Area students named to All-Maine Academic Team (2025)

Five area Maine community college students have been named to the All-Maine Academic Team in recognition of their outstanding academic achievement, leadership, and service.

Area students receiving the award and a $500 scholarship from the MCCS Board of Trustees are:

Stephanie Wright, Oakland, Eastern Maine Community College.
Skye Havey, Somerville, Kennebec Valley Community College, in Fairfield/Hinckley.
Andrea King, Unity, Kennebec Valley Community College.
Jaikari Rada-Gonzalez, Palermo, Kennebec Valley Community College.
Jasmine Sanders, Augusta, Kennebec Valley Community College.

SNHU announces Spring 2025 dean’s list

Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU), in Manchester, New Hampshire, congratulates the following students on being named to the Spring 2025 dean’s list. The spring terms run from January to May.

Rebecca Cherish, of Vassalboro, Misty Ray, of Montville, and Ivette Hernandez Cortez, of Augusta.

Local students go to state house to support girls’ sports and spaces

Bianca Wright, of Benton, speaking before the Maine Judiciary Committee, in Augusta. (contributed photo)

Female student athletes from across the state came to Augusta to testify in favor of bills to protect women’s sports and spaces. Most Mainers recognize these bills are commonsense policy that needs to be passed.

Dozens of brave girls came to testify in front of the Judiciary Committee. They shared their stories of how they’ve been negatively impacted by Maine’s current practice that allows biological men to compete in girls’ sports and invade women’s spaces.
“The vast majority of Mainers believe the rights of biological girls and women must be upheld. It’s up to us as legislators to protect these girls,” said Sen. Sue Bernard, R-Aroostook. “These bills will ensure privacy, safety and fairness for all Maine girls and re-affirm the protections that have been afforded to women since the passage of Title IX in 1972.”

Zoe Hutchins, of Fairfield, speaking before the Maine Judiciary Committee, in Augusta. (contributed photo)

Vassalboro Community School counselors are there for support, Part 2

VCS counselors Jamie Routhier and Gina Davis. (The Town Line file photo)

by Mary Grow

(Click here to read part 1 of this story!)

Vassalboro Community School (VCS) counselors Jamie Routhier and Gina Davis share responsibility for assisting any among the school’s approximately 420 students who need support with social or academic (or both) problems, and teachers and administrators who need advice in challenging situations.

In addition, the two counselors oversee a variety of programs run wholly or partly by outside groups, programs they imported – or created – to meet a perceived need.

One program Routhier and Davis mention with pride is called Colby Cares About Kids (CCAK): a collaboration with Colby College, in Waterville, to match Colby students as mentors to VCS students in grades two through eight.

In the spring of 2025, the two reported, there are 22 Colby mentors, seven young men and 15 young women, working with an equal number of students, half of them boys and half girls.

Mentors are trained in the fall and spring. They visit weekly and engage in varied activities with the students – reading together, walking on the trails around VCS, just talking.

Each mentor stays with his or her student until the mentor graduates or leaves the CCAK program. Each year’s program ends with a celebration at Colby, in May.

Another program is titled Hardy Girls/Healthy Women, created in Maine in 2000. Its website lists four characteristics it promotes for girls and nonbinary young people: curiosity, critical thinking, coalition-building and challenging the status quo.

A newly introduced program for students in grades five through eight is titled Sources of Strength and comes through the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Routhier says it is aimed at showing student leaders personal (physical and mental health) and social (family support, positive friendships) resources to get through hard times.

Body safety lessons, involving experts from the state department of education and the Maine Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers, teach students how to cope with sexual abuse. Routhier cited a state law requiring all Maine K-5 schools to have “a written policy for child sexual abuse prevention, education and response.”

Another safety program is the Maine State Police’s Online Safety Presentation, designed to help students better understand the risks associated with online sharing.

The two programs that take the most time for the counselors are the FoodBag program and the Cares Closet, which distribute food and clothing/household supplies, respectively. Both are in constant use, therefore in need of constant restocking.

Anyone considering a donation to the FoodBag or the Cares Closet, or seeking more information about any of these VCS programs, is invited to email Jamie Routhier, jrouthier@vcsvikings.org or Gina Davis, gdavis@vcsvikings.org.

The number of Vassalboro families using one or both programs varies; Routhier said it is typically 20-plus. Routhier and Davis created a needs assessment form and invite families to sign up at the beginning of each academic year, but new enrollments during the year – and withdrawals if a situation improves – are welcome.

