisciplinary, intensive, expeditionary models of teaching.

- And everyone worked together to create a community quilt.

- Teachers would see students doing things they never thought they would and students can see teachers doing things in a whole other light as well.

- I really like Intensives.

- I could actually, like, do a lot of things that I could never imagine I could.

(people clapping) - What can you really accomplish in five days, right?

And it turns out a lot.

You can get a ton done in five days and I think students come back from Intensives and they often understand, "Wow, when I'm all in on something, when I'm given everything I have to focus on getting something done, I can accomplish a tremendous amount.

Imagine what I can do in a month, in two months, in three months."

- [Derek] At their best, Intensives expand student sense of what is possible for themselves.

At their best, our schools also expand student sense of what is possible for their world.

Public schools are the engine for possibility in our communities and in our democracy.

In Maine, the public schools are still often a town's most important resource.

What do we really know about what's happening in our kids' schools?

How about the school down the road?

What's changed in schools?

What has it?

In 2025, what does learning from Maine look like?

Let's keep finding out together.

(gentle music) (gentle music) When you think back to ninth grade, what comes to mind?

Academic triumphs, a kind and loving community, the best year of high school.

Yeah, me neither.

And we're not alone.

Ninth grade is hard!

You're at the bottom in a new place and for the first time, it counts.

It's no wonder that compared to every other grade level, ninth graders have the worst attendance, the lowest GPAs, and the most misbehavior.

But then again, we didn't go to Telstar High School's Freshman Academy or TFA near Bethel.

Here, ninth graders head to their own campus apart from the other grades.

Every single day they build, they explore, they work together on real world projects that combine English, Social Studies, Science and Outdoor Leadership.

They're learning deeply.

They're figuring out their path forward and they're having a year they'll want to remember.

This all started more than a decade ago when John Eliot noticed his ninth grade special ed students were really struggling in the classroom.

Then he started taking them off campus.

- We started building bridges, we started making trails.

These concrete walls are a barrier for a lot of students and if you can remove them, you really can get deep.

- [Derek] Eliot was soon convinced that his approach could be a game changer, not just for his ninth graders, but for all ninth graders.

Eliot found an educational soulmate and partner in Ryder Scott, who had a great location for an offsite ninth grade academy.

Just 10 minutes from Telstar, UMaine's 4-H Center at Bryant Pond.

- So the school district was trying to address similar challenges to every school district in the state.

Student engagement, attendance, graduation rates.

So the vision was to design a program that would be both academically rigorous and engaging, interdisciplinary.

- You need to be able to communicate scientific learning in three different formats.

- And then, combine all of that with a real nurturing environment that was to some degree separate from the school building.

So our goal really was to change the narrative about what ninth grade really is.

- [Derek] TFA may be facing their greatest challenge with this cohort.

The Telstar Class of 2028.

This group has been told repeatedly.

- God, you guys are the worst class I've ever seen.

- They've left a wake of teachers retiring and quitting.

- Yeah, they went through the list, good thing.

Who they had gotten to quit?

Who they had gotten to cry?

- [Derek] So the reputation was deserved kind of.

- Yes, actually it was very deserved.

- [Derek] Can a high school really send all of its ninth graders off campus for the whole school year?

Can it get them to work together, to listen to each other and do important work?

Even the dreaded class of 2028?

Let's learn more.

(students clamoring) - [Derek] The first thing you'll notice about TFA is the setting.

It's beautiful.

And the ninth graders have a swath of the UMaine 4-H Campus all to themselves, their campus is often their classroom.

TFA science students study erosion through a nature walk.

- [Student 2] And that's ground one of the activities.

- [Derek] In outdoor leadership, students learn to build fires as part of their preparation for a year end, full class overnight canoe trip.

- As we get ready for our camping trip, One thing that we're gonna talk a lot more about is leave no trace.

- [Derek] TFA ninth graders culminate their climbing unit with a team competition inside their barn.

TFA student, Eva, describes herself as not very outdoorsy, but today she is all in.

