- Coming up on Learning from Maine, we'll visit a K-8 school that some experts think is the best in the country.

And we have an interview with Maine's new teacher of the year.

But first... One of helping bring back a small Maine town began in a seventh grade classroom.

In Pittsfield, middle schoolers are solving real community problems and solving the problem of middle school.

In the American educational system, middle school is perennially the last pick, the forgotten, neglected middle child.

In between, in process.

And for too many, school is socially painful and academically empty.

Kids and their parents often want to just get through middle school, get past it.

But what if middle school was the highlight?

The first pick?

What if every year you got to do work that was challenging, meaningful, real, and unforgettable, that bettered your community, that bettered you?

Is that even possible in here, in Pittsfield, Maine?

Well, at Warsaw Middle School, that's the goal.

It's called solutionary learning.

And each year, each grade level designs their own project that gets kids investigating a local issue and taking action.

In this episode of Learning from Maine, we'll see how it's revitalized both student engagement and Warsaw Middle.

And it's starting to do the same for Pittsfield.

In 2026, Warsaw's seventh graders focused their solutionary learning project on a former Pittsfield landmark, the Bijou Theater.

It was founded in 1915, and in 1955 was the site of a speech by President Eisenhower.

Sherry Littlefield grew up in town and attended Warsaw.

- I went to the Bijou Theater every Friday night.

I still have my first ticket from the Bijou Theater from my first date with my now husband.

- Growing up in this community, going to the movie theater was kind of like a, it was a staple.

- Warsaw's seventh grade English teacher, Jacob Marque had his students learn more about the Bijou by interviewing a long-term local.

Charlie talked to her grandfather.

- Told me about at the time he went and saw Jaws in the theater and he got so scared he popped a bowl out of the chair on the floor.

- The Bijou is our main street.

It is where people come together to enjoy and to have the arts and entertainment.

- The town took over the theater's ownership in the 1970s, but over time it became a financial liability.

Then in 2020... - COVID shut it down and they chose not to reopen.

- This decade has been tough on Pittsfield, as is true for a lot of rural towns.

The town's outdated school facilities have far outlasted their intended lifespans and been ranked among the state's most rundown, but too costly to renovate.

The pandemic only made things worse.

- There was a lack of student engagement, mostly at the middle school that we needed to address.

- Kids really became more introspective.

They weren't as collaborative.

We struggled with them even wanting to come to school.

- Schools across Maine were facing similar challenges.

In 2023, the state aimed to make learning more exciting and relevant for students by offering free training for teachers in a project-centered model called solutionary learning.

The approach was pioneered by the Institute for Humane Education, which is based in Maine, but now trains teachers and works with schools around the globe.

- I think solutionary learning really plays into their needs, especially coming out of the pandemic.

Solutionary learning has really made them have to work together.

They have to think outside of themselves to solve local problems.

- Three years later, Warsaw Middle School is the only school in New England where every student every year and at every grade level engages in a solutionary learning project.

This year, Warsaw seventh graders chose a big goal, trying to bring the Bijou Theater back to life.

- Because we're all separated.

We don't have much to do in this town, especially because it's really small.

- This is a problem that we as the kids in the town want fixed.

- Our whole grade hopes that we get to see movies again and we get to come together as a community.

- The Bijou Theater is integrated into nearly every seventh grade class.

In social studies, students explored key events in the history of Pittsfield and the Bijou.

And in science, students toured the theater, met with the town code enforcement officer and designed plans for Bijou renovations that would be ADA compliant.

- Now we're not focused just on what the theater is or was.

Now we need to say, "Hey, what's going to happen next to actually make it functional?"

- No, wait, that's not all.

Students have also joined forces with the Bijou Theater and Enrichment Center, or BTEC, a local nonprofit that took over the theater after it was shuttered for five years and that's aiming to bring it back.

- This is the Bijou Theater.

This is our goal, a million dollars.

They have raised $100,000 and Warsaw has reached 1700.

- They orchestrated a benefit concert.

School's award-winning jazz band shared the bill with some pros.

- Project-based learning at the middle level is how we get our kids to be involved.

- We're not just teaching the kids how to read and write, we're also teaching them how to be good humans.

How can they have an impact and do something about the problems that they see?

And then how does the learning that they do here in school apply to that?

- The solutionary learning framework involves four phases.

First, students identify an issue and problem they care about.

Then they investigate the issue and research what others have done.

Next, they innovate, considering high impact feasible solutions.

Finally, they implement their plans and share their learning through public presentations.

Warsaw students follow a familiar daily schedule.

They attend separate English, math, science, and social studies classes.

Starting in January, they work on their projects within those classes and use those projects to meet their learning and academic goals.

As the April culmination approaches, students dedicate increasing class time to their solutionary projects.

And every Wednesday, it's what's called a walls down day, where every kid school-wide is engaged in their solutionary work.

This year, the Warsaw fifth grade focused their project on understanding and strengthening Pittsfield.

The sixth grade solutionary project centered on plastics, both its value and durable goods like student shares and its environmental costs.

