STOCKTON SPRINGS - Will Hosmer, a student at Searsport District High School, related a satirical version of the story of Rip Van Winkle. The old man, he said, was unable to get his bearings after his famously long nap until he saw a school classroom. It was the only thing that hadn’t changed.

To this tongue-in-cheek dig at public schools, Hosmer added his own twist.

“He was not in Searsport or Stockton Springs,” he said.

When the laughter subsided from the crowd of 75 people packed into the basement of the Stockton Springs town office, Hosmer offered one example of how Searsport District High School might appear unrecognizable through a traditional lens. Teachers don’t tell students what to do, he said. Instead, they tell them the goal, then challenge them to get there.

It’s been more than a decade since Searsport regained the accreditation it had stripped in 1997 on the basis of sub-standard facilities. The crisis prompted a strong community investment in the schools, and — with nothing-to-lose — the adoption of a standards-based, or proficiency-based, approach to education.

Going by standards meant students would no longer be encouraged to chase letter grades and log “seat time.” Instead, they would work on a subject until they could demonstrate that they understood it well enough to move on.

The system has apparently been a success.

In Stockton Springs on Wednesday, SDMS/HS Principal Brian Campbell listed a number of areas where the Searsport schools have measurably excelled, including test scores in certain grades and a 100-percent acceptance rate last year among students who applied to colleges. Representatives from many other schools and organizations have visited the Searsport complex in recent years to learn more about what the school is doing right. 

When the state shifted recently to a standards-based model, Searsport was ahead of the game.

“We don’t have to — like every other school in the state, and including some in this district — figure out how to meet the requirements,“ he said. “We’re already there.”

Administrators at SDMS/HS are in the process of renewing the school’s accreditation. In the meantime, Campbell said he and others have been looking at ways to extend Searsport’s project-based learning approach to locations outside of the school campus.

On Wednesday, he outlined a four-year plan based on partnerships with colleges, businesses and state agencies. Many have already signed letters of understanding with the school, including Waldo County General Hospital, Unity College, GAC Chemical, Maine Maritime Academy, the Penobscot Marine Museum, Front Street Shipyard, Bangor Savings Bank, the Darling Center and others.

Searsport’s proximity to the water was used as a basis for the school’s new marine environmental science focus. In the future, Campbell said, related “enrichment programs” might include Outward Bound, sailing, kayaking or scuba.

Earlier this month Hamilton Marine donated its one-time headquarters on Main Street to the Penobscot Marine Museum for use by the Searsport schools. The W.L. Hamilton Learning Center, as it was christened, is already home to a new boat building program. Campbell said the center could eventually house aquaculture, aquaponics and robotics programs, a navigation and transportation lab and science classrooms.

Campbell showed the crowd in Stockton Springs a video clip of Bangor Savings Bank President Yellow Light Breen making  reference to the new facility in a speech at the University of Maine Presque Isle. 

“Here’s the dirty little secret,” he said. “You can’t build a boat unless you know geometry. So they’re tricking these kids.”

Breen’s comment was a nod to the ingenuity of the hands-on program. Judging from the ripple of laughter in the Stockton Springs town office, the joke was well received. 

Campbell said outside groups have been very receptive to the idea of collaborating with the schools. The first question from many of them was, “when can we start?”

“It’s not going to happen overnight,” Campbell said. “We’re still going to be an RSU for another year.” He added that this was fine since it would give the school a year to roll out the program.

In describing the four-year plan, Campbell spoke of the future of Searsport and Stockton Springs in a way that suggested a post-RSU 20 vision. But he was clear with the attendants that the question of whether to leave the district was theirs to decide.

“I’m not going to talk about withdrawal. I am showing where we are going as an educational campus,” he said. “You guys have to figure out what’s going to work for your communities.”

Speaking after the meeting Campbell added to his earlier statement.

“Whether we’re a separate entity or an RSU, we’re doing this,” he said.

Ethan Andrews can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com