Dubus, whose House of Sand and Fog was a finalist for The National Book Award, and Russo, who won the Pulitzer for Empire Falls, will discuss memoir, including Dubus’ highly acclaimed Townie and Russo’s upcoming Elsewhere.

Doors will open at 4:00 and the conversation will start at 4:30.  Wine, cheese, chocolates and other Maine treats will be provided by Don and Patrisha McLean, State of Maine Cheese Company, Ducktrap River of Maine, Chocolatier Blue and other local businesses, with additional support provided by The Hawthorne Inn.

This event is generously sponsored by Charles and Julie Cawley, KeyBank, Know Technology, Maine Magazine, The Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance and Richard and Barbara Russo.

Tickets are $50 ($25 with student I.D) and all proceeds benefit The Community Schools. Tickets are available at The Owl & Turtle Bookshop, hello hello books, Maine Coast Book Shop & Café, and online at www.thecommunityschools.org.

Richard Russo and Andre Dubus III

Richard Russo and Andre Dubus III at Rockport Opera House May 19

The Community Schools present “A Conversation with Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Russo and NY Times Bestseller Andre Dubus III” on Saturday, May 19 from 4-6 at The Rockport Opera House.

Dubus, whose House of Sand and Fog was a finalist for The National Book Award, and Russo, who won the Pulitzer for Empire Falls, will discuss memoir, including Dubus’ highly acclaimed Townie and Russo’s upcoming Elsewhere.

Doors will open at 4:00 and the conversation will start at 4:30.  Wine, cheese, chocolates and other Maine treats will be provided by Don and Patrisha McLean, State of Maine Cheese Company, Ducktrap River of Maine, Chocolatier Blue and other local businesses, with additional support provided by The Hawthorne Inn.

This event is generously sponsored by Charles and Julie Cawley, KeyBank, Know Technology, Maine Magazine, The Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance and Richard and Barbara Russo.

Tickets are $50 ($25 with student I.D) and all proceeds benefit The Community Schools. Tickets are available at The Owl & Turtle Bookshop, hello hello books, Maine Coast Book Shop & Café, and online at www.thecommunityschools.org.

Join us for Dancing with Local Stars April 27!

Community Schools student Brandon Porter discovers his knack for woodworking during his internship with J.D. Sullivan and Sons Lumber in New Gloucester

Porter has participated in two internships since his enrollment in the program. Earlier in the year Porter interned with an established cabinet maker in Auburn. He now works at J.D. Sullivan and Sons Lumber in New Gloucester. Porter’s favorite part of the internships is that they are hands on, allowing him to develop a skill set that he wouldn’t have the opportunity to learn in a traditional academic setting.

The oldest of five children, Porter came to The Community Schools to set a good example for his younger siblings. Porter understands that getting a good education, a degree, and solid life skills will enable him to have a better future. Porter has learned through both internship positions that he has a knack for working with wood. He recently made a skateboard, which, to no surprise on the part of The Community Schools’ staff, he sent to his younger brother.

“He showed me the skateboard and said, ‘I need to mail this to my brother,’” remembers Residential Program Director Margo Fowler. “That’s just the kind of person he is. Even while he’s here, he’s the glue in his family.”

Porter’s helpful attitude and good work ethic have made him an asset at Sullivan and Sons. Bookkeeper and matriarch of the business Dottie Sullivan reflected, “Brandon works hard and we can tell that he’s taking in as many skills as he can. Everyone likes having him around.”

Porter and his peers in the Residential Program will be graduating in June. While he isn’t positive about what he’ll do after graduation, he does plan to be with his siblings and explore his career opportunities, using the skills and lessons he developed during his time at The Community Schools and in his internships.

To learn more about The Community Schools Residential Program and the Career Explorations Program, visit www.thecommunityschool.org/residential-program/work-program.

Community Schools student Grace Wurgler works with her favorite horse, Catapult, during her internship

An integral aspect of the program, Wurgler and her peers must find internships based on their interests or life goals in order to graduate. Students are asked about their interests upon arrival at the school. Unlike most students, Wurgler had it all figured out. “I’ve been riding horses since before I can remember,” she shared, “I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”

Residential Campus Director Margo Fowler elaborated, “Grace set her internship up herself. She was motivated to find a way to combine her passion for horses with the program requirement.”