The FoodBag operates with assistance from Good Shepherd Food Bank, the Vassalboro Parent-Teacher Organization and the school’s JMG (Jobs for Maine Graduates) program. Food is organized and distributed to meet each family’s needs.

Distributions are monthly, usually before a long weekend or vacation week, including a bag at the end of the school year. In the 2024-25 school year there were two November distributions, as the PTO helped send complete Thanksgiving meals to 24 families.

The Cares Closet provides needy students with “hygiene products, clothing, winter items, shoes and boots.” Its mission includes the program formerly called Christmas magic, giving families what Routhier calls “winter survival supplies” like warm clothes, books, games and craft supplies.

Routhier expressed gratitude to Vassalboro resident Amy Davidoff for her organizing help. Keeping clothing donations sorted by type, size, sex and season is time-consuming.

Routhier and Davis encourage teachers to refer any student they think could use anything in the closet. “We would rather be searching to replenish our supply than have it sit there when a family is in need,” Routhier said.

One more program, called the Civil Rights Team, was suspended for the 2024-25 academic year. Routhier said there is “a lot of student excitement” in favor of restarting it in the fall of 2025. As the title suggests, its goal is to empower students to understand civil rights and share their knowledge.

New Dimensions FCU announces 2025 scholarship winners

Sofia DeRosby

New Dimensions Federal Credit Union (NDFCU) is proud to announce the recipients of its 2025 Scholarship Program: Sofia Derosby and Alan Crawford III. Each student has been awarded $2,500 for their college tuition this fall, recognizing their outstanding academic achievements, community involvement, and exemplary essays.

Sofia Derosby, a graduate of Messalonskee High School, will attend the University of Maine to pursue a degree in music education. Alan Crawford III, a Forest Hills Consolidated School graduate, will study computer technology, at Central Maine Community College. Both students impressed the scholarship committee with their academic excellence and strong recommendations.

Alan Crawford

Ryan Poulin, CEO of New Dimensions, expressed his pride in this year’s winners, stating, “We are excited to support these talented students as they take the next step in their educational journeys. Both Sofia and Alan demonstrate the qualities we admire: dedication, hard work, and a passion for learning. We look forward to seeing their continued success.”

For more information on New Dimensions FCU’s scholarship program, please visit https://www.newdimensionsfcu.com/resources/youth-scholarships/ or contact the Marketing Department at marketing@newdimensionsfcu.com.

Winfree honored for academic success

Karen Winfree

Seven Maine community college students were honored Wednesday for their academic success and campus and community involvement at a luncheon ceremony, at Maple Hill Farm, in Hallowell. The event was hosted by the Maine Community College System (MCCS) Board of Trustees.

They included Karen Winfree, of Fairfield, Kennebec Valley Community College.

In addition to being recognized as Students of the Year, they each received a John and Jana Lapoint Leadership Award in the amount of $1,000.

Mr. Lapoint was president of UF Strainrite in Lewiston and a trustee of the Maine Community College System. After his death in 1995, his widow, Jana Lapoint, served on the Board from 1995 to 2006 and helped establish the fund for the annual awards.

Carrabec High School 3rd quarter honor roll (2025)

Carrabec High School

GRADE 12

High honors: Cortney Cote, Oakley Friend, Haley McFadyen, Seth Price, Desmond Robinson, Ian Smith, and Ciarrah Whittemore. Honors:  Damien Bornstein, Mason Courtney, Tayah Edmunds, Brady Goguen, Paige Reichert, Gerald Rollins, Levi Small, Brooks Sousa, and Morgan Steuber.

GRADE 11

High honors:  Emma Campbell, and William Rogers. Honors: Kaileigh Burnham, Colburn-James Dube, Ember Fernandez, and Thomas Roderick, Jr.

GRADE 10

High honors:  Chandler Atwood, Kaitlin Dellarma, David Dixon, Leeyah Nelson, Jillian Robinson, and Reed Smith. Honors: Ashlyn Courtney, Katelyn DeLeonardis, Henry Lindeman, Austin Sales, Katie Scalese, Brooklyn Siconio, and Ava Welch.

GRADE 9

High honors: Bradley Allen. Honors: Isabella Atwood, Ivan Chapman, Alexander Davis, Rylie Deuble, and Lane Frost.

VCS counselors have more than enough work, Part 1

Jamie Routhier and Gina Davis.

