(upbeat music) - [Derek] Coming up on "Learning from Maine," when it comes to early childhood education, we can hope a 2026 version of the old maxim is true as Skowhegan goes, so goes Maine, and the nation.

(person laughing) - We have a school in Skowhegan, first of its kind, and I always say it's definitely the first of its kind in Maine, but it's really the first of its kind in the country where kids can go there from ages six weeks old up to fifth grade.

- When I see a baby here and I look in a classroom and know they're going to be here for the next 12 years, they're gonna own this place and they're gonna feel so confident and safe and comfortable.

- I get to be a part of building this amazing future for these kids.

(gentle music) - Welcome to "Learning from Maine," a new series about what's happening and what's possible in Maine Public Schools.

I'm your host, Derek Pierce.

For over 30 years, I worked in Maine Public Schools as a high school teacher and principal.

Now I get to travel the state and witness what our teachers and students are up to.

Together we'll learn how we can provide an excellent education for all our kids, especially yours, your kids, your grandkids, your neighbors, and your loved ones.

In this episode, we're gonna focus on the part of the education system which I personally know the least about, but which many experts feel is the most important: early childhood education.

We'll also learn more about how one rural Maine community has used early childhood education to help revive and reinvent itself.

- Peekaboo.

- [Derek] 12 years ago, Amanda Cole Brown was feeling stuck, resigned to her own struggle.

- I honestly did not have plans for my future.

I didn't know what I wanted to do.

I was a single mom.

I was raising a newborn baby by myself, scared to ask for help, ashamed, and feeling like you're failing.

- [Derek] Amanda's hometown, Skowhegan, was also struggling and down on itself.

- The town of Skowhegan was one of the highest risk communities in the state in terms of teen pregnancy, high school dropout, unemployed, there were health risks, high child abuse and neglect, so it was a community in need.

- When I was in high school, we still had that mindset of we're an old mill town.

We'll always be an old mill town.

- [Derek] And the schools were cramped, falling apart, and scattered.

Many kids had to attend five different buildings before reaching middle school.

- First few years, my grandmother watched me and then I went to nursery school from about three to four years old.

I then went to North El for kindergarten and then went to Bloomfield for first, second, and third grade.

And then I went to the Margaret Chase Smith School for fourth and fifth grade.

- There was also a negative self-conversation that would happen here and that troubled me.

- We saw a lot of people come try out this community and move on.

- [Derek] But 12 years later and Skowhegan is ascended.

- [All] Three, two, one.

(crowd cheering) - [Derek] And so is Amanda and her four kids.

- I have a great job.

I love what I do, and my children have flourished.

- The linchpin for all of this transformation just might be Skowhegan's commitment and creativity in tackling a challenge that's bedeviled the entire country, accessible, quality, early childhood education and care for all families.

Welcome to Maine's first public school with a dedicated early childhood wing, serving children from six weeks through age 11.

The Hight Family Early Learning Center inside Skowhegan's Margaret Chase Smith Elementary School provides all-day, all-year programs for infants and toddlers.

Once they turn three, these kids will enter pre-K classrooms located just a few feet away, and then they'll head down the hall for K to five.

- It's definitely the first of its kind in Maine, but it's really the first of its kind in the country where kids can go there from ages six weeks old up to fifth grade.

So you have a continuity of care and a continuity of education.

For really the most important years of any child's life.

- [Derek] A local group has been leading the way on this comprehensive approach since 2010: Waterville's Educare Central Maine.

It's renowned for its family partnerships and emphasis on a nature and play-based curriculum.

COO Tracye Fortin knows just how crucial quality early childhood care is for both kids and their communities to prosper.

She also knows it's rare.

- There is a childcare crisis in this country, and it's felt in almost every community.

- Mainers struggle to find quality daycare that is both local and affordable.

The average cost of childcare for one infant is $12,000 a year.

For four-year-olds, it's $9,000.

A quarter of rural Mainers live in places where there are more than three children for every spot in a licensed childcare.

Much of Somerset County is still a so-called childcare desert.