- The most important science skills that they've been developing during this project is making observations and collecting data.

- This is Emma Alley's first year with Solutionary Learning and teaching.

- I definitely was leaning heavily on the veteran teachers in my team to figure out how to get this going.

- Students learn essential sixth grade science throughout the project, but their questions are also shaping and reshaping its direction.

- So it's been a lot of fun to get to personalize the lessons to the topic and to what the students are interested in.

- Student choice and empowerment are crucial in solutionary learning.

William was most curious about how microplastics can impact our health.

- Microplastics actually make breast cancer, cholesterol cancer, and lung cancer worse.

Microplastics are getting into our local soil, water, the food we eat, and the air we breathe.

- Warsaw's eighth graders had different worries.

In the fall, when their science teacher, Kelsey Pomelow-Book, polled the eighth grade about what they were most concerned about.

- The most unanimously agreed on statement was, "I am nervous for high school."

- And so the eighth grade centered their solutionary project on the high school transition, the perils and the possibilities.

Eighth graders poured over the latest social science research and met with current ninth graders at Maine Central Institute or MCI, the district's designated high school.

Kellan's group chose to focus on peer pressure and learned that peer pressure's power is greatest at age 14, their age.

- Because popularity isn't everything.

If you have a group of friends that you're fine with, that you have friends with, then that doesn't matter if you're popular or not.

- As a eighth grader, I would rather not go to school.

- School isn't popular with Kellans classmate, Landon.

His team is focusing on the high rate of failure in ninth grade.

- That was the one that spoke to us the most, and that was the one that we fear could have happened to us when we entered high school.

Freshmen that do not pass their freshman year are more likely to fail than graduate high school.

It's kind of spoke to me on a personal level because when my eighth grade year first started, I was overwhelmed with the amount of work and working on this has helped me build a plan for the future so when I get into freshman year, that doesn't happen again.

- I mean, I've heard students say that they don't want to miss school because they want to come here and work on their project because it's so important to them.

We're not ever asking the question of, "Well, what are we going to do with this in real life?"

Because it's so clear that this is real life.

- At each grade level, student teams are ultimately challenged to share and defend their research and solutions in a public presentation.

In Pittsfield, that means the entire community is invited to see the entire school present its findings at the annual Solutionary Learning Night.

- We do solutionary learning all at the same time at Warsaw because whenever we do something, we go big.

- Everyone feels like they're a part of the same mission.

- It's a bunch of people I don't know, but - - Like me.

- Yeah.

- You're talking to me on a microphone right now and there's a camera right there.

- Yeah.

- And you're doing it.

- I'm excited to teach people what we're learning.

- Like collaboration and problem solving, public speaking is another life skill embedded in solutionary learning.

70% of jobs require presentation skills.

At Warsaw, students are given plenty of practice before the big night.

Each grade level rehearses with the grade level below.

- It is hard to present to people that you don't know.

Whenever I'm presenting, I'm thinking about how I'm helping people.

- Fifth grader Rowen has similar anxieties, but even greater ambitions.

- I'm feeling nervous.

Yeah.

Same.

- What's to be nervous about?

- My parents.

- So why does the world need to listen to fifth graders?

- I think because a lot of people think that we're less than because apparently we're smaller and we don't - - Apparently you're smaller or are you smaller?

- We're kind of smaller.

Yeah, but they think that we are not grown up enough to do this, so we're going to prove them wrong.

- Solutionary learning night catalyzes a student fervor and drive to succeed that's usually reserved for non-academic events like the big game or the school musical.

- I - Am so excited to be here.

- You guys know the material.

You know it.

Rebel's on three.

Ready?

One, two.

- Soon enough, the place is packed and students are presenting and fielding questions nonstop.

- The more people that don't say us to peer pressure, the less people are going to try to peer pressure someone else.

- One of the audience members for Kellan's presentation was his future Dean of Students at Maine Central Institute.

- Just love the fact that they're thinking about the next step in their education and how it might look and just ways to handle it better.

- After presenting, William and his team got animated about a solution some classmates were proposing to reduce single use plastics in the Warsaw cafeteria with sporfs.

- Instead of three different pieces of silverware, you can use one.

The sports, it's a great idea, but I think that they should try to make it metal, or not like metal, but like bamboo.

- The seventh graders packed the gym with all they had to share about the past, present, and hopefully future of the Bijou Theater.

Presenters focus on different aspects of their Bijou work, from the history of movie theaters to plans for the next fundraiser, a school talent show.

Fellow seventh grader, Maya, got to present her class's marketing materials to Anne Matthews, chairperson for the Bijou Theater and Enrichment Center, BTEC.

- It would be great to have it right in your own hometown, right?

- It would.

I never really knew the movie theater, and now I'm learning of what it could be and what I'm hoping it will be.

- I've talked to so many of the kids out there and they are so excited to be part of this, and we have been trying for a very long time to think of a way to get the children involved, and they're solving a problem within their own community.

It's just fantastic.

