Responding to email questions later, Andersson said Wiscasset's graduation rate for the Class of 2024 was 71.88%; seven students did not complete high school in four years from the group who started together as freshmen, Andersson said. “Of those seven, three are returning for a fifth year at Wiscasset Middle High School, two are returning for a fifth year at an out-of-district placement, and two have unenrolled. Each school's graduation rate is based on the number of students who did not finish in four years; I think it is unfortunate that students who continue for a fifth year are counted the same as a student who unenrolls completely.”

 

Andersson said Wiscasset’s five-year average graduation rate is 75.32%.

 

Enrollment needs to be “at top of mind,” Andersson said in the meeting. WES had 178 enrolled so far; WMHS, 219. “I don’t want kids to withdraw without (the department) working really, really hard” to keep them, she said. “We can’t run a school if we have too few kids.” She plans to tap new WES Principal Stacey Clements’ skills at enrollment and marketing from her private school experience.  

 

Structure and student support are the name of the game, Andersson told the committee at another point. Wiscasset Middle High School and Wiscasset Elementary School will each have a full-time principal, assistant principal, librarian, social worker and school counselor. “This is huge,” almost double last year’s support staff and – even though the department attracted staff with more years’ experience than anticipated, meaning they get paid more – Andersson said this has worked within the budget, and she will be watching the budget “like a hawk.”

 

Entering her second year in the job, Andersson had worried about staff turnover, she told the committee.

 

“Is it a lot? How are we doing? Is it me,” she recalled wanting to know about turnover. So she did a five-year analysis. “And we’re actually doing really great,” back down to 2020 levels, she said. In 2021, resignations spiked and retirements hiked; turnover fell in 2022 and 2023 and dropped significantly in 2024, she said. “So that made me feel a lot better about it.”

 

The committee received a summer hiring update that included, at WMHS, Clint Pike, middle school social studies. Pike replaces Mandy Metrano, who withdrew before signing a contract, according to the agenda; also at WMHS, hires included Michael Harris, middle school resource room teacher; James Hodson, educational technician III; Rebecca Light, social worker; Brandon Rogers, athletic director/assistant principal; Patti Sims, literacy specialist; Daniel Wall, girls varsity basketball coach; and Ron Harrison, custodian.

 

Hires for WES included Janice Bothe, kindergarten; Danielle Harris, assistant principal; Sam Giese, social worker; Kimberly Watson, First 10 Community Schools outreach coordinator; and Nancy Wyman and Ashley Wood-Major, educational technicians III. 

 

“Welcome to Wiscasset. Thanks for coming to work here,” Chair Jason Putnam said. 

Amy Lilly, custodian, is transferring from WMHS to WES; Denise Bourgoine has resigned as a WES K-2 school counselor; Jill Kehoe has resigned as a Title One teacher at WES; and Elaine Moore is retiring as a van driver.