Over the past three years, North Haven Community School (NHCS) has welcomed into its midst three new students who have taken the initiative to move out to the island, in some cases living with foster families, to complete their high school education. NHCS’s student body had already included several off island students through the American Field Service program (AFS), which brought 8 foreign students to North Haven between 1982 and 1996. More recently, however, there has been the beginning of an influx of students who aren’t as much in search of an experience abroad, through an established program, as they are in finding a place about which they can say, “I just knew it was the right place for me.”
NHCS is the smallest public school in the state, with only 78 students, pre-K through 12. However, it has received state and national recognition and awards for its innovative “experiential” approach to learning, its strong arts program, the quality of the education available to its students and the success of its graduates, over 80 percent of whom go on the further their education.
In 2001, NHCS received accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. In his final report on the findings of the association, Committee Chair Wayne R. Ogden wrote of NHCS as a place where “students and instruction are the essential focus of everyone and everything … Instruction is personalized, geared toward higher order thinking, and emphasizes depth of knowledge over breadth of coverage … Within the school there exists a spirit of cooperation, dedication, resourcefulness and instructional focus that rivals the best schools in New England.”
All three new students at NHCS attended significantly larger, private high schools in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts prior to choosing to attend NHCS. Foster Bartovics, Mina Bartovics and Madisen Grumbach each made the difficult decision to acknowledge their need to seek out what they wanted and to uproot themselves from the comfort and security of their homes and former schools.
During the summer of 2000, Foster had “one of those realizations that you start to have as you get older; that certain chapters of your life are about to end and you’ll never be able to go back to them.” Going into his senior year of high school, he realized that it was his last chance to take a leap he’d been on the brink of since seventh grade. Through summering on North Haven, he had made many strong friendships with the students who could be his classmates, had heard about the NHCS experience and had an earnest desire to spend a year in the school. He secured a homestay with Foy Brown, who runs the island boatyard, J.O. Brown and Sons, and acceptance into the high school senior class of only six other students. He soon found that for the first time he was able to “enjoy being in school.”
Now a freshman at Skidmore College in New York, Foster reflects on what experiences “made me much more interesting.” He comments on the hands-on learning in his science class and the “intellectual and philosophical growth” he made in his English class. He brings forth memories of converting a Volkswagen van into a fully electric vehicle, being exposed to various media in art, bypassing the usual large tryouts to act in drama, as well as the advantages inherent in small classes and close student-teacher relationships.
The year after Foster graduated, his sister, Mina, made the decision to spend her last two years of high school on North Haven. Unwilling to face the “empty nest” two years early, her mother moved up with her while her father visits on the weekends. After leaving her home in Massachusetts to come to school here, Mina says “this small community has grown into my family, this island has turned into my home, and I am a stronger person because of it.”
The small size of NHCS, Mina says, has had a positive impact on her experience at the school. She appreciates the benefits of the small class sizes, be it the way in which they “enabled me to excel and perfect my discussion skills” or get the extra help from teachers: “Every Monday morning we have a meeting to discuss the week and check in with each other.” Checking in means going around the circle to teachers and students alike with time for each individual to share what happened over the weekend, how they are doing or to pass until the next week. The high school is small enough in size that the school government is very democratic and the students are involved in the decision-making process.
Mina argues against those who might say that NHCS’s size leads to a lack of abundant class choices and honor programs. On the contrary, she finds that “although there aren’t many choices, the school is extremely flexible and will work with you to set up a program that you feel will benefit you more, or help you learn more. That is the thing that fascinates me the most – NHCS has limited resources but somehow it has the ability to make special programs for students. Kids are never left out.” Additionally, the Knowledge Fair held each year has allowed Mina and every other student in the school to spend two months on an independent project of their choice.
In October of this year, Madisen came to NHCS as a junior seeking something that would make her last two years of high school more fulfilling. She approached her first day with uncertainty as to whether NHCS would be the place where she could find what she sought. Almost immediately she found that “once I got a feel for the school and got to know everyone I never really questioned whether or not I was going to stay, I just knew it was the right place for me.”
A stranger to the North Haven community prior to this fall, Madisen was immediately offered a place to stay with Lisa and Dick Shields, who had already put seven students through NHCS; six children of their own and an AFS student from Germany. At first she was terrified about joining a close-knit community of students. However, she found that “the students here are the most accepting people I have ever met. They tried so hard to make me feel welcome and they made the transition very easy. After a few days I made great friends and they are the reason I chose to stay here. I think this community and this school are very unique and I know that I wouldn’t be able to find anything like it anywhere else.”
When asked to comment on her experience in the classroom at NHCS, Madisen remarks, “I’m really enjoying the Alternative Engines class. I’m probably the last person you would expect to see in a class focused around cars, but this course really makes it easy for a mechanically challenged person to participate and really learn a lot.” Looking ahead to applying to colleges next year, she feels that the change she made to select her school and the experiences she has had here will only strengthen her applications.
Anyone interested in finding out more information about attending North Haven Community School can contact the school at (207) 867-4707 or the principal, Barney Hallowell, at bhallowell@sad7.k12.me.us.
Keely Grumbach is an Island Institute Fellow working on North Haven. She and Madisen are sisters.