- Middle school students are pretty awesome.

If you set your mind to something and you have a passion about it, you can impact change no matter how old you are.

- What the world needs to learn from middle schoolers is to stay curious.

- Here's Landon, the eighth grader who didn't know if he could even make it to ninth grade.

- Solutionary learning has helped me develop the mindset to enter high school with growth mindset and to just keep pushing forward, try my hardest, and do all the important stuff to help me have a successful future.

- These projects really connect them to the right now.

Why is learning important right now?

Because you're working on something that is happening right here and is affecting your neighbors or is affecting your peers in your school.

- And now they have a sense of, "I'm part of this community.

I can help the community grow."

It's important for Pittsfield to do this and bounce back.

- And for Warsaw seventh grade, Solutionary Learning Night was far from the end of their advocacy for their now beloved Bijou.

Two months later, they drew the community back to school for another fundraiser, an art auction and talent show.

They even premiered a movie they created about the Bijou.

- The Bijou Theater, nestled in the center of downtown Pittsfield, has been creating memories for local residents for over 105 years.

- Now, if this were a Hollywood ending, the $5,000 at the seventh grade raised that night would be just enough for the Bijou to reopen this fall, and we'd cut to students voguing on the red carpet.

But this ending's actually better because these seventh graders learned something true and important, that even the terrific work of 70 students and teachers over several months was not enough to reopen the Bijou yet.

- I really want to stay involved and I do plan, like if it gets open, I want to volunteer and maybe work there.

- These students learn that if you want to make big lasting change, you need to work hard and be committed for the long term.

You need to collaborate and convince others to join the cause.

You need to identify obstacles and surmount them relentlessly.

- There's a long road ahead, but the future is great.

We believe the legacy of the Bijou Theater has many chapters yet to be written.

- And finally, one fine day.

- I'm proud of my staff.

I'm proud of the students and the community for coming out.

- Case in point, since 2010, SAD53 has been pursuing state funding for a new school building, persevering like a Warsaw middle schooler.

Then this September, district voters not only approved plans for a new state-funded pre-K to eight school, but they voted for locally funded additions, including an early childhood center.

The solutionary mindset is contagious.

And so with Charlie, Anna, and the rest of Warsaw joining forces with BTEC, my bet is that before the new school even opens, date nights may be back at the Bijou, and that's especially great news for Superintendent Littlefield, who retired last summer.

- When you make learning real, you've got students.

- What I would really love is to... For solutionary learning to be the mindset from the moment school opens in the fall until the moment school closes in the spring.

- Middle school students are our future, and if they're starting now learning, you know, these strong communication skills and learning to problem solve and find real solutions, those are the students we want for our future.

- Still to come on learning from Maine.

- The teachers of Maine are here for you, just as they were for me.

We see you, you belong here, all of you.

Amazing 2027 Teacher of the Year.

- You'll get to hear from Gretchen Livingston, a Spanish teacher at Cony High School in Augusta and Maine's new teacher of the year.

But next... If I asked you which town in Maine won a 2026 award for having the best elementary and middle school in the country, what would you guess?

You're wrong.

You're still wrong.

It's not in Southern Maine and it's not on the coast.

I'll give you one more hint.

It begins with a V. No, again, it's Veazie.

And they're one astounding pre-K to eight school, the small school with a big heart, Veazie Community School.

So what the heck are they doing up in Veazie?

Let's find If you haven't heard of Veazie, you're not alone.

It's tiny, just 1900 residents in about three square miles.

Its demographics match most of Maine.

About 40% of families are considered economically disadvantaged, and yet... - Our test scores exceed, you know, state expectations quite significantly.

- Veazie families send their kid to disparate neighboring towns for high school, and yet... - 99% of our students over the last four years have graduated from high school.

- Education Insider named Veazie as the nation's top elementary and middle school.

The first time one school earned both honors.

Last spring, a first grade teacher in her first year as middle school robotics coach led the team to the world championships.

Veazie is a place where at the school concert, the kindergartners scat.

And yet, equally astounding, just over 10 years ago, Veazie nearly shut its school down.

- It was on the chopping blocks, really.

It was stressful.

- Enrollment had dipped to 130.

The town had just divorced from a nearby district.

The recent removal of the Veazie Dam with its hydroelectric plant put more burden on local taxpayers.

- There was a small group of vocal people who had serious questions and good questions, questions that a public school needs to be able to answer.

- Questions like, "Is this tiny school doing enough?"

- It was like the perfect storm.

Every tax dollar really, really mattered, and we needed to determine is the school important?

- Deborah Jean Shibel still remembers what previous principal Matt Seer told her when she was hired in 2016.

- I can't tell you how long we will be a school because they're talking about closing the school.

And he says, "That's what I want us to do, is to keep the school open."

- Veazie residents had always had a choice about where to send their kids for high school, but maybe they should send their younger kids to the larger neighboring towns as well, where they'd have more access to different classes and more co-curriculars and kids.

There were rumors that Veazie kids weren't prepared when they went to the bigger ponds of Orono and Bangor.

