Born and raised in Cape Elizabeth, Julia Olsen taught for 25 years at the Touchtone Community School in Grafton, Mass.

She'd planned to stay there forever, but when her Maine family needed her help, she returned, hoping to find one last teaching opportunity.

She asked about schools in the area and many suggested Juniper Hill.

Familiar with the concept of place-based education, Olsen was thrilled that it was “actually happening, here, in Alna!” Olsen said she is delighted to have joined Christina Mesevage as supporting teacher in the "Roots/Sprouts" class (grades 1-3) at Juniper Hill.

Olsen finds Juniper Hill a wonderfully positive environment, working toward an ideal educational approach. “You don't learn in a vacuum,” she said. “To be successful, you need to care about yourself, others, your neighbors, and the environment. That's all happening here. There's a very strong academic component — we teach in small classes, with close personal relationships, in ways we know help kids learn best.

“Parents are fully involved, too, so home and school complement each other.”

Asked about a typical day, Olsen smiled. “We meet the kids every morning at the top of the hill, have some free play, then come down to the yurt and begin the day with morning meeting. We look at the day's schedule, with a few math and literacy lessons mixed into the meeting to start the day. Then I get to teach math, which I love. I'm also assisting with reading and writing.”

Does she find it strange, as a 25-year veteran teacher, to be assisting a younger lead teacher? “I love it,” Olsen said. “Christina is a wonderfully creative, highly trained young woman. I love working with her. I'm still learning from everyone who is teaching here.”

Olsen is also excited to be part of a new, start-up school, once again. “I watched Touchstone grow for 25 years,” Olsen said. “Now, being able to help a really innovative school that's just beginning is thrilling to me. Growing pains can be hard, and I have some insights about that.

“It's exciting to be on the ground floor at a place dedicated to practicing what research shows young kids need to grow and learn. That each child learns differently and at a different pace is not a problem ... it's OK!”

As one of Olsen's teaching colleagues at Touchtone said, “Julia's approach to content is both thoughtful and exuberant. Years later, students still talk about things they started to think about in Julia's class. She empowers children to think and wonder, and to sustain their excitement about learning.”

No wonder students can't wait to come to class every day at Juniper Hill!