- So if I'm a parent and I can't find care, then I'm not going to work, and that is a huge amount of income.

Is it half an income if I'm a two-parent family?

There's not enough income for families to be able to meet their basic needs.

- In 2013, the Educare board chose Skowhegan as the place to expand its winning model due to the clear need as well as the longstanding partnerships between the school district and KVCAP, a local childcare and social service provider.

Then in 2018, the community saw an opportunity.

The district was approved for a new state-funded elementary school.

Four years later, voters approved the plans for a new facility that would replace three and a half aging district schools and two early childhood sites and provide services for the first 10 years of life in one place.

But to fulfill their ambitious vision, they'd have to locally raise a most ambitious sum, three and a half million dollars.

- We're really trying to approach this as not only education but civic engagement.

Trying to reverse some poverty cycles here in rural Maine.

- [Derek] Sam Hight, whose family has been selling cars in the region since 1911, was tasked with chairing the fundraising efforts alongside Superintendent Jon Moody.

- You really need to start with the vision.

You need to have engaged people and you need to be willing to stay the course.

This is a seven-year process.

- [Derek] Superintendent Moody had to figure out how to get that vision supported by one of the nation's largest school boards with 23 members representing six towns.

- [Interviewer] Were there other obstacles or challenges that you faced or any moments where you're like, "I don't know if this is actually gonna happen?"

- Oh, an infinite number it feels like.

- This is ultimately workforce development because what we're teaching in those schools, those will end up being our employees in 15 to 20 years.

Communities are made up of people, so let's make the best people we can.

- [Derek] But even this gifted salesman was surprised by how his pitch was received.

It was the opposite of the dreaded perfect storm.

- Perfect un-storming everywhere.

More people donated than I expected.

More people said yes than I expected.

A perfect blue sky here in Skowhegan.

- [Derek] And in 18 months, the massive local fundraising goal was met.

And then a successful federal grant added nearly two million.

- But it's a pretty easy sell when you basically say it's for the kids, it's easier than selling a car.

- [Derek] The blue skies lasted through the design and construction process until the new building's sunny launch in August before 500 elated community members and one Riverhawk.

- This was a once-in-a-generation project.

I feel blessed and so incredibly fortunate to be here, to report that the project is both on time and under budget.

(crowd cheering) - We've got a new first-of-its-kind school and no property taxpayer involvement at all.

- [Derek] And after decades of substandard facilities, the message this gorgeous place sends to the community and its kids matters.

Longtime Skowhegan residents, Mike and Amber Lambtke, were champions of the cause, even though their own children were too old to benefit.

- Children deserve beautiful spaces with art and color and warm, friendly faces and a natural environment built for their play.

Children who find awe and inspiration early on will be happier kids and happier people in life.

- And will continue to find awe and inspiration that helps solve problems in the future.

- So this is a beautiful building, but it's about what happens inside the walls that really makes the difference.

- [All] We love school.

- [Derek] That difference starts with leadership.

Myla Kreider of MSAD 54 and Nicole Chaplin of KVCAP co-run their building and they've had to figure out ways for the distinct worlds of elementary and early childhood to coexist happily.

Just think about what an infant eats for lunch versus a second grader.

And you don't want a toddler on the same playground as a fifth grader.

But issue by issue, Myla and Nicole blazed this new path.

- It took lots of meetings, lots of discussions, lots of people telling us we were crazy.

"What are you doing?"

- It's a transition for everybody.

Think outside the box.

Don't let the box walls stop you.

Cut them open and go for it.

- So now that there's an amazing facility and the promise of high-quality early education, what does that mean?

What do these kids in the Hight Family Early Learning Center actually do all day?

(person laughing) Some might consider the idea of any pre-kindergarten curriculum to be as silly as a three-year-old.

Isn't their curriculum just to eat, sleep, and play?

- There he is.

Peekaboo.

- [Derek] Well, care and relationships are always at the center at the Hight, but so are purposeful activities designed to capitalize on a child's natural hunger for learning, even for toddlers and infants.

- Yes, I get to cuddle babies and it's beautiful and it's wonderful.