Maybe Veazie just couldn't afford its own school anymore.

Maybe the kids would be better served elsewhere.

As the questions persisted, Matt Syr and his staff realized something.

Many of the school's biggest skeptics may not have had an opportunity to see what's really going on inside the school for years.

They didn't witness the Veazie community school that the staff and students lived every day, where most every single child was welcomed off the bus and went home smiling.

Matt and his team realized they had to break down barriers and help more residents to see what a Veazie education was actually like.

The first step was better communication.

So in collaboration with the town manager, Matt created a community newspaper packed with news of the school.

They revamped their website and invested in social media.

- And we were correcting misunderstandings and stories that were not truthful about how well our students perform when they leave Veazie Community School.

We worked with realtors.

We created a branding mechanism.

We worked with the kids in the school to establish a new logo, a new motto.

- And the motto that students ultimately voted for may have been the game changer, the move that helped the school regain its footing, clarify its purpose, its identity, and unify the community.

- The motto, which was a student had chosen small school, big heart, it's the truth.

And because of that, the school continues to blossom and grow.

- Small town, big heart.

That's what this community and school has is a huge heart.

- Perhaps no Veazie family better embodies the town motto or the fight to preserve this small school than the Hathaways.

- I've never moved out of the community.

I've lived in eight different homes within the town of Veazie, and my grandparents lived here, my parents, my wife and I live here, my son, his wife, and my three grandchildren.

- Rod Hathaway's dad served on the Veazie School Board for 26 years.

Rod served for 32.

He was the school board chair who helped steer the school through its existential crisis.

And what is the importance of this school to Veazie?

- This is Veazie, in my opinion.

It always has been Veazie.

- Rod is especially proud to report that his grandson, Warren, is an eighth grader at Veazie.

Warren was born 11 weeks premature, and Warren's twin brother, Alex, died four days after his birth.

Each December, in honor of Alex, the Hathaway family sponsors a holiday light show that's raised tens of thousands of dollars for neonatal intensive care.

Since 2020, the light show has taken place right outside the front door of Veazie Community School.

The Hathaways are not alone in their big-hearted support for their town and school.

Jill Chandler-Ward went to school in Veazie and has been Veazie's kindergarten teacher for over 20 years Her daughter, Lily, is a Veazie alum.

- I would always come down here as a student and sneak into her classroom and see what she was doing throughout the day.

- Now Lily's an ed tech in her mom's classroom.

- VCS was one of my favorite places on earth, honestly.

It's my favorite people.

And I knew that if I ever had the opportunity to come back here and give anything to a school that gave so much to me, I would do it instantly.

- Wow.

What an honor it is to have her working alongside of me every day.

You can see it on her face every day when she comes to work.

It's like that little five-year-old coming to kindergarten.

- I've learned that I want to be the type of teacher that she is.

You know, you inspire so many kids to grow up and want to be great, and I think that if I can do half of what you do every day, then I'll be doing a pretty good job.

- Small school, big heart, indeed.

In a town this size, even when you have stalwart families like the Hathaways and Chandlers, to achieve greatness, everyone has to contribute their all and play multiple roles.

That's why the police chief is also the town manager and the superintendent is also the principal.

so as Veazie Community School faced its existential cris in 2015, 16, it realized that in order to survive, it needed to do more than PR.

It needed to tap into that community, get more Visians into their school to expand opportunities for kids and to rebuild trust.

And so Flex Friday was born.

- No stop.

- Flex Friday is a monthly break from the instruction routine when the entire student body, pre-K to eight, gets to choose from a slew of activities designed to ignite or grow student passions.

- The idea behind it is to make sure the students feel like they have a voice and some structured choice in what they do at school.

- It's also a chance for school and community to partner intentionally.

In fact, to make it happen, it's all hands on deck and all in.

Suddenly, a fourth grade teacher is helping middle schoolers bedazzle their cell phones, and the office manager is teaching kids to roller skate.

- We are going to practice safe falling by playing a game called Wipe Out.

- Flex Friday, many students take advantage of the chance to leave campus, exploring nearby nature or working on their drive.

In addition, community experts are welcomed into the school, expanding the teaching staff and offerings and leading to Veazie exclusive opportunities such as reading with a therapy dog or learning routines from the U Maine cheerleaders.

- A big smile.

Good job, you guys.

High fives.

- It feels like they learned something cool today.

- Okay.

Flex Friday looks like a lot of fun and a savvy means for a tiny school to expand its offerings and capitalize on local assets, but it doesn't account for the terrific math and reading scores.

So what's going on in the classrooms every day?

Not too much, and that's part of their secret.

- We don't try to do too much.

- We don't get lost in the fluff of what's the next best thing.

- Veazie doesn't offer world languages nor hardly any specialized or advanced courses.

They can't afford it given their size.

- What some people, I think, might look at as a disadvantage and what we're not able to offer, it allows us, I think, to be able to really truly focus in on what's most important.

I think reading, writing, and math are key.