First, it's on not tying.

- Good job, Eva.

- Ugh, crushed it!

And then it's just, bam!

- [Derek] Then, it's helping your teammates on belay.

- Okay, you are almost there.

Trust me, you are almost there.

- [Derek] Finally, it's her turn.

- [Eva] (groans) Jesus!

- Come on, Eva.

- Ding, ding, ding.

- [Derek] TFA English teacher, Doug Bennett, sees the impact of students climbing walls in his English class and beyond.

- Starting to realize piece by piece, "Oh, this is fun.

Not only is it fun, but I can do it, I'm fine and I like it."

(Eva moans) - Really just piece by piece builds that confidence in them and they apply it to everywhere.

- [Derek] Projects with real audiences and purposes are another hallmark of TFA.

Mr.

Bennett's class, students are focused on a digital story project in which students have to answer questions like, "Who am I?

How do I learn best?

What is my impact?"

Eva's excited because in this project she'll get to tell the world all about her beloved seven children, her guitars.

- My first one, the first born is Cinderella named after the band and she is a Steve Vai Ibanez.

Bright pink.

She's still my favorite guitar.

- [Derek] Eva won Telstar's Winner Carnival Talent Competition this year, no small feet for a ninth grader who started playing in seventh grade.

(electric guitar trilling) Eva's classmate Zach, will be centering much of his digital story around another interdisciplinary project TFA completed earlier this year.

Think Tank.

It's a group project centered on Science and Social Studies.

Zach explains the challenge his team faced.

- It was a project where we had to solve a problem across the world with limited amount of resources.

- So what do you call this thing, Zach?

- I call it the Stunning Tumelo.

- The Stunning Tumelo.

- Yeah.

- What is the Tumelo?

- I have no clue.

- (chuckles) This.

That's what this is.

This is the Stunning Tumelo obviously.

What makes it stunning?

- Just the idea of it.

- [Derek] Zach and his team did have a stunning idea to design a metal gasifier that would lead to healthier pollutant free cooking in rural Ethiopia.

The experience sparked a new passion for Zach, Engineering.

Why would you wanna be an engineer?

- Because stuff like this could really impact how people live and change the world around you.

- [Derek] Zach was not always so positive about his future or school.

His view of his time in middle school is blunt.

- So it was just dreadful.

- [Derek] But now.

- I actually want to engage in the class conversations and apply learning in the classroom.

I end up actually doing the work instead of just messing around all day.

- [Derek] Zach attributes half of his transformation as a student to doing work he finds meaningful and half to something else.

- Well, it's a lot better 'cause I have a way better relationship with the teachers.

- [Derek] I heard that same message repeatedly at TFA.

Students respect and even affection for their teachers inspired better results.

Here's another student, Travis.

- The teachers have beautiful personalities.

If you have a problem, they'll help you and the assignments that they give are very interesting.

- [Derek] TFAs four teachers work solely with TFA students, and they intentionally model the collaboration and the kindness they expect from their students.

Eva admits to being a TFA convert, even though she spends most of every school day just with ninth graders.

- [Eva] Oh, I was dreading it.

I think the teachers definitely helped out a lot with that.

Everybody's gotten a lot closer with each other.

Really everybody's finally growing.

- [Leslie] Our main goal is to make them good people.

- [Doug] It's not just teacher student it's, you know, we're more like a family.

(students clapping) - [Derek] Before heading back to Telstar for lunch and last block, TFA students end the day as they started it in a circle.

- (indistinct) but it was a pretty considerable number of folks that climbed higher than they applied all through the climbing unit so- (all clapping) - [Derek] I'm so I was so inspired by what I'd witnessed at TFA that I decided to take on one of my greatest fears, albeit with TFA's trademark community support.

You may see a 59-year-old guy cry.

Have you ever seen that?

- No.

- Okay, it may be happening.

- So we got you.

You're not gonna fall, you're not gonna die.

We're actually really trustworthy.

- Oh God.

- You have to go improvising.

- [Derek] The climb caused me some primal regression.

