The new year has begun and staff and students appear rested and ready for the next chapter of the school year. We typically have good news to share and this week is no exception. We have recently been awarded a “Portrait of a Graduate” grant from the Barr Foundation. The Island Institute is excited to be partnering with the nonprofit Rural Aspirations Project to bring together three small, isolated, rural Maine high schools and take an in-depth look at the unique role and purpose of rural education and its connection to rural community, vitality, and sustainability.

     The schools are: Islesboro Central School and Vinalhaven School in Penobscot Bay and East Grand School in northern Washington County, Maine, near the Aroostook County border. The University of Maine’s College of Education and Human Development as well as the Maine Department of Education will also be involved in this collaboration. 

     We will look for community involvement. If you would like to included, please contact Dean of Students Meredith Diamond at mdiamond@icspathways.org.

     In other news, students Collin Peterson and Veda Lecompte are both very excited to be studying abroad this summer. They are the recipients of the Oxbridge scholarship. Thank you, Lucy Burr, for funding this incredible opportunity for ICS students. 

Warmly;

Chuck Hamm 

Head of School