A typical morning for Wurgler includes cleaning stalls, breaking ice in water buckets, and turning the horses out to pasture. Pepper Creek Farms is part of DLT Performance Horses & Equestrian Center in Gray. Manager and Trainer Nikki Karlsson works closely with Wurgler. “We have girls come and help us out,” said Karlsson. “It’s hard work and you have to love doing it. Grace is clearly passionate about horses and we enjoy having her here!”

Growing up in New Gloucester, Wurgler knew about Opportunity Farm, but it wasn’t until Fowler started at the school that she connected with Wurgler about enrolling. “It’s an intense program for students who, for one reason or another, weren’t succeeding in a traditional classroom,” explained Fowler. “But I knew Grace and what she was capable of. Once I started working at The Community Schools I realized that Grace would excel here.”

Wurgler’s favorite part of being at The Community School at Opportunity Farm is the small classes. “I’m not afraid to ask questions here,” shared Wurgler; “This is my second chance at a diploma.”

Community Schools student Grace Wurgler combines her passion for horses with the Residential Program requirement by interning at Pepper Creek Farms four days a week

One of six students in the nine-month intensive program, Wurgler will graduate in June 2012 with a high school diploma. Upon graduating, Wurgler plans to join the U.S. Army or Coast Guard.

“I want to do something more important with my life,” she said. Afterward, Wurgler wants to pursue a career in veterinary medicine, and eventually, own a horse.

To learn more about The Community Schools Residential Program and the Career Explorations Program, visit www.thecommunityschools.org/residential-program/work-program.

Community Schools student Brenna Peak interns with Marc and Gina Bartholomew of Zebulon Films as part of the schools curriculum

Peak is a student in the Residential Program at The Community School at Opportunity Farm. One of six students in the program in New Gloucester, Peak interns with Zebulon Films as part of the Career Explorations component of the school’s curriculum.

By participating and completing a work study, Peak and her peers develop a better understanding of their interests, aptitudes, and skills and are able set goals for their future plans.

Upon arrival at the school, students are asked about their career interests and hobbies. Peak struggled to find just one area of focus. “Brenna was a student who was interested in trying everything,” said Residential Campus Director Margo Fowler.

Peak interned first with Pinetree Seeds of New Gloucester where she packed seeds and learned about the gardening business. While she found the experience interesting, Peak realized more and more that her passion was with the arts, a love she has always had. At age 14, Peak attended the New York Film Academy for acting after completing a rigorous application process.

In November 2011, the Bartholomews were introduced to The Community Schools and immediately offered their services. It didn’t take long for the connection between Zebulon Films and Peak’s love for the arts to be made.

The Bartholomews also own Acadia Recording Company, a recording studio in Portland. While the couple has made a number of short films, documentaries, and TV and Web series, “Vedana” is their first full-length film. They chose this project for Peak so that she would be included in all aspects of the film’s development, from writing the script and auditioning potential cast members to directing, camera work and editing.

According to Zebulon Films’ website, “Vedana,” Sanskrit for feeling and emotion, is “a post apocalypse exploration of the remnants of the human race.” The buildings and campus at Opportunity Farm are being used as production offices for the film. One of the biggest challenges for the film-making trio is to creatively meld their thoughts, though Peak reflects, “It’s made me a better communicator.”

While this is the Bartholomews’ first connection with The Community School at Opportunity Farm, the couple is passionate about working with the school and its students. “At a time when many schools lack the funding for creativity and the arts, it is rewarding to see an alternative institution that still encourages and values creativity,” said Marc Bartholomew.

Peak finds the Residential Program to be a challenging but rewarding experience. When asked what her favorite part of the program was she without hesitation looked around at the cameras, the lights, and the scripts, and said, “This.”

Peak and the Bartholomews are in the process of shooting the film and plan to show the movie June 1, 2012, Peak’s graduation day from The Community Schools. After her graduation, Peak plans to pursue a degree in film production, where the skills she has learned during her internship will prove invaluable.

To learn more about The Community Schools and the Career Exploration Program, visit http://www.thecommunityschools.org/residential-program/work-program. You can read more about “Vedana” and support the film by going to http://www.zebulonfilms.com/vedana/.

Below: This piece, created by Emma, one of our Camden students, was part of our workshops on pattern and color with guest artist Kate Russo.

Thanks to the Center for Maine Contemporary Art for sharing their Art Lab with us each Monday!

Thursday, November 17 from 6-9pm
at hearstudios at 4 Union Street, Camden

$10 donation at the door
Please bring a new, unwrapped baby gift for our baby
supply drive.