Oh, this is frightening.

Travis caught up with me afterwards and shared that at first he too only climbed halfway up, but recently he'd made it to the top.

- I feel there is hope for Derek if you keep persevering.

- Even me?

- Yes, even you.

- Ninth grade can be a make or break year.

It's the first time that grades count and homework matters.

Increased responsibility coincides with increased freedoms and increased social demands and increased hormones.

This collision can lead to what's been labeled ninth grade shock.

And ninth grade academic struggles can cause what researchers have called aspirational foreclosure.

A debilitating lasting belief that life's options are limited.

Nationally, students who fail more than one class in ninth grade aren't likely to graduate.

But at TFA, any course failure is rare.

TFA counters the daunting challenges of ninth grade with deliberate efforts to expand their student's sense of what they can achieve and who they can become.

The Digital Story is a case in point.

It's one of Telstar's seven peaks, an annual rite of passage where each Telstar student grades six through 12 engages in some form of self or future exploration that results in a public culmination.

As principal Eliot notes.

- Let's see what makes you proud of who you are.

- [Derek] The culmination for the Digital Story takes place with a premiere of each kid's creation at The Gem, the local movie theater and the whole community's invited.

Eva's digital story depicted her growth as a person through her growth as a guitar player.

She even had the courage to juxtapose her first recording.

(electric guitar trilling) With her most recent.

(electric guitar trilling) Zach's movie started with some earnest reflections on his growth.

- [Zach] Learning as a person has always been kind of difficult for me, as it seemed very overwhelming and stressful at times.

But when it comes to TFA, I've noticed a big change.

- [Derek] After TFA, Zach now sees his path forward.

- [Zach] To succeed in the engineering world, you need to be able to problem solve, have some technical expertise, and other soft skills like good communication, good teamwork and leadership qualities.

Those are some skills that I think I possess and would excel in.

- [Derek] The Digital Story like TFA itself has nudged even Zach to improving and demonstrating the best versions of themselves.

TFA hasn't just been life-changing for the students, but for their teachers too.

Kelly Dole remembers first hearing about the plans for TFA in 2014.

At the time she was Telstar's longtime ninth grade science teacher.

- I was like, "What the heck are you talking about?"

I'm not doing that.

I thought it was the worst idea ever.

Now I would never wanna go back into a classroom and do what I did used to do by myself.

I would never want.

There's so much more freedom and creativity down here.

- You know, TFA is for everyone.

I think this type of outdoor and experiential learning is even more important than ever.

- I love TFA, I love the whole program.

You speak to these kids that have gone to this program, I'm telling you they're different.

They have a different sense of respect.

They have a different sense of responsibility.

They have a different sense of loyalty to their fellow peers.

Students work better together.

- [Derek] Jocelyn a Telstar senior is a great example of a principal's point.

- Being at TFA and not being in like a normal high school building, I think that made people more eager to learn.

We weren't like the scared little freshmen.

We had this trust like for the first time from adults and so I think that we all appreciated that.

- School gets such a bad rap in people's heads because I'm like forced to go, and I gotta sit in a chair and I'm in this place, and it feels like prison.

And here, they learn that learning is all the time everywhere.

- [Derek] UMAine has three 4-H Learning Centers around the state and there are more summer camps in high schools in Maine, over 140.

Might there be a way for other communities to launch their own version of TFA?

Well, here's what Zach thinks.

A member of the cohort, formerly known as the worst class ever.

- [Zach] I think schools all around the world should have more things and opportunities like TFA.

- All right, take.

(gentle music) (engine rumbling) (door creaks) - Most every day brings new commentary about how Americans and even Mainers have never been so divided.

But one issue which might unify us is the need for great public schools.

In Maine, public schools account for 96% of student enrollment.

That's 96% of our future and the care of one institution for nearly half our kids waking hours more than half the year.

So yeah, we all want and deserve schools where our children are consistently cared for, and challenged, and growing.

Where their particular greatness is known and cultivated, where they gain the knowledge and skills necessary to be the adult they dream to be and the citizen we need them to be.

