- [Derek] Coming up on "Learning from Maine".

Could the key to high school success be getting students to leave to explore a career?

- I wanted a way to advance a career, learn what I wanted to do with myself and in my future.

- I never thought I'd step foot back in a school ever in my life and here I am and it's really changed my mind on a lot of things.

- That's coming up on "Learning from Maine".

(bright music) When Brian started high school, he was like many teenagers, especially post pandemic.

Going through the motions, adrift.

What were you thinking in ninth grade you were gonna do with your life?

- I didn't have a single clue.

- What'd you think you were gonna go do in 10th grade with your life?

- Still had no idea.

- [Derek] Kevin Napolillo met Brian as a sophomore while subbing.

It did not go well.

Brian only excelled at goofing off.

After class, Mr.

Nap pulled him aside.

- First impressions matter.

You did not make a great one with me, but I can tell you're gonna wanna be my friend when you're a senior.

- [Derek] That's because Mr.

Nap's new job at Brewer High School was to help kids like Brian find their way and to find meaning in their education.

And when Kevin and Brian reconnected at the end of Brian's junior year, Kevin discovered Brian's deep seated fascination with firefighters.

He reached out to the local deputy chief who was understandably concerned about bringing a teenager into his high stakes world.

Plus.

- And firefighters are a hard, you really have to earn your way into the circle if you will.

- [Derek] Brewer's fire department eventually agreed to host Brian in an internship every other morning during the school year and to watch him closely.

Six months later and Brian could not be clearer or more excited for his future.

- I'm going to Eastern Maine Community College for fire science for two years and then I'm gonna get my fire one or two certifications, get my EMS license, then hopefully apply to a local department around here.

(bright music) - Welcome to "Learning from Maine", a new series about what's happening and what's possible in Maine Public Schools.

I'm your host Derek Pierce.

Today we'll learn how Brewer High School is getting more kids to both engage in high school and finish it by getting them to leave and follow their dreams.

If you're of a certain vintage, when you hear the term ELO, you likely think of Mr.

Blue Sky or Don't Bring Me Down.

♪ Don't bring me down - But if you're a teenager in Brewer or one of 60 plus other Maine high schools, ELO means extended learning opportunities.

And that means you might have the opportunity to experience your own blue sky future during high school for credit.

ELOs are open to any Brewer student with a yearning to explore a career and they attract the full continuum of students.

Both those who've been very successful in Brewer's classrooms and those who have not.

About 70 students are currently enrolled in an ELO.

Mr.

Nap estimates that without these experiences, 15 of those students would not be graduating on time or maybe at all.

Brewer's ELO students are at their work sites a minimum of four hours a week.

- I'm never a school guy.

I'm a smart guy, but I ain't a school guy.

- Jackson's been spending his senior year almost fully off campus, taking an online class and working full-time building bridges for Wyman & Simpson.

Jackson joined the crew rebuilding a bridge in Hampden.

The small crew already had three Brewer alums, all who got their start through ELOs and became permanent employees after graduation.

Mr.

Nap says about three-quarters of Brewer ELO students are paid during their ELOs, often with the help of state money.

The Maine Department of Ed reports that since the launch in 2022 of the Maine Career Exploration program, over 10,000 young people have had their initial work-based learning experiences subsidized.

One of those was Aly.

In spring of 2023 during her senior year, Aly found out she wouldn't be able to graduate with her class.

So she flipped her high school the double bird and stormed out.

- I was not a fan of school at all.

I felt like it was the reason that I was so like depressed and just in a bad state.

I just, I blamed it all on school.

I had a boyfriend that passed away and I was not attending school.

I was kind of putting it aside and I wasn't doing what I was supposed to do.

- [Derek] That summer, a new paid ELO lured the dropout to drop back in, Maine Construction Academy.

Mr.

Nap was thrilled to see Aly but worried she wouldn't stay.

She was the only female.

So Mr.

Nap coaxed Aly to persevere with the possibility of a diploma and a potential future career, welding.

He knew just what buttons to push.

- He knew how I worked and, you know, he'd say, you know what?

You're not gonna get this done.

You're not gonna complete this school.

And then that's what drove me to, you know, I'm gonna prove you wrong.

And he knew what exactly what he was doing.

- [Derek] Kevin doesn't just work with kids who are at risk.

Silas was his class salutatorian and on the track to attend a top college when he used an ELO to pursue a different dream, his dream.

To become an insurance specialist.

- It gave me a way to find out who I was and be somebody that I wanted to be.

- [Derek] Silas's ELO started as an afterschool internship his senior year.

By the spring he was spending a chunk of every day in an insurance office.

- I wanted a way to advance a career, learn what I wanted to do with myself and my future, while also doing the standard path of high school and being with my friends.

