How
does a school inspire students, staff and alumni so much that they even show up
during school break? A conversation with Pender Makin, principal of the REAL
School, shed some light on what this alternative school is able to accomplish,
and how they do it.
The
REAL School, based on Mackworth Island, is part of RSU 14. It is a regional
alternative and day treatment school serving students from many districts throughout
southern Maine. There is no “typical” REAL School student. The school serves a
range of students, some with no disabilities and a 160 IQ, and some with some
significant disabilities, said Makin. The one thing they share is that they
were not successful in their prior school settings, struggling with cognitive,
social or behavioral issues throughout their years in school.
How
does the REAL School inspire these students to succeed when other schools
couldn’t? Makin says love has a lot to do with it. “You don’t hear the L word
in public education very often. But love and happiness are really critical to
learning for kids, especially for kids who have struggled to be successful or
feel connected in their previous settings,” she said.
Showing
this love for the students happens in a variety of ways starting with an
enthusiastic welcome to school each day. Staff members gather outside to greet
the vans waving, fist bumping and welcoming kids in a way that shows them that
the staff is happy to see them. “If they want to walk a wide circle around us
they can, but we’re never going to walk a wide circle around them,” says Makin.
Just making sure they know that people are happy to see them can set up a
positive dynamic, she added.
Makin
said she emphasizes the love and happiness because she thinks it makes the
critical difference. “There’s a lot of ineffective treatment out there,” she
said. “I think maybe it’s because it isn’t offered with real open hearted
acceptance and respect for the individual person.” Many treatment centers try
to apply standardized approaches to the students they serve, she said. Makin
said that although these approaches can offer short term behavior modification
solutions, it’s not lasting. “They can pretty quickly get people to comply behaviorally,
but it’s not touching their heart or their investment in themselves as a human,”
said Makin.
At
the REAL School, they ride out behavioral challenges and work without punitive
discipline – no detention or suspensions happen at the REAL School – to create
longer lasting change. They also treat each student as an individual.
This
approach makes a difference to students. Curtis Arnold, who is in his first
year at the REAL School said he feels as though he’s treated like a young
adult, where his opinions are valued. “In this school, they give service to
your one to one individual needs,” he said.
Emily
Denbow agreed. “I’m excited to go to school because I know that I’m going to
get here and the teachers are going want to see me. They accept everybody, but
beyond that they’ll do whatever it takes to get through to you on an individual
basis,” she said.
On
Monday morning during Thanksgiving break several current students, alumni, and
staff were at the school preparing to shop for a Thanksgiving feast being held
on Tuesday afternoon. Some were baking in the kitchen, others worked on a written
gratitude project, and still others popped in and out to chat and make
connections. Conversation flowed easily, and activity never stopped.
The
connections between all members of the school community can be felt in every
interaction. Arnold said, “You can relate the REAL School to being a second
family, a second home.” He added, “If you were to ask any student that walks
through this building if they love this school, they will most certainly 100
percent say ‘yes’.”
Denbow
said that attending the REAL School was her alternative to dropping out. Unhappy
where she was, she said that when she was given this option she decided to give
school one more try. “I haven’t regretted it since,” she said. “For the first
time in my high school career, I’m passing every class this semester.”
It
can be difficult to run this kind of program with the mandates set out for
public schools both federally and statewide. Makin said they focus on
interpreting those mandates through the filter of what is right for the kids. “We’re
really a values based organization within the larger public school framework. It’s
not an easy balance to maintain, but all of our teachers have tremendous
professional courage, and it’s about our kids,” said Makin.
There
are four programs that house 60 students at the REAL School. Approximately half
the students are in the regular program. Their day begins in a homeroom
setting, with breakfast, morning meeting and goal setting for the day. From
there, the students work on their interdisciplinary service learning projects.
There
are many of these projects being worked on simultaneously. One group is planning
all aspects of a medical and educational relief trip to the Dominican Republic;
another is working on a Veteran’s history project where they interview veterans
of wars, edit the video interviews, and plan to deliver these to the Library of
Congress where they will be archived; and a third group working on a project
for the Portland Water District to raise and rebuild a boardwalk over an
estuary.
In
addition, there are students with individual projects. Arnold, for instance, is
working on a project with Generation On to facilitate a ropes course experience
for a group of middle school students from Portland.