Here's one more thing we can agree on.

Despite the best effort and diligent work of our students, and our educators, and our parents, Maine schools like all schools can do better.

"Learning from Maine" aims to shine a light on the path from here to there.

So let's continue our journey.

(upbeat music) Before finding Foster Tech, Kaleb was at risk of dropping out.

- Freshman and sophomore year, I barely showed up to high school.

I have a DHD and dyslexia, so I just struggled with it and didn't want to do it anymore, so I was just like, "Nope, I ain't going."

- [Derek] Then Kaleb started to admire the work his older brother was doing at a place called Kenway Composites.

A custom fiberglass manufacturing shop that creates everything from train platforms, the battleship propellers.

- He was working on windmill blades up in the mountains and stuff, and I was like, "Wow, I wanna do that."

- [Derek] Fortunately, Kaleb was accepted into Foster Tech's Composites program his junior year.

- I had to start showing up to school and doing it 'cause I like wanted to do composites.

- [Derek] By his senior year, Kaleb received a new opportunity to be Foster Tech's first registered Maine apprentice.

Kaleb would head to Kenway every day to craft fiberglass.

He'd get paid and even earn the last credits he needed for his diploma.

- So, and he was able to get his art credit through that while getting paid and get paying credit for his CTE.

- And graduated.

- And graduated.

And he marched across that stage and it was amazing.

- [Derek] Amazing indeed.

(people cheering) - [Derek] Kaleb completed the apprenticeship program last fall and is now a full-time Kenway employee.

- [Jordan] I think the apprenticeship allowed him to really demonstrate that and show others like, "I am really good at what I do.

I have a brain for this."

- [Derek] About two hours from Kenway, Colton is completing high school on weekend nights, in the kitchen at Sugarloaf's finest restaurant.

- I get to get paid while getting credits for high school, which is an amazing bonus.

- [Derek] Remarkably, Kaleb and Colton will be graduates of the same school, Foster Tech right here, about one hour from both places in Farmington.

They are pioneers in a burgeoning high school apprenticeship program that melds training and work that values learning wherever and whenever it happens.

- I love what I do, everything about it.

- [Derek] In this story, we will explore a promising 2025 version of practice that has trained skilled workers for centuries.

From Leonardo da Vinci to Ben Franklin, Apprenticeships.

Apprenticeships are a fast growing pathway to great careers, offered across Maine by Foster Tech and other Career in Technical Education Centers or CTEs.

Here's how they work.

Apprentices spend 2,000 hours training on the job and complete nearly 150 hours in the classroom.

They're paid and the training is free.

CTE Centers also offer less intense pre-apprenticeship programs that can lead to full apprenticeships.

- We are fortunate in the CTE World, of Career and Technical Education world, that we're kind of the golden era right now.

Everyone supports what we're doing because it's about career and workforce readiness.

- [Derek] Colton, our aspiring chef, completed his pre-apprenticeship through Foster Tech and then began his apprenticeship at Sugarloaf.

His past winter, Colton spent half of his time at Foster Tech taking academic and culinary courses and half his time is the line cook at Sugarloaf's Gourmet Restaurant 45 North, where he's the youngest employee by 10 years.

- Makes me feel very special being the first teenager and all of Sugarloaf to be a line cook.

- Colton is our first apprentice.

You have to have the right person and Colton turned out to be the right person.

- So Colton's 17 years old, he's a super professional, great attitude.

He fits right in.

It's almost like a free college in a way.

They get all the experience and we pay them while they're here.

There's a syllabus and a schedule, a set list of all the hours that Colton needs to get in each aspect of a culinary apprenticeship that equates to the same that you would get at any of the culinary schools around the state of Maine and New England.

Being as remote as we are, it's kind of hard to find local job talent and it's awesome to be able to provide these opportunities to kids within the state.

- It's just a perfect match of a student who knows what they want to do, being paired with an organization that's willing to not only teach them, employ them, but allow them to grow.