There's a reason why we build 80 minutes a day into our schedule.

- That's right.

In response to their crisis in 2016, VCS chose to overhaul their schedule so that every Veazie student gets 80 minutes of literacy and 80 minutes of math every day.

And students not only recognize its value, they like it.

- And I feel like that helps a lot more, like having math every day and having it for like 80 minutes instead of 55 minutes, it gives you more time to comprehend things and get work done.

- You see the squared and the squared and the squared.

Does that make you think about anything?

- They have their instructional time, they have their practice time, and it allows them to get to that point of skill acquisition because of that.

- And how Veazie uses the 80-minute blocks connects to the second instructional shift.

Where teachers used to be focused on covering certain topics or completing chapters in a textbook, now teachers are laser-focused on their students' skill development.

Do they know how to multiply fractions?

Can they support their ideas with evidence?

During this transition, Deborah Jean Shibel remembers some challenging conversations with teachers.

- Well, we're teaching this particular program or this particular series or this particular curriculum because I've always taught this project or I've always taught this.

Well, that's not what we're asking you.

We're asking you what skills are you teaching?

- Three box check, let's check.

Starts with a capital letter, totes.

Spaces between words, for sure.

Punctuation at the end.

And what did you have to use here?

You were asking something, so what did you use?

A question - Mark.

- This is incredible - Writing.

- Wow.

- We hone in 100% on the next skill that needs to be accomplished by that child.

- I don't think that we're super innovative in any way, but we are able to really hone in and work with the kids on what's most important and make sure that they're set up for the rest of their lives.

- On their 10-year journey from a good school with worries about budgets and extinction to a national exemplar, Veazie has made crucial changes like prioritizing skill development, but they've also doubled down on what's always been their greatest strength.

- I would say the Veazie way is all about relationships.

- So we really nailed down the core values, what's most important to us, and so it's relationships over anything.

- The town, the parents, the families, the kids, the teachers, the staff, everybody, it's like a big family.

- It all starts with staff working together for the singular purpose of maximizing student learning.

- We have a team.

Our team is from pre-K to grade eight.

- You have a librarian who's also a math teacher and our head STEM integrator.

You have a music teacher who also teaches a course of math.

I think here, because so many people play multiple roles, they actually do have a better idea of what their colleagues may be dealing with and going through on a daily basis.

- And teachers intentionally share the wisdom gleaned from their connections with students.

- The first grade teacher and I are constantly in communication and collaboration.

We'll do a project together or we're talking about how can I better prepare them for her?

How can pre-K better prepare her students for me?

- Veazie teachers use their deep knowledge of their kids to inform and customize their instruction.

Kirk, a Veazie eighth grader, has had the same four teachers for all three years of middle school.

- They know every student.

They know their needs so they can change their lessons more easily to help the students.

- When Deborah Jean Shibel first arrived at Veazie in 2016, the great vibes between kids and faculty was obvious, but something was missing, especially for struggling learners.

Teachers needed to marry their knowledge of students to their skill development, so teachers began to review student needs and progress in three domains, academics, behavioral, and social emotional, usually with the help of colleagues.

She explains the goal of her now common meetings to support struggling learners.

- Try to understand where the skill deficits are and why the deficit is there.

Is it visual?

Is it processing?

Is it reasoning?

Do they have the executive functioning skills?

It's always a puzzle.

There's always a puzzle piece missing, and my staff will always say, she's always going to ask you what's the piece missing?

She's always going to ask you that question, so you better have the answer.

- So now, for instance, there's a teacher group called Malt that any educator can call on when they need help finding that puzzle piece which supports the student.

They also hold what they call pre-corrective meetings in the summer to share insights about what works for a particular child.

- Four students actually got referred to special ed.

We gave them opportunities to try different strategies, try different techniques to work on things that were happening in the classroom.

- And with students, Veazie doesn't presume productive relationships just happen because they're small and usually have one class per grade.

Their school-wide behavioral expectations are modeled, taught, and consistently applied.

They work to connect students across the school with structures that include kids from multiple grades like clubs, sports, Flex Friday, and Reading Buddies.

- It's not uncommon that eighth graders are working in the pre-K classroom or that kindergartners have fifth grade buddies coming in and helping them choose their library books.

- Within Classroom, kids are also being taught how to listen and treat one another with respect, even when they disagree.

- I'm teaching kids to talk to each other.

- And when you're in the same class with the same kids for nine years, that's important.

You need a big heart to navigate the potential social drama.

Here's one of Mrs.

Heileman's fourth graders, Baxter.

Because sometimes when you're with a small group of people, it can be hard.

You're like, "Oh, I got to see that kid again.

I got into a fight with him yesterday or they stole my french fries at lunch."

- Oh yeah, I did fights with everybody.

- Yeah.

- But I think it's fine because we all just know that it happens and we all can forgive each other.

- Is it possible that cultivating big hearts in students also has something to do with big test scores?

Scores that typically exceed the state average by over 25%?

Veazie students seem to think so - I mean, if people aren't scared to be at school, they can focus more on their education.