However, there's so much more to what we do.

I don't think that people understand that our work goes far beyond what they might envision, they see when we walk by with a buggy full of really cute kids.

- [Speaker] Every day we do some sort of art.

It's not just creativity, but fine motor, gross motor, sensory is such a huge piece to art.

- [Derek] They do read-alouds and singalongs.

♪ We're clapping too ♪ ♪ We're so glad you're here ♪ ♪ We're glad you're here today ♪ - [Derek] And provide lots of time outside for structured and unstructured play.

- [Charity] The more time I can spend outside, the better.

Go Mariah, go.

- [Derek] One of the main reasons Charity teaches infants and toddlers is because she knows that 80% of human brain development is complete by age three.

- 80%, like, that's just insane to me.

So I get to be a part of building this amazing future for these kids.

- [Derek] Upstairs in Sara Mea's pre-K classroom, three to five-year-olds are engaged in Maine's "Pre-K for Me" curriculum, which immerses students in daily rituals of language literacy and numeracy development.

- "My name is Katie Honors and I'm a really good kid.

I smile a lot because usually I'm happy and I give excellent hugs."

What's this letter?

- C.

- O.

- O.

(all clapping) How many times?

- Five.

- [All] Five.

- [Sara] I see Bryson has a letter N on his shoe.

You had the letter N on your shoe along with the other letters.

Yes.

You may stand up and go wash.

- [Derek] Braxton, one of Sara's students, showed me something he and his classmates had been working on.

What do you have here, Braxton?

- My book.

- Your book?

You've written a book.

How old are you?

- Five.

- You're five and you've already written a book.

What's this book about?

- [Braxton] My family.

- Sara's students also spend time each day in structured play.

During centers time, they get to choose whether they like to write, draw, pretend, or explore.

The activities at each center often tie to the week's read-aloud book and its themes, such as "What is a Family?"

There's also plenty of time daily for kid-led fun on the playground that's designed specifically for pre-K students.

Risk-taking is encouraged.

So is roaring.

Roar.

(children roaring) Sara's pre-K students also learn some of life's most fundamental skills.

- How to put her jacket on, how to put shoes on, how to tie his shoes, how to knock with the bathroom door shut.

- [Derek] But Sara's clear about what's most important.

- You don't want that one.

So you could say no thank you.

Social emotional skills are more important at preschool age than academics.

You can't learn academics when you don't know how to regulate yourself.

I'm teaching them how to learn, how to be a person, how to be kind.

What was that, Braxton?

- [Braxton] Take deep breaths.

- We take deep breaths.

Yes, absolutely.

- [Derek] During my visit, the focus was on learning how to handle big feelings.

It was the message of the week's read-aloud book.

- "But sometimes on bamboo I show my teeth and make fierce noises."

When we have some really big feelings, what space can we use?

- [Children] The safe space.

- [Sara] The safe space.

- One of Sarah's kids, Spencer, taught me more about big feelings using the emotion dolls.

Alright, let's see scared face.

Happy face.

What's this one?

Mad face.

One of the keys to the success of programs like Educare and centers like the Hight, and one of the reasons they're so popular with families, is they're not just providing care and education for the little ones, but for their parents as well.

- Every family needs support, every adult needs support, every child needs support, and that's what the family coaches are there for.

- Two of my children were born in the NICU and if it wasn't for them, I'm not sure.

- [Derek] Amanda's worked with a family coach first at KVCAP and now at the Hight Center for eight years.

Her longtime coach, Noella, has helped Amanda and her family navigate through their child's open-heart surgery.

She helped make sure there's enough Christmas presents under the tree, and in 2024 she helped them purchase their first home.

- Children, their health and wellbeing, their development, their success is linked to a family's stability.

- They're part of my family.

They've been there through everything.

- It isn't a center raising children for the parents.

It's a center that is raising children with the parents.

- Our family services staff work with families to set goals that are driven by the parent.

It might be reading more to my child at night.

It might be buying a new home.

- [Derek] In addition to providing access to a family coach, Hight Center teachers meet with parents four times a year to review progress and set goals.