- Wait, let me be professional here.

- [Customer] There you go, please.

- [Derek] Understandably, Colton does still need help navigating his dual life as student and employee and that's where Foster Tech's apprenticeship coordinator comes in.

Jordan McMullen even has a small grant to support her teens when life and cars get in the way.

- Transportation is probably our biggest barrier where we're in rural Maine.

I've had to buy car parts for apprentices so they could get it fixed.

I've done gas cards.

I've paid for car insurance.

- [Derek] It's a challenge that's not unique to Franklin County.

In Maine, over two thirds of our students attend rural schools and while rural students tend to graduate at higher rates, fewer of them go to college or complete it.

In Franklin County, nearly 150 older teens aren't in school or employed.

But at Foster Tech, staff say Apprenticeships are helping to bridge the gap between school and work.

- It's been really helpful to show kids like, you have opportunities right in your community.

Like you don't have to be a world traveler to go get all these experiences.

You can experience that right in Franklin County.

- [Derek] And it's not just the apprentices who benefit, employers like Kenway Composites love the CTE trained apprentices they're getting.

Like Kaleb and his buddy Tyler, a fellow Foster Tech grad.

- Oh, you get people that want to be in the industry you're working in.

You get people with skill sets that's gonna come in with a basic knowledge of what you're doing.

It's a win-win.

- They're both, they're true assets.

I need four or five more of them.

Just like them.

- So here you're the master repairman.

- Usually, it's fixing other people's mess up so it feels good.

So these holes that they drilled recently were in the wrong spot.

I filled them in and covered it with new fiberglass.

- [Derek] Wow.

There's no sign.

- [Kaleb] Right.

Yeah, I try to make it flush with the part.

- That's amazing, man.

So what can I do?

- Here, grab this.

And just these air pockets, you can go side to side.

- Side to side.

- Yep.

- Kaleb's buddy Tyler tried to teach me how to laminate a washer hood that would one day clean pulp at a paper mill.

- [Tyler] Perfect.

- All right, so far, have we ruined it?

- No, no, you're doing good.

- It's not gonna break?

So this plus like 2,000 hours and I'd be an apprentice.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

- [Derek] Main's Apprenticeship program might be a boon to a population who've been struggling in recent years, rural boys.

Women now outpace men in earning college degrees by 15%.

But in these Apprenticeship programs, more than three quarters of participants are male.

So growing the program could lead to more academic success for students like Kaleb and Colton.

Next fall, Colton will be the first person in his family to attend college.

He plans to complete his apprenticeship requirements during college through part-time work and summer employment.

Can I trust a 17-year-old with my $30 entree?

Let's find out.

I ask Colton to teach me something on the 45 North menu.

What do you got for me, my man?

- Today we're making maple vinegarette.

- Maple vinegarette?

- It goes on our harvest salads and we marinate it with our chicken.

- Whoa.

- There's two cups.

- So someone's gonna eat this?

- Someone's gonna eat this.

- So I better not blow it, man.

- No, you know.

- Oh, man, it's high stakes.

- There you go.

- Yes, chef?

- No, a little more.

(both chuckling) - All right, all right.

- There you go.

- There we go.

Yes, chef?

- Yes, chef.

(chuckles) - All right, thank you.

- So we use avocado oil instead of olive oil because olive oil settles in the cold and it clumps up.

(machine whirring) (chuckles) Are you having fun?

- I'm having fun.

- You're having fun.

- This is for credit, right?

- Yeah.

- Six credits.

- Six credits of this.

- Wow.

It's looking good though.

- So, we're gonna dip in.

- Dip in, just a little bit.

Mm, delicious.

- Delicious.

- Delicious.

- So what I taste right off the bat though.

- Oh.

- Is a lot of apple vinegarette.

I'd say we should add a little bit more maple syrup to this.

- I am always for adding a little bit more maple syrup.

Maine's apprenticeships aren't just taking place in restaurants or manufacturing plants.

According to Maine's Director of Apprenticeships, there are close to 4,000 apprenticeships across Maine.