- [Derek] So two years later, while most of Silas's high school buddies are college sophomores trying to figure out their major, Silas is doing his life's work and crushing it.

He's already licensed to sell auto, home, and life insurance and he's working on becoming a certified financial planner.

How many insurance specialists are 20 on planet Earth?

- Probably not many.

- [Derek] Are you it?

- I, probably, yeah.

- [Derek] In fact, the average age for someone with Silas's job is 44.

Last fall, Silas returned to Brewer High School for a presentation as the faculty's Horace Mann insurance rep.

Looking back, Silas is sure he's made the right choice.

- I knew I liked finances, I liked protecting people and I wanted to do something really that mattered to other people and it could matter to myself.

- [Derek] About four years ago after the pandemic, Brewer's leadership concluded that they weren't doing enough to reach students like Aly or even Silas.

Chronic absences were up, engagement was down.

The district wanted to reinvent school and make it more customizable and meaningful.

- Change occurs frequently in the shadow of cataclysm.

The world has an opportunity to say, we're doing what we should be doing.

- [Derek] Superintendent Palmer and his team made a momentous shift.

- I think we've hit a point in history where we really needed to hear from students about what they felt they needed.

One question was guiding where we were headed with it.

And that question was, what if the student is right?

- [Derek] In practice, this meant not dismissing the student's seemingly farfetched or even shortsighted idea.

But instead, trying to individualize their educational plan to make it happen.

- You know, if they said, you know, I wanna be a tattoo artist, we were like, okay, so what can we do to help you prepare for that?

- [Derek] The idea of learning through work, like an internship or job, has been a crucial part of education for centuries.

But here in Maine, the term ELO describes a wider and more intentional effort to get more students learning outside of the classroom connected to a career.

At Brewer, ELOs have become the centerpiece of their new approach.

Now Brewer students can team with staff to design internships, state registered apprenticeships, online learning, and independent studies.

In order to transform high school into a place that follows the student's lead, Superintendent Palmer said he needed some troublemakers.

Good troublemakers.

Enter troublemaker number one, Kevin Napolillo, Mr.

Nap.

- Fundamentally, I don't believe there's any bad kids.

I believe that there's kids whose needs aren't being met and they're acting out because of that.

We can't always meet those needs and fix those behaviors, but at least we can listen and maybe we can make some small changes that make the kid invested more.

- [Derek] Mr.

Nap took seven years to complete college and had seven different majors.

He's a man who served in the Air Force and had dreams of becoming a police officer or maybe a doctor.

- Personally, my career path has been a train wreck.

- [Derek] Now after 20 years at Brewer High, Mr.

Nap has finally found his calling, helping students find theirs, like Aly.

- Kevin is always known as the guy that, you know, that fights for everybody 'cause he believes in everybody.

He believes, you know, he knows we can all do it.

- I love the job, I love the kids.

I very rarely ask what they wanna do with the rest of their life.

I ask for a five-year plan, show me where you wanna be and I'll develop a plan to get there.

- [Derek] Mr.

Nap partners with other troublemakers on the Brewer staff so students can find more meaning in high school by exploring their future path.

Lori Marseille is the Jobs for Maine Graduates, or JMG, specialist.

At most schools, someone in her position works with a small cohort of at-risk students.

At Brewer, Lori teaches a class called Career Exploration to all sophomores.

- Why are they important?

Why are these values important in choosing a future career?

- [Derek] Delaney's research project in Ms.

Marseille's Career Exploration class while a sophomore, led her to discover an interest in physical therapy.

- We would pick a career, research it, like how much they get paid, what they do on the day to day.

And so that really helped me of what, choosing what I want to do.

- [Derek] Now as a senior, Delaney is interning during the fall semester with a local physical therapist and in the spring with an occupational therapist.

Her ELOs are helping her to decide which program to enroll in when she goes to Husson University next fall.

- I don't wanna waste money at college 'cause college is very expensive.

So seeing if I would rather do that before instead of after is saving me a lot of money.

My experience in this has made me a lot more interested in physical therapy.

At the beginning I wasn't really sure if like I wanted to do this.

So like coming here and seeing like what they go through, like it's made me a lot more intrigued.

- And as a guy in the prime demographic for PT, I can confirm Delaney is a natural.

(bright music) Is this the fastest you've ever seen anybody go on a bike?

(Delaney laughing) And why am I inching up with my fingers like that?

- So you don't tear anything and you don't go too fast.

- Just going gradually.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

That makes sense.

That feels good.

- This is the greatest thing I've ever done in education and I've been blessed to do a lot of really cool things.

- [Derek] Mark Savage is another teacher making good trouble at Brewer.

