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.