At sites from oyster farms to funeral homes.

A 30% increase in the last four years.

- Any occupation that takes at least a year of on the job learning combined with some classroom training to learn can be an apprenticeable occupation.

You know, I would add rural and low income state as being perfect grounds for the development of registered apprenticeship programs.

I hope that we more than double the size of the registered apprenticeship program in five years.

- [Derek] And she has disciples spreading the apprenticeship gospel.

- If I can bring young people into a good trade where they can build a life and have a family, and they can live their American dream, do I think that Maine High School should take on more apprenticeship programs?

Absolutely.

There's a lot of skilled trades out there who are in dire need of young people.

- The advice I'd have for other companies and organizations thinking about taking on apprentices would be, they should totally have already started the process.

- We're gonna see higher graduation rates, we're gonna see lowered dropout rates because kids are seeing the value of, "If I stay in school, I get all these opportunities and they will help me find the pathway to success."

- [Derek] When Maine students are given both the freedom to pursue their passions and the intentional mentorship to grow their talents, the results are delicious.

- [Colton] We did it.

(gentle music) - Do you remember the odd ritual each year during that first sunny 70 degree day?

It might start as a whine, "Can we have class outside?"

And build to a chant, "Class outside!

Class outside!"

Some teachers could quell the rebellion with a look.

Others with, "We just have too much to do today."

Once a year, your English teacher, if you had the cool one, Mike Cave, and you discuss the day's short story sitting on the campus lawn and it was as awesome as it was rare.

- [Melissa] Everybody do it right now.

Everybody get your hands dirty.

Come on, get your hands dirty.

Nice job.

- [Derek] But if you're a middle school science student at Limestone Community School in Northern Aroostook County, most days class will be outside.

There's just too much to do and learn.

There's gardens to create, and maples to tap and nature walks.

There's biking, and canoeing, and snowshoeing.

And nature just might become your second favorite teacher, after Miss Caroline and Miss Doucette.

In this "Learning from Maine" story, we'll see how these teachers and this school have revolutionized class outside.

Four years ago, Caroline Reed was a brand new middle school science teacher.

She was paired with a veteran teacher who was also new to Limestone.

- We both noticed right away that there was a severe issue with absenteeism and like overall student engagement.

The behaviors and apathy, I think, was, yeah, unsettling.

- [Derek] One of her fifth graders, CJ was typical.

- He would come to school and like have his head on the table when we were in the classroom.

When we started bringing them outside, a lot of the issues would just go away.

- [Derek] That success inspired Reed to want to do more.

Three years ago, she applied for and received a $250,000 federal grant allowing the school to invest in recreational equipment from canoes to mountain bikes.

They even built a small greenhouse.

The grant made Reed's dreams for outdoor learning possible and catalyzed new ones.

- Mason!

- [Derek] Now in 2025, Caroline and her fellow middle school math and science teacher, Melissa Doucette, have put the outdoors at the center of their science curriculum.

- We get outside at least three times a week, even in the winter.

- [Derek] Even in Aroostook County?

- You know, we look at least six to eight weeks of cold weather, dark days, lots of snow and wind.

The only way to survive it really is to embrace it.

And our kids, they get to embrace it.

- [Derek] Caroline knows that meaningful learning can happen inside a classroom and often needs to, but now, she has a new frame when planning lessons.

- How can there be an outdoor component to what standards we are working on.

They do sit down and we do, like, classic lectures, right?

But then we go and apply that in some way where they get to go outside, get fresh air, move their bodies, and have a firsthand experience and what they have learned in the classroom.

- [Derek] Sometimes it's obvious the outdoors should be center stage.

Like when Ms.

Doucette's sixth graders are studying the rock cycle and there's a gravel pit nearby.

- Chase found a pretty cool rock.

Okay, let's take a look at this rock.

What do we notice about the white line that goes through it?

- [Derek] Limestone scientists also head outside when you might not expect it, but what the learning can be lived and felt.

Ms.

