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North Haven Community School is the heart of our small island community. Its pulse is felt everywhere: at school when students present their Knowledge Fair research projects; at the Grange when students host a public supper; at Waterman's Community Center when students stage a play; at basketball games in the dead of winter when cheering fans line the walls of the gym. The participation of our students in all aspects of island life has long symbolized what "community" means to the people of North Haven.
North Haven has been educating students since 1790. Today, North Haven Community School is the smallest public K-12 school in the state of Maine with 68 students enrolled in 2006-2007. It is one of only three remaining island high schools in the state.
Our small town represents a way of life that is disappearing rapidly in the fast-paced urban and suburban world in which so many people now live and move. It also represents a vanishing way of life on Maine islands. At the end of the 19th century, there were approximately 300 year-round island communities in Maine. Currently there are only 15 year-round islands, and only 13 with their own schools. It is generally recognized that when an island school closes, it signals the demise of its year-round community.
Since most of the populated Maine islands have only elementary schools, students must attend high school and sometimes middle school off-island. Often, on these year-round islands, families choose to move to the mainland to remain together when their kids go beyond their elementary years. As a consequence, many islands without high schools have seen significant population declines.
The people of North Haven have decided to take pro-active and aggressive steps to ensure our future as a year-round community. North Haven Community School has an excellent comprehensive academic program and a first rate faculty. All that North Haven lacks is a facility to match its educational programs.
Community & Compassion .
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The North Haven Community School is a mirror of the community. Inter-generational relationships and projects are routine, with students and adults working together using their hands and minds. The school worked with several adult community members on building several boats, kayaks and the pilot gig, Recovery , which the rowing team now uses for New England competitions every fall, winter, and spring. Students, staff and community members rebuilt a Volkswagen van, converting it to electric power and bio-diesel and competing successfully in several Tour de Sol events.
Drama productions routinely bring together students and community members, backstage and onstage. And community members join with students of all ages every fall for Coastal Clean-Up Week, a community service project to clean island beaches.
The students and school activities serve as one important focal point of island life for many community members, regardless of whether or not they have children or grandchildren attending the school. Overall, as many as half of the adult year-round community, as well as many seasonal residents, are active in the school as volunteers.
Competence & Challenge . . .
Beyond the context of community, our school has a special commitment to nurturing and respecting each student's individual abilities, while also challenging students to accomplish things they never dreamed they were capable of doing. The school provides a strong foundation in the core academic subjects, including quality reading and writing programs, history and social studies, foreign languages, and focused math and science curricula. In addition, the school has incredible offerings in the arts with music, drama and arts programming.
North Haven Community School was accredited in 2001 by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, one of the most prestigious academic accrediting organizations in the country. North Haven is the only accredited island school in Maine and it is also one of only a handful of accredited pre-K-12 schools in New England. Accreditation is obtained through a rigorous evaluation conducted by a team of education professionals based on seven criteria including curriculum, instruction, leadership, student assessment, mission, school resources and community resources.
North Haven's graduation rate is 100 percent with a one percent dropout rate over the past 15 years, while the state graduation rate average is 83 percent and the national average is far lower. Over the past 15 years, North Haven's rate of college acceptance was 82 percent, with 66 of 81 graduates going on to post-secondary education, in comparison to a state average of only 57 percent.
Our faculty is an experienced and highly qualified team of teachers and other professionals. Of the 14 teachers and administrators on staff, nine have master's degrees and one has a doctorate.
Our graduates pursue vocations as diverse as their aptitudes and aspirations. Relative to the small size of the school, the depth of the commitment of our graduates to the world and their communities is significant.
North Haven graduates currently serve in the Armed Forces and the Maine State House of Representatives. They work and serve on North Haven town boards and on the boards of nonprofit organizations. They are business owners, filmmakers, teachers, tradespeople, fishermen, mothers, fathers and physical therapists. They have been pilots, U.N. peacekeepers, caretakers and engineers. From the military to the Ivy League, from state universities to community colleges, North Haven graduates carry with them a strong sense of community relationships, competence and skills that enable them to successfully navigate the world and challenge themselves and others.
North Haven Community School's unique programs and students have earned widespread recognition and awards.
All pretty amazing for kids from a small island school!