And so if everyone's being kind to them, then they can actually focus.

Griffin, - Can we have a little help?

What sound says Chuck?

Two letters together?

Thanks for your help.

- Veazie's big-hearted students and staff make clear the powerful academic benefits of a community with strong, positive relationships between students and between students and teachers, especially when teachers work together to share their insights about kids and missing puzzle pieces.

If students feel truly known, if they can bring their full selves to school, if they feel embraced by a community, they're more willing in class to take risks, bring their best, and tackle hard tasks.

Angel transferred to Veazie this year from another town and soon felt the profound difference.

- Like instead of dreading going to school every day, I really look forward to it to see everyone and get to learn about new things.

- Mrs.

Hileman uses the relationship capital she develops with her students to nudge them to do increasingly difficult work.

In the fall, her fourth graders struggled to sustain five minutes of independent reading in class.

Now they built what she calls their reading stamina and could complete 30 minutes.

- Well, she challenges me to read harder books.

- When Baxter describes his growth in math, he sounds like every student has been empowered by a great teacher, that great teacher who may know more about your potential than you do.

- Well, she's giving me stuff that I've never even heard of and things that she's like, "You could do this, just try it."

And when I try it, I'm like, "Oh, this is very, very, very hard.

I'm probably never going to get this."

And then she tells me to keep trying, that I'm doing good, and then eventually I just get it.

And I'm like, "Oh, wow, this is really easy.

Why would I ever think this is hard?"

- For 2026, the word of the year at Veazie is grit.

- Having failures in life is just going to be a part of things.

As long as you've got the grit to be able to work to overcome it and that's something that you become comfortable with and take some pride in, then that's something carry forward with them when they leave here.

- We work hard to prepare them for their academics.

We work hard to prepare them emotionally to understand that they can and need to support each other and get support from the people that are available to them.

We want them to be confident, to believe in themselves.

- While most Maine schools face declining enrollment, Veazie's is up 38% in the last decade by about 50 kids.

Word is getting out.

- We moved here in 2021 and we were supposed to leave three years after, and because of the school and my children's happiness and not wanting to leave, we decided to stay.

I mean, my daughter could be having a fever and she'll say, "Please, I don't want to stay home.

I want to go to school."

- Classic Veaziean, Jaana Al-Ameri, now serves the school in the PTO and as a substitute nurse.

Last year she had a wacky idea about how to teach the concept of personal space to we ones.

- We go the next week, we're on board and I'm here presenting, making massive bubbles with kids and teaching them about their personal space.

The principal and the teachers really listen to the parents' input.

They don't just say, "Yeah, let's make that happen."

We actually do make it happen.

Community in Veazie is mutualistic, meaning that everybody is here for everyone and we all help each other.

- We're really intentional about making sure that the community feels like this school belongs to them as well.

It needs to serve the students during the daytime, but ultimately we want this to serve the community all the time.

- The group that may best reflect Veazie's secret sauce is the robotics team.

Eighth graders Will and Kirk recalled when they learned that their new robotics coach was their old first grade teacher, Mrs.

Kimball.

- I mean, I was excited because she was one of my favorite teachers.

- Same.

If they know you love them, they're going to do anything for you.

They will at any age, even the middle schoolers that might think they're too cool, they love you.

- Will also recalls how he felt when the judges announced that for the first time ever, Veazie had won the state robotic competition.

- I almost passed out.

- Will and Kirk introduced me to their robots and their mission.

- It's our first Lego league robot and its name is Ferret and this little guy sits on top and we named him Snazzy Stan.

We have to take a brain and some motors and build a functioning robot out of that to do as many missions on this board in a two minute and 30 second timeframe.

- Will and Kirk recreated Snazzy Stan's historic run.

They even let me utter the iconic phrase that starts every race.

- Three, two, one, Lego.

- And they urged on Snazzy Stan, as they often did, with this theme song.

Veazie Robotics competed against teams that were larger and much better resourced.

Still, their robot finished fifth, but the robot was only part of the competition.

The team also had to identify a problem faced by archeologists and design a solution.

Other teams designed new archeological gizmos, but Veazie took a different approach, a most Veazie approach The students concluded that much like Veazie in 2015, archeology had a PR problem.

Why should kids care?

So they created an educational backpack filled with resources for teachers to use.

Next, the team taught an archeology day of learning with interactive stations for their Veazie classmates pre-K to five.

When the team presented their project at States, the judges were impressed, mightily.

- More what won it for us was our project - And our gracious professionalism that also helped.

- Your gracious professionalism, that's a criteria.

- Yeah.

- What enabled you to exceed on gracious professionalism?

- We just made sure to treat all the judges with respect.

- Oh, respect.

Oh, that's better.

Yeah.

Gracious professionalism sounds like a fancy way of saying big heart.

No wonder Veazie killed it.

The idea for teaching kids about the past was inspired by the team's tour of an exhibit on Veazie history.

Along the way, the team found new allies with their tour guides from the Veazie Senior Center.