Caroline's seventh graders applied their understanding of speed and velocity as their peers pedaled mountain bikes.

- Calculate your average speed for each five meter interval.

- [Derek] Sometimes classes outside because being in the fresh air can make kids more relaxed and focused.

- [Caroline] You guys are also gonna measure the pH of your samples today.

- [Derek] And other times, teachers and students just need to have fun together.

- [Student 2] Three, two, one.

Tsunami.

(water splashes) - [Derek] The main reasons these kids learn outside are the longer term projects that center on learning key science concepts and providing a real service.

I joined sixth grade scientists on the school nature trail to the bird sanctuary that created, complete with bird feeders, bird houses, and educational placards.

- And we'll have some little visitors.

- [Derek] I came back with one sixth grader named, Ezze, to learn more about chickadees and science class.

Why should we recognize the chickadee with the honor of being our state bird?

- It stays around doesn't like fly south.

So because- - So it's not one of those Fair weather birds who ditch the state.

It sticks in Maine.

- Yeah.

- Year round.

- Yeah.

- What do you think of science class?

- Science class?

It's actually my favorite class.

- It's your favorite class.

- Yes.

- Why is that?

- Because we get to go outside and our teacher Ms.

Doucette is the best.

- [Derek] She's like the chickadee of teachers.

- Yes.

(chuckles) - Yeah.

The eighth grade spent much of early 2025 learning the vast knowledge and skills necessary to make Maine maple syrup.

- This was all them.

They knew how to boil, how to monitor our density and sugar content.

They knew how to set up our evaporator.

- [Derek] Remember that kid who always used to have his head on the desk, CJ?

Well, check him out now.

Schooling me on the syrup process from tree identification, to tracking sugar content during evaporation.

- The three Bs are the bark, the branches, and the buds.

The bark should have a brownish, gray color and these deep ridges and valleys here.

And then buds, like the little tips of the branches should be like a reddish, brown color.

- [Derek] This was clearly not CJ's first syrup rodeo.

Earlier this spring, he taught the process to second and fourth graders.

- An easy way to check the sugar contents is with a hydrometer.

So you want it to have at least 67% sugar, or it is called 66 bricks, but it's just... - So do you know this much about everything in life or just maple syrup?

- Just maple syrup.

- So do you guys remember when you came out to see the eighth graders making maple syrup in the evaporator?

- [Students] Yes.

- [Derek] The maple syrup unit culminated with the eighth grade welcoming younger students to a pancake breakfast.

- We boiled 200 gallons of sap.

- [Derek] The eighth graders not only did all of the cooking and the serving, but they never stopped teaching.

As satiated as their customers were, the deepest joy and pride was felt by the big kids who did all the work.

(gentle music) Americans on average spend 90% of their lives inside, tweens are not only getting outside less, they're spending five to six hours of their non-school time every day on screens.

Outdoor learning can help reverse those trends among other benefits.

According to the Children and Nature Network, nature makes kids healthier, happier, and smarter.

Especially, as an LCS when guided by great teachers.

- That connection with the dirt, that connection with the Earth is rejuvenating.

It's refreshing, right?

It's what we're supposed to be doing.

- [Derek] LCS's biggest project this spring require the smarts, hearts, and hard work of all the students in grades five through eight, The Community Garden.

Ms.

Doucette's fifth graders use their geometry skills to figure out the garden's dimensions and location.

- LCS fifth grade is determining where our garden is going to be exactly.

Pretty cool, right?

- [Derek] The eighth graders were in charge of testing the soil and amending it as needed.

Sixth grader, Kaleb, gave me an overview of the plan.

- So what we did last year is we planted all the carrots, the green beans, the peas, the peppers and all that in these raised beds.

And I'm pretty sure we're gonna do that this year again.

Oh, last year we planted the potatoes right there, but I'm pretty sure we're gonna move it to over there, that big patch so we have more room to plant more.

- [Derek] Kaleb's family has been farming potatoes in Limestone for two generations.

His work in the LCS garden has helped us solidify his future plans.