Some items that are needed are:

• Crib Sheets
• Sippy cups
• Size 4 rain boots (boy)
• high chairs
• child’s chairs
• push toys
• strollers
• infant car seat (s)
• Wipes (lots of them)
• Winter clothes (snowsuits, hats, mittens)
• Shoes (snow and/or rain boots)
• Burp cloths
• Blankets
• Push Toys
• Children Books
• Sippy cups
• Donations made out to the Community Schools’
  Passages Program are also greatly appreciated.

NEW GLOUCESTER, Maine – The new chair of the board, Fredric W. Williams, announced today that The Community School of Camden has merged with Opportunity Farm to create “The Community Schools at Opportunity Farm and Camden.”

The merger has been carefully planned for over two years. Both organizations have shared the same goal of encouraging life-long learning and providing students with the skills and experiences necessary to connect with their families, practice personal responsibility, and contribute to their communities. Dr. Dorothy Foote has been named the new Head of School. The transaction represents a $1.6 million combined budget. “On behalf of the entire board of trustees, I am very pleased to celebrate this day,” said Williams. “We have gone through an extremely thorough process to prepare for this merger, and I am confident that we will be able to serve more Maine youth in a more effective manner.”

“We have created a program at The Community School with a proven track record of success in educating teenagers by meeting them where they are, rather than expecting them to fit into the mold of a traditional classroom. Our model has also been cost-effective on a per pupil basis, and through this merger we are expanding our program to serve more Maine youth,” Foote said.

In 2009, Opportunity Farm’s board of trustees realized that a new way of working with youth would revitalize the entire organization, while at the same time improving results and decreasing the cost per student. Through a ‘request for proposals’ process, Opportunity Farm’s board contracted with Carole Martin and Common Good Ventures (CGV) to begin a discussion about changing its residential programs. Opportunity Farm and CGV looked at different program models designed to best support underserved adolescents in Maine. They researched what the trends around these youth were, what they needed to be successful, which parts of the state needed assistance, current graduation rates, and other data in order to identify how to make the biggest impact. Through an extensive process, Opportunity Farm realized that what kids needed in the 21st century is a high school diploma that focuses on the whole individual.

In the summer of 2010, Opportunity Farm and CGV sought potential partners and interviewed seven organizations in their desire to find the best match. Because of its strong track record in keeping kids in school, its ability to cost-effectively deliver high quality services, and its visionary leadership, the board decided that The Community School was the best possible partner for the future, and in ensuring the best possible outcomes for the broadest number of Maine youth.
“It is my belief that the two organizations are bringing highly complementary strengths together and they have all the essential elements for success,” stated Carole Martin, a respected organizational consultant from Rockland who represented CGV in the merger process. “They have done an enormous amount of hard work to ensure a smooth transition. The future is bright.”

The Community School, Maine’s first alternative high school, was founded in 1973 by Maine educators Dora Lievow and Emanuel Pariser and provides two core programs: a nine-month Residential Program, and a home-based Passages program for teen parents, both of which culminate in a state of Maine approved high school diploma. “Our use of restorative justice practices, strengths based work and Positive Youth Development provides some of the greatest support of adolescent success today,” Foote said.

Both The Community School and Opportunity Farm agree that the best way to support at risk youth is to provide high quality access to education. Both organizations have also placed heavy emphasis on community service and community engagement. This entails everything from volunteering with the local fire department to serving as after school mentors, to engaging with the natural world and learning how to become more environmentally conscious. As one Community School graduate stated, “Students graduating know how to hook into a community and become civically engaged. They learn to invest not only in themselves but in their world.”

The merger honors Opportunity Farm’s 100 year history of serving Maine youth, while bringing The Community School’s successful program model to a second campus and allowing the combined entity to serve many more adolescents in Maine.
The majority of the school’s funding comes from grants and fundraisers. The Community School never turns a student away due to an inability to pay, and tuition assistance and scholarships are available. The newly formed Community Schools at Opportunity Farm and Camden will provide opportunities for more than 60 students during the first year of operation.

The Community School brings an experienced and pioneering team of educators led by Dr. Foote, as well as a strong track record of success in working with Maine youth in innovative ways. Dr. Foote has years of research experience in adolescent psychology and the development of social justice programs, and serves as an adjunct professor of adolescent psychology at The University of Maine.

The Community School at Opportunity Farm will give many at-risk adolescents in Maine the tools they need to reach their potential and become confident, actively involved members of their communities. Not only will this merger prove to be an asset to the students, but it will also enhance the local communities and the state of Maine.