- Some of them enjoyed archeology.

Some just enjoyed younger people trying to change things.

- After states, the next challenge was to raise $30,000 so the team could travel to Houston for their next competition, and they succeeded.

The most help came from their new friends at the senior center.

- It was completely overwhelming support from the entire community.

- And so the small town that in 2015 was worried about not being able to provide enough for its kids was sending a team to the 2026 World Robotics Competition.

- Going to Worlds was definitely life-changing for all of us.

It really was.

- Back in Veazie, the state champs shared the tale of their trip to Texas with a presentation to each grade, as well as their new friends from the senior center.

- There was around 160 teams just in our league and they were from around 60 different countries.

- Wow.

These seniors were now fully included, fully Team Veazie.

At Worlds, Snazzy Stan finished in 140th place.

- So it's still really impressive that a town like Veazie could get a team to the world championships even if we didn't do great compared to the competition.

We did our best, our best ever run for a robot, so we're proud of that.

- Karen Walker was in that audience, Veazie town counselor since 2013 since 20 She was one of the town leaders most concerned about whether the town could afford to keep its school.

And today... - You did win.

- Yes, you did.

- You won a lot of friends.

You made a lot of big wins for the town of Veazie.

You're a winner, winner, winner.

- Veazie Robotics may be the most beloved team to have ever finished 140th, and Karen Walker may be their biggest fan.

- We kind of all help each other out and we care about each other.

It's not like a show.

We really do.

We know each other's kids.

We know each other's families.

- Veazie is a place where if you go there, you won't be excluded.

You'll be included in everything.

- Your school's doing really well.

- Yeah, best in the country, I think.

- I have decided in retirement to come back and be a substitute teacher in any way they need me.

This school is the town Veazie and we don't want anything to happen to it.

- Need more proof that Veazie's comprehensively crushing it?

Consider these numbers.

The high school graduation rates for Veazie alums over 98%.

The number of student suspensions in the last two school years, one each.

The number of three to eight students meeting math standards statewide, 49%.

At Veazie, it's 75%.

The number of staff who've left Veazie, excluding retirements in the last four years, zero.

The number of Maine schools with a student designed t-shirt commemorating a dapper robot in a top hat, one.

And finally, let's meet Maine's new teacher of the year, Gretchen Livingston.

Gretchen's taught Spanish for the last 23 years at Cony High School.

Let's find out why Ms.

Livingston would probably have been your favorite teacher too.

- I am ready.

And I am ready to concentrate or able to concentrate.

I am outstanding.

- Tell us why.

Why'd you teach?

How'd you get into this?

- Why not?

It fills my cup.

I am an introvert.

Just need you to know that, which seems - Surprising - Having seen you teach.

- Yes.

Everything that I do, but I love being with the students.

Teenagers are where it's at.

They are such wonderful human beings and to spend my day with them and see the growth.

And that's a great thing about being a language teacher.

I don't know if this is true in every school, but I start with a lot of them in eighth grade and I get to see them all the way through until they're seniors.

- Why do you think learning Spanish in 2026 matters in Augusta and for our country?

- Students need to understand the world beyond these doors and be able to communicate and interact with people from other cultures.

Language is communication, language is identity, and language is culture.

So being able to speak Spanish or German or French or Czech or Portuguese or Arabic allows us to form bridges to one another and throughout the world.

Speaking of Arabic, we have quite a few students here that have earned the seal of biliteracy, which is something we're really proud of here at Cony High School.

We were one of the first schools back in 2018 when the Maine Department of Education started offering that to have students earn the seal.

Initially, we were just offering it in our French, German and Spanish classes, and then we realized we can offer this to our students who are bringing other languages into our building.

And they are so proud, and we are so proud to honor that ability to communicate and connect.

And I said a couple of words in Arabic in my speech the other day, because it matters because students know that you are seeing them, that they belong here when you use their language.

- Right after college, Gretchen spent two years in Honduras working with the Peace Corps.

This spring, Gretchen will be bringing a group of Coney students to Guatemala for the ninth time.

- I keep going back because my students' lives have changed due to that experience.

They develop a gratitude for what they have that they could not comprehend or even begin to understand before they make connections and form relationships with students in Guatemala and the adults in Guatemala, the teachers in Guatemala.

- So Gretchen, let's talk about your classroom.

- Okay.

- What are you doing in class?

What are you trying to have kids do?

What are you hoping to achieve in a given class period?

- I want students to feel safe.

I want them to have fun.

I want them to learn, and I want them to leave wanting more.

And whether that be more from my classroom the next time or more that they explore on their own about what we just did in class, either way is fine.

So feeling safe is a big one.

When they enter, we do something called EFT tapping.

Students, teenagers enter our classrooms with so many other things going on, and this method helps them to know that they're safe, to calm themselves down, to leave whatever is bothering them outside the door.

I offer the opportunity for them to write, for them to speak, for them to communicate, and that's been really successful.

- Tell us about the role of storytelling in your practice.

- Okay.

Oh, no.