- I'm gonna try to take over one day.

- [Derek] When it came time for planting, most every grade lended their hands.

Seventh grader, Serenity, is a true convert to gardening.

- I've been starting my own garden at home, so before I never even thought of that.

Never even wanted to approach that.

- [Derek] It's part of the seventh grade focus on plant genetics and pollinator gardens, Serenity has been independently researching and cultivating a flower called borage.

- They are known for tasting like cucumbers with honey.

Also, scientists have found some evidence that it might be able to cure some cancers.

- [Derek] Serenity hopes to see her borage and bloom over the summer.

She and some other classmates have volunteered to come in twice a week.

So you're coming to school in the summer?

- Yeah, I don't mind.

- [Derek] Caroline and Melissa started an outdoor club so their students could experience even more of the recreation and joy their region offers.

Serenity tried both skiing and horseback riding for the first time and now she's hooked.

- I want to be an equine vet.

The reason why I want to become a equine vet is because horses, they can be more of a challenge because they're extremely smart.

- [Derek] After listening to Serenity, Kaleb and their peers, I was struck that these outdoor experiences were not just deepening their learning but shaping these young people, refining who they wanted to become.

Schools across Maine are coming to the same conclusion.

During the pandemic, they had to go outside.

Now, they're choosing to.

In a recent census, more than half of our school leaders reported investing in outdoor learning spaces.

And why not?

Maine is uniquely well suited for outdoor learning.

At Limestone, eighth grade culminates with the class canoe trip down the Aroostook River.

This spring, middle schoolers use the school's pool to learn canoeing skills.

In the winters, Principal Ben Lathrop often takes his students on their first ice fishing trip or snowmobile ride.

(students clamoring) Principal Lathrop sees the school's innovations with outdoor learning and adventure as being crucial, not only for improving students' academics and attendance, but for Limestone, like many rural Maine towns, Limestone is shrinking by about a third just since 2010.

The K-8 population is now 150.

- We are teaching them to do things they will be able to do for the rest of their lives.

So if we expose them to the types of things are available to do, maybe they will consider staying.

- Let's be real, I said, "How many of you come to school every day because of science?"

And there was not one student that didn't raise their hand in both of my classes.

- [Derek] Outdoor learning can have a transformational impact on teachers too.

- I never thought that I was going to become a teacher.

I get to be creative and I get to be outside.

Honestly, I don't think I'm ever gonna leave here.

- [Derek] Keeping great teachers happy and growing, is one of a principal's most important tasks.

So is attracting them.

In 2019, Melissa Doucette was a longtime special ed teacher in Presque Isle when she tragically lost both her husband and infant son.

Devastated, she left the teaching profession and took over her former husband's business.

Two years ago, Principal Lathrop lured her back to teaching with the offer of a new start in a new field.

Middle school STEM with a growing emphasis on outdoor learning.

And now.

- There are many days that I wanted to put my head under a pillow and just grieve.

And I said, "You know what?

You're going to garden all day.

Get up and go play in the dirt."

So I've found my happy place.

- [Derek] So have the students of Limestone.

(Melissa laughs) (students clamoring) - [Melissa] Oh, that's real safe.

Okay.

- Okay, Maine.

So what have we learned from our public schools?

First, innovation that gets results is happening all over the state.

There's so much more we can learn from each other.

Secondly, Maine is a gorgeous state for education.

So much meaningful learning can take place outside of the classroom here, both in our communities and in nature.

And when schoolwork connects to real issues and the stakes and expectations are high, our students and our teachers respond.

They give their best.

Next, relationships matter.

When our kids feel known by their teachers, when they feel comfortable to be their full, flawed, but fabulous selves in school, they're more willing to take risks, to do the hard, necessary work that sparks the most growth.

And lastly, our kids, like all kids, even those from New Hampshire, are capable of greatness.

Greatness as scholars, greatness as employees, and greatness as people.

So let's keep learning from Maine.

- Yeah.

(gentle music) - [Serenity] (chuckles) Yeah.

(bright music)