Part 1

by Mary Grow

Why, several people have asked recently, does Vassalboro Community School (VCS) have not one, but two, school counselors?

The answer offered by counselors Jamie Routhier and Gina Davis is that there is more than enough work for both of them.

VCS has about 420 students – the number varies slightly as families move out of and into town – in grades from pre-kindergarten through eight. Davis is responsible for grades pre-k through three, Routhier for grades four through eight.

Their responsibilities fall roughly into two categories. One is work they do directly with students and staff. Their main focus is on students who are at risk, academically or socially or both, but who do not need special education services. They also work with special education students.

Both women have years of teaching experience (41 between them, Routhier said), and they still teach classes. They also meet with small groups and individuals and are involved in crisis management.

Confidentiality rules prevent school staff from discussing crises publicly. They vary from unhappiness and personal distress to disturbances and disruptions to, occasionally, life-or-death situations.

The second category of work Routhier and Davis do is importing and overseeing outside organizations and activities that benefit students. Subjects are as varied as an on-line safety program in collaboration with the Maine State Police; a mentoring program with Colby College students; and providing students and their families with food (FoodBag) and personal and household items (the Cares Closet).

Both types of work involve time-consuming record-keeping and report-writing. The goal of all they do, Routhier summarized, is to make it possible for students to be successful in the classroom setting. This goal involves not just academics, but also dealing with personal and family issues that interfere with a student’s ability to focus on schoolwork.

During the spring term, Routhier also functions as the traditional school guidance counselor, helping eighth-graders decide what high school to attend. Vassalboro has no town high school and offers school choice.

As of the spring of 2025, Davis is teaching 14 classes a week for pre-kindergarten through third grade students. A typical class runs 30 minutes; class size varies from 13 to 18 students.

Routhier teaches 13 classes a week for students in grades four through eight. Hers are usually 40 minutes; her smallest class has 15 students, the largest 23.

Each counselor’s schedule includes two daily classroom lessons that are called SEAL class. SEAL, Routhier explained, stands for Social Emotional Academic Learning.

In a presentation to the school board in December 2024, Davis and Routhier explained that SEAL is a national program designed to help students understand and control emotions, focus attention, learn problem-solving skills and develop empathy.One part of SEAL includes “Skills for Learning, Empathy, Emotion Management, Problem Solving, Community, Perspective.” The other “creates long-term impact by teaching about the emotional center of the brain.”

Both counselors sometimes work with special education students and therefore are involved in IEP (Individualized Education Program) and 504 program meetings. These two types of plans are mandated by federal law. A 504 program is for a student who needs accommodation to access educational facilities; an IEP is developed to meet a student’s unique learning needs.

Counselors and teachers have the legal and ethical responsibility to report to the state Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) whenever they see something that concerns them about a student. Routhier said because teachers are less familiar with the reporting process, they often ask one of the counselors for help.

Each report requires detailed information; has to be done the same day as the observation that inspired it; and leads to additional communication with DHHS personnel and follow-up with appropriate other school personnel and with the student’s family.

“Rarely is there a time when one or both of us are not involved in multiple DHHS cases at a time, all year long,” Routhier said.

Davis and Routhier also provide training sessions for teachers and educational technicians at VCS. And they talk with students’ families, answering questions about the school in general and the family’s student or students specifically.

Annually from December through the following May, Routhier helps VCS eighth-graders plan their next four years. This piece of her work “could truly be considered an additional part-time job,” she said, because it is so complicated and time-consuming.

Choices available to VCS students include, but are not limited to, Winslow and Waterville high schools in those municipalities, Cony High School, in Augusta, and Messalonskee High School, in Oakland; Erskine Academy, in South China; Maine Arts Academy, in Augusta; and Maine School of Science and Mathematics, in Limestone.

Starting in January, Routhier organizes presentations at VCS and students’ visits to nearby schools. Then she helps each student enroll in the school he or she has chosen, including advising on course choices, based on each student’s strengths and interests.

Enrollment is supposed to be complete by April 1. In practice, not every student is set by then, so Routhier’s work continues well into May.

What a list of counselors’ responsibilities does not show is how often Davis and Routhier are interrupted by student crises and by urgent requests from colleagues and parents. As Davis put it, a demanding part of her job is balancing daily classroom lessons with responses to individual student behavioral needs.

Next week: major activities that counselors Routhier and Davis coordinate with out-of-school groups.