At
the end of the semester, the students have a capstone presentation, where they
take ownership of demonstrating the standards they have achieved, said Makin. After
lunch, the students in this program spend time in more traditional classes
The
second largest program at the REAL School is the Agriculture and Culinary Arts
Program. These students plan, prepare and serve breakfast and lunch to all the
REAL School and Baxter School students three days a week. There are gardens and
a hoop house, built by students, where fresh vegetables are grown and used as
often as possible. On days they are not serving, these students are planning,
doing prep cooking, evaluating the nutritional aspects of their menus, and
attending regular classes.
Most
of the courses at the REAL school are multi-age and interdisciplinary, where
students work within their individual capacities towards individual goals said
Makin, similar to the old one room schoolhouse style.
A
third program is the REAL school preparatory academy, which is comprised of
students who need a very structured, individualized program for a variety of
reasons. These students have one adult per student in the classroom, which may
include a teacher, educational technician and Americorps volunteers.
The
final program offered at the school is a long term restorative learning
program. This is for students with ongoing egregious behaviors that routinely
interfere with the teaching and learning of others, said Makin. The teachers
work with these students in what they call a restorative learning process, to
help them earn back the privileges of the larger school setting.
Because
the school has a variety of non-traditional programs, they must get creative with
finding funding streams. Approximately one-third of their operating costs come
from RSU 14. Another third is from tuition and transportation revenue from
other districts. The final third comes from a combination of grants, which the
staff is constantly writing, professional development services provided by REAL
school staff, private donors and fundraisers.
The
workplace readiness program is funded by an anonymous donor. Through this
program, students are able to train, apply for and hold down jobs and get paid
in Hannaford gift cards. Another private donor supports the teen aspirations
fund, which can provide money for things like an outfit for a job interview, a
test fee, or a college application fee. In short, it can help with “any little
barriers that would get in the way financially of having our kids having the
best chance at anything they want to do with their lives,” said Makin.
And
what do REAL School graduates do with their lives? Every graduating student has
a plan in place so that they can answer the question “what are you doing
tomorrow?” said Makin. The range is as wide as students from any school.
There
are graduates who have completed four-year degrees, said Makin, who recently
received an invitation to a former student’s graduation from an RN program. They
have graduates in the service, in community college, and who have gone right to
work after school.
George
Mann, a 2013 graduate, went straight to work in a store in Biddeford after
graduation. Of his REAL School experience, he said “It’s not all about
authority figures here like it is in other places.” He added that the staff at
the REAL School listens, rather than treating the students like kids who don’t
know anything. He said he comes back to visit, “Because I love these guys.”
The
feeling is clearly mutual. “We are lucky to have the sweetest, nicest most
interesting young people ever – it’s an amazing way to live your life,” said
Makin.
With a light covering of snow, volunteers from scout and
veterans organizations joined together to lay wreaths at every grave of Windham’s
veterans. Scouts from Boy Scout troop 805 canvassed Arlington Cemetery next to
the North Windham Fire Station, searching for placards, bronze stars or other
items that denoted a veteran was laid to rest there. Each wreath with a red,
white and blue bow was placed against the stone or flag holder. Boy Scout troop
51 worked at Chase Cemetery and Girl Scout troops worked at Smith and Mayberry
Cemeteries. 
“We wanted to give back to all the people who have given
to us,” Sawyer said. “I met with Anne Jordan and became overwhelmed with the
numbers.”
Sawyer contacted Roger Timmons from the veteran’s
organization in Windham to see if he could help. Dave Tanguay from the America
Legion Post 148 took over and organized groups of Boy and Girl Scouts to place
the wreaths at each of the larger cemeteries in Windham with help from
veterans. It was a massive project, Tanguay said. 
“There are 30 cemeteries in Windham, 24 have veterans in
them,” Tanguay said. He said that some are far off the road or might have only
one or two veterans. Those are being placed by himself or another veteran. “Even
the remote sites, we’ll still visit them,” he said. 
The project is expected to cost approximately $3,000, of
which they have raised about $1,000, including a $500 check from the Windham
Police Department. To donate or for information call 650-7484 or make checks
out to American Legion Post 148.
