On Dec. 4, Citizens for Value In Education were privileged to have Camden Hills Regional High School Senior Camilla Walker, and Junior Matt Clark as our guests for our meeting. Camilla and Matt are student representatives to the Five Town CSD School Board.

Were it not already obvious, the discussion with Camilla and Matt made it very clear that these are two very bright, successful, focused, hard-working high school students. They are among the best of the current high school students. It is important to put our conversation in that context. Other CSD students would have different views on some of the subjects discussed. Attempting to gain a representative sample of the opinions of the student body as a whole, would require talking to a broad group of students.

I have purposely not attributed the comments below to either student. It should also be noted that some of the comments were not made by either student but by others present at the meeting. Some of the points made in this meeting were:

Camilla came to the CSD from Lincolnville and Matt from SAD 28. Both expressed that they felt well prepared, academically, for the transition to the CSD. Obviously, as is well known, there are nonacademic transition challenges for students moving from the Hope-Appleton-Lincolnville schools to the CSD, which are less of a problem for those transitioning from SAD 28 and those were discussed.

When the present group of CSD students moved to the CSD from the HAL schools, there was less coordination of programs between those schools and the Camden-Rockport Middle School than is being developed now. Closer coordination of programs in these schools is important in enabling those students coming to the CSD from the HAL schools to take full advantage of some of the course offerings at the CSD, which opportunity, it was said, has not always existed in the past.

There was some discussion of the challenges for those middle school students who either need more clarification of subject matter than the group as a whole, or who are ready to move ahead faster than the rest of the class. Parenthetically, those issues are being addressed now with curriculum changes and to a degree with the move to Standards Based Education.

The point was made that there are many pressures upon students transitioning from the cozy atmosphere of middle school to becoming freshmen in high school in the presence of more sophisticated juniors and seniors. Those challenges include great variance in, particularly, sexual maturity, more exposure to substances, and the greater freedom in high school.

When asked about the views of their peers about their school experience before reaching the CSD, our guests were challenged to respond in that this is not a subject often discussed among students. But, as one might expect, the points made included that some faced challenges and frustrations at the middle school level and others simply were not happy with school, period.

Our guests were asked whether, in talking to recent CSD graduates, they seemed to feel well prepared for college. Generally, while making it clear that there was a big transition involved (again!) and that the work was much harder, most, in their view, seemed to be successfully making the transition.

The point was made that motivation was the key component in achieving school success. Those who are determined to do well, who choose to apply themselves, are generally successful. There was some important discussion about motivation — how and where one finds it. The point was made that many CSD students find that spark from one or more teachers, in one or more classes. Some experience that they have at some point in their school career opens up an area of interest and excitement for them, often assisted by one of their teachers.

There were several teachers and classes that those who have moved on in their education, or those who are aware of the thinking of those who have moved on, have found to be particularly important in sparking their passion for an area of learning. In that regard, it was agreed that the breadth of course offerings at the CSD is very important.

Note: The next VIE meeting will be Thursday, Jan. 10.

Alex Armentrout, of Citizens for Value In Education, lives in Rockport. Citizens for Value In Education is a group interested in education and which has now been working for several years with SAD 28 and the Five Town CSD toward achieving the Best Possible Education at the lowest possible cost.  The group holds periodic meetings to discuss education matters related both to improving education outcomes and to controlling/reducing the cost of  education to taxpayers.  Interested parties are encouraged to join the discussion.