- Language is stories, and that's what these students do all day, every day.

"Did you hear what she did?

Did you hear what I did?

This is what I'm going to do in the present, in the past, in the future.

"And always inserting their feelings and their opinions about that.

So that's what we do in language class, and there's a science to it.

- No.

- Let's talk about your roles outside the classroom.

School leadership team, NHS, Spanish club biliteracy department chair, you coach lacrosse and field hockey.

Teaching's hard enough, man.

And you're taking on about a thousand other jobs.

Why do you do it?

How does it impact you as a teacher?

And how do you decide what is the best use of your time?

- All of that fills my cup.

Being a teacher and a coach in a building is a really magical experience because you know everything that's going on and you are part of their community in every possible way, and I would never give that up.

- How do you think it makes you a better teacher?

- It makes me a better teacher because they talk a lot.

They talk a lot at lacrosse practice on the bus, and you understand more of what's going on in their lives.

In a classroom, you can talk to them and they share, but the information you get as a coach - - The real hot cost happens on the team bus.

- Sure.

- You're an excellent Spanish teacher, probably could work in any school in the entire nation.

You've been here for over two decades.

What drew you here?

What keeps you here?

- I haven't ever wanted to leave.

I was talking to one of my colleagues earlier today.

It feels like home here.

And I do live in Augusta.

I have raised my daughter here in Augusta.

She is a junior here at Cony.

She's in my Spanish class.

She's on my lacrosse team.

Of course, I was doing both of those things before she came along, and this is home.

- What's your message for new teachers or younger people considering teaching?

- For anyone considering it, I say try it, but reach out when you need help.

Don't wait.

I had great mentors when I first started teaching, and we need that everywhere.

You need somebody that has your back to show you the way.

And I would tell them that if they can get through the initial fear, maybe, or the initial first few years that might seem hard, especially when you're not making a ton of money, that eventually they will see all of the gifts that this profession brings.

It's a lot of intangibles, just the smiles from the students in the hallway.

So if you are able to realize that the hard parts of this job do not outweigh the rewards of this job, then you will have won and you will learn to love it.

- So Gretchen, it's 2026.

Yeah.

Why do public schools matter?

- This has been a great topic of discussion amongst the 2026 County Teacher of the Year cohort that I am a part of.

Public schools have a lot of responsibilities.

Many things that one used to assume would happen at home are now being asked of teachers and administrators and any staff member in the school to help raise our children and produce students, human beings that are ready to go out into the world and be productive contributors to society.

What we're talking about within our cohort is how do we reengage the community in our public schools and invite them in because we see the lack of knowledge of what actually happens as one of the biggest problems that people don't understand, and people might have an experience of what school was like when they were in school.

And we want to invite people to come and see the magic that is happening.

We see ourselves as people that are producing the productive citizens of the future, and that is why public schools matter.

- Well done.

Mic drop.

Perfect.

Gretchen, so nice to talk to you.

It's an honor to be in your presence and to be in your classroom, and the state has chosen very wisely.

- Oh thank you.

Thank you so much.

- Super cool.

- So thanks again to Gretchen Livingston, Maine's new teacher of the year, for letting us glimpse the magic that's happening in her classroom.

It includes volcanoes and whales and extraterrestrials and a deluge of opportunities to connect, play, and learn in Spanish.

And let's wrap up our fall episodes like Gretchen does by trying to synthesize what we've experienced.

So here it goes.

You know what's wrong with our society?

Our schools?

Yes, you do, because you hear about it every day, relentlessly.

Our clickbait media ensures that.

Sadly, too many may also experience what's wrong, but to paraphrase Morse High School's unified pioneer, Charlie Bingham, the point of learning from Maine is to show what's right about our schools.

We focus on what's possible in Maine schools, not to deny or diminish the flaws, but to illuminate the path forward.

The home of Bath Iron Works can also be the home to the high school where it's cool to be kind.

The tweens and teens at Warsaw show that middle schoolers can unite and revive a community.

The teachers and staff at Kate Furbish are proof that Maine can once again lead the nation in early literacy, and Veazie demonstrated that a small school with a big heart is not just worth saving, but can grow to become the nation's best.

To find the Maine adage, these schools are showing that you can get there from here.

Teachers like Gretchen Livingston and Sandy Dwyer and Dawn Lee and Brian Gonyer and Emma Alley are proving the deep learning, essential learning, learning that's rigorous and joyful, learning that matters to kids in their community can happen in all grades and all over the state.

Greatness is not only possible in our schools, it's already happening.

So let's keep learning from Maine.

If you've missed any of the stories from our first season or want to go deeper with bonus content, head to our YouTube page or our website at mainlovespublicschools.org.

And join us when we're back in the spring.

You'll meet adult learners pursuing their American dreams.

We'll visit the only high school in the US where you can earn the golden snorkel, and you'll see we ones playing with all the stuff they're not supposed to and loving it and excelling at the country's first pre-K to eight career and technical education center.

Thanks again for watching and let's keep learning from Maine.