In Charity's class, the goals are elemental and crucial.

For this six-month-old infant, it's learning to crawl.

- Yeah.

You wanna come get it?

Here we go.

Yay.

Look at you.

We use each child's goal and we incorporate that into our curriculum for the week.

Oh no.

- [Derek] Ellie's goal is to walk.

- [Speaker] Yay!

- [Derek] In Sara's class, Spencer's mom would like him to learn how to write his name.

- What's the next letter on your name?

- P.

- P. I can tell you've been practicing at home.

- [Derek] But as any adult who's ever spent time with the pre-K set knows, they don't always wanna follow their teacher's curriculum or their parents' goals, like during the Hight's opening day when an infant pulled the fire alarm.

And what's on your mind may not be what's on their mind.

- I can run faster than a snake.

- [Sara] You can?

I bet you could.

- [Derek] So a great pre-K teacher also has to know when to follow the kids' lead.

This text discussion was supposed to be about how lots of different animals can be pets and pets can be part of the family structure.

And then Kinsley had something she needed to share.

- [Kinsley] My guinea pig, it just died.

- Wow.

I'm really sorry to hear about that.

- [Kinsley] That's okay.

- [Derek] Soon after, Spencer is moved to add- - My dad died.

- I'm sorry to hear about that.

Do you need a hug?

All right, you're gonna sit with me?

(both grunting) Yes, Kinsley?

- My uncle passed away.

- [Sara] Your uncle passed away.

I'm sorry to hear that.

It's sad when people pass away, right?

- [Derek] And suddenly a lesson about pets is morphed into one about dying and grief.

Sara pivots, recounting how she conjures an invisible string that keeps her connected to her own deceased father.

- Can I have a hug?

- Sure.

So the invisible string talks about how the person in heaven or wherever they are, it might be mom at home and you're feeling some really big feelings about leaving her for the day at school, you're always connected by an invisible string.

So like my dad is up in heaven and he has his end of the invisible string and then I have mine.

So him and I can always tug on each other sometimes.

- [Derek] Like a virtuoso jazz musician, Sara riffs off her kids' riffs and somehow she's able to steer the ensemble back to the melody.

- Yeah.

- Yes?

- My dog passed away.

- Wow.

We have a lot of big feelings happening right now.

Do you need a hug too?

So I really read my kids.

There's learning everywhere we go.

- Remember Braxton, the five-year-old author?

Well, when he started to tire from my questions- Who do we have in your family?

I tried to emulate Sara's example of following a student's lead.

Braxton was more interested in showing me a new dance the class had been learning for Halloween, "The Batwing Beat."

- You have to copy the thing of the sound.

- Oh, okay.

- There might be little squeaks.

- Little squeaks.

Okay.

♪ Do the batwing beat ♪ ♪ Do, do, do, do ♪ (both imitating squeaks) ♪ Flap it, flap it ♪ - Braxton, give me five, man.

That was great.

Thank you so much for doing "The Batwing Beat" with me.

- You're welcome.

- Okay.

Unlike Sara, I was not able to definitely steer the students back towards a larger instructional goal, but I was starting to understand why it's not just the kids who have big feelings of joy for the Hight Center.

Whee.

- I'm so passionate about what this building is and the collaborations that we're making for all of these children and the impact that it's gonna have on this community.

I have never felt more connected to a team of people than I do at this particular job because I know that it isn't just me.

That this family has all of these resources available to them.

- When you have kids in five or six different places, you never have the right person in the right place.

This building has all those resources here together and available.

- [Speaker] When I see a baby here and I look in a classroom and know they're going to be here for the next 12 years, they're gonna own this place and they're gonna feel so confident and safe and comfortable.

- [Derek] And when a school is caring for both toddlers and fifth graders, the benefits for staff go beyond even the team approach that Charity loves.

- We have staff that have children down here in the early learning center, which then will bring us great employee opportunities and people that will stay because their children can be close.

- [Sara] I know some of our staff, if they're having a bad day, they'll just go downstairs and visit the babies and get some baby snuggles.

- If we can