Mark's been a pioneer in Maine outdoor education for 36 years, and four years ago he started a summer ELO where he leads 20 kids deep into the Maine woods to learn about forestry and their own potential.

- So many of our students struggle sitting in the classroom.

- [Derek] But in Mr.

Savage's ELO, kids assist loggers as part of 16 hour days, four days a week working the big equipment, collaborating with their peers and reflecting on who they are and who they want to be.

- It's about the kids experiencing getting in the seat of that equipment.

We need to be out trying to explain to kids how we take care of our forest.

And if we take care of it, it takes care of us.

- [Derek] Some alums of the summer forestry ELO now hold jobs in the forestry industry.

And according to Mark, every student comes back changed, a better human.

- The transformation in six weeks, the intensity of it when they come back.

I mean, I can't begin to tell you the difference in the kids.

- I see students that are participating in ELOs really having that extra confidence that maybe their peers don't have.

They've gone out and they have sort of forged their own path.

And we've had students that have gone out and have found massive success and loved their fields.

And we've had students that have come back and gone, you know, now I know that wasn't for me, which is so valuable.

- [Derek] This year, 10 Brewer students are exploring careers through rotations at St.

Joseph's Hospital.

Another cadre are paid to tutor younger students at Brewer's K-8 school.

- We helped one kid with a late science project so that he could get his grade up to passing and they respond a lot better to kids helping than they do teachers helping.

- [Derek] Brewer's efforts to follow their kids' lead are paying clear dividends.

With ELOs, independent studies, and online courses.

With a required course in career exploration and financial literacy.

With a commitment to make the future more present, to give kids what they want.

More kids are staying in school and seeing its value.

- It makes education important and I think it makes not just that ELO important, but it makes the rest of the classes that they're taking important.

It gives education a good name in a lot of students' lives.

- [Derek] For a generation, Brewer's graduation rate has hovered reliably around the state average.

Last year they noted a seismic shift.

- We went from around 87% graduation rate to just under 95%.

- [Derek] As a former high school principal, I can confirm that is impressive.

- So that's an anomaly that can't occur without explanation for us because we are so consistent for so long and you have to look at what changed.

- The ELO program here at Brewer is incredibly impactful.

Kevin and others here, they take intelligent calculated risk that show the students that they value them.

- Lana Sawyer's witnessing similar success around the state as ELOs move from pilot programs to established structures.

The state's interest in ELO stems from a desire to both boost student engagement and bolster workforce development.

Since 2022, to launch and spread this work, the Maine Department of Ed has awarded nearly $8 million in grants to 38 schools, including Brewer High School.

Resulting in over 6,000 student ELOs and 3,000 credits earned.

With federal dollars for education scarce and increasing demands on state educational dollars, what will become of ELOs?

Will they be remembered as an educational fad or could they, should they, become an integral part of a Maine high school education?

- I think everyone should get the opportunity to do an ELO.

- And I believe they deserve to do that while they're still kids, while they're still in school, and while they have that support of a caring adult.

- [Derek] And those caring adults are benefiting too by auditioning potential long-term hires.

Take Wyman & Simpson, a local contractor.

On this major bridge renovation project, more than a quarter of the crew are Brewer students or alums.

- They all have good attitudes.

- [Derek] They work pretty hard?

- Yep.

It's a good income and there's plenty of bridges to fix around the state.

- [Derek] Would you trust these guys with any bridge you'd drive over?

- As long as they had supervision, yeah.

(Shawn laughing) Yep.

- [Derek] Back at the fire station, the fire crew is surprised and pleased by their first student intern, Brian.

- If firefighters like you, then you're doing something right.

So he earned his way in based on his personality, based on his motivation, based on the fact that he was trustworthy.

- [Derek] And that's despite his mustache.

- Real mustache.

- [Derek] Work in progress, finished product?

- Still not finished.

- Okay, what do we, how thick are we aiming for eventually?

- Hopefully you can't see my upper lip.

(Derek laughing) You'll have to meet me in a couple years.

- [Derek] I can see why the firemen were so fond of Brian, especially after he took me outside to teach me a crucial part of his training, how to dress a hydrant.

And what would be going on right now that you would need to dress a hydrant?

- Let's say there's a fire right behind me right now, I need to get water there.

- Oh Jesus, there's a fire behind me.

Brian, faster, man.

(Brian chuckling) - [Brian] You gotta make sure you get it right on the threads.

If not, it won't go on.

- [Derek] Yep.

- [Brian] Keep that pretty tight.

- [Derek] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

What happens when we open the valve?

- [Brian] Water comes out.

- Oh boy.

(hammer banging) Whoa, good.

(water rushing) - And that's about all there is to it.

- [Derek] I wasn't the only one impressed by Brian's skills.

How'd he do?

You need to be 18 to become a Brewer firefighter.

Brian's 17.

- If Brian was older, I got an email from chief saying if he was 18, I'd be looking to hire him right now.

- [Derek] Looking forward, Brewer hopes every student has the opportunity to try an ELO and that ELOs become more integrated into traditional courses.

- I think ELOs are not as effective if they exist in isolation from schools.

And I think schools are not as effective if they exist in isolation from ELOs.

- So we can make ELOs a permanent part of the landscape of education in Maine by taking a school-wide, community-wide collaborative approach.

- [Derek] Business leaders agree.

In Gorham, Shawn Moody and the Local Business Roundtable partnered with school leaders to launch a career exploration effort similar to Brewer's.

He's excited by how ELOs can deeply engage a student's head, hands, and heart.

- You know, 'cause your heart is your drive, it's your passion.

Whether you're a surgeon or if you're working on vehicles like we do, the gratification and the inner confidence that comes when you put those three things together.

That's like the kryptonite to AI, because AI will never replicate those God-given talents and skills.

As you develop 'em, you're gonna take off.

- [Derek] And ELOs are also changing teenagers' relationships to their hometowns and to Maine.

Listen to workplace learning pioneer Rick Wilson speaking at a recent ELO celebration in Augusta.

- I've seen quiet students become leaders through their ELO work.

And I've seen partnerships between schools and local organizations transform not just students but communities as well.

When we work together, we create a generation of young people who understand that their hometown is not something they grow out of, but something they can grow into.

- [Derek] Still there's no doubt that it can be scary to let students pursue their dreams beyond the classroom, to represent the school beyond the school walls.

To experience emergency sites and construction zones and even insurance pitches.

- At some point you get to take a deep breath and say, let's be willing to do this a little differently.

- We are to the point now where people are starting to contact us.

Look, you gotta be fearless from the top down.

It's scary, it's not normal.

A huge opportunity to fail.

So what, do it anyway.

Be fearless.

- [Derek] Mr.

Nap models the courage his ELO students will need every time he approaches a new business.

His pitch is direct.

- Who are you, what do you do, and what can we do together?

And ironically, I've never been kicked out of anywhere with that.

(Mr.

Nap laughing) - [Derek] Thanks to thorough vetting and preparation, in four years, all but one brewer ELO has been successful.

- When you see the growth in a short period of time and it just goes from talking with them, they go from talking like high school students to talking like adults.

This job fills my bucket all the time.

The end goal is magnificent.

- [Derek] Even when an ELO doesn't result in a career, the resulting real-world confidence and success is transferable.

Aly hasn't found a welding job yet, but this fall she found another work site where her skills are in high demand.

Even if it's the last place she imagined.

- I never thought I'd step foot back in a school ever in my life.

And here I am, and it's really changed my mind on a lot of things.

- ELOs have transformed how Aly perceives school.

Aly's now a beloved ed tech at Brewer Community School, often working intensely with special needs students.

And do you wanna have a classroom of your own someday?

- I would love to.

I would love to be a teacher.

And so these kids, you fall right in love with them.

They're amazing.

- [Derek] Amazing indeed.

And hearing Aly talk about her students, it's clear that not only is Aly another one of Mr.

Nap's successes, she might also be a successor.

- I love, you know, helping them shape their mind at such a young age and helping them get on the right path and succeed.

And it's so rewarding.

It's such a rewarding job.

- As Superintendent Palmer asks, what if the student is right?

Hey, Maine, summer is almost here.

And so what did we learn this year from our visits to Skowhegan and MDI and Brewer?

Well, one thing that struck me is the potential for unexpected greatness when a school and its community are indivisible.

Think about it.

With Skowhegan and MDI, the community's most intractable, urgent problems are being addressed through open partnerships between community leaders, local experts, and schools.

And in Brewer, the students' most crucial learning is now embedded in their town's human and natural resources.

When student learning is integrated into the surrounding community and its particular challenges and opportunities, it not only gives the students' studies meaning and value, but it gives the community meaning and value.

It cultivates a pride in place and neighbors.

A recognition of local beauty and genius that stokes further ambitions.

Maybe my Maine town's best days are not in the past, but in the near future.

Future I wanna be a part of.

Future I believe I can help create.

Savor summer.

But no, "Learning from Maine" will also be back to school in the fall to share four new stories.

We'll visit a high school where it's cool to be kind and a middle school where every kid is a change maker.

We'll wallow in the magic of early literacy and decode the mystery of how a Maine school on the verge of closing has become the state's highest achieving.

Do you know of Maine students and teachers doing work we all need to know about?

You can submit ideas for next season's stories, watch all our episodes, and link to our social media at mainelovespublicschools.org.

(bright music) Thanks for watching and let's keep "Learning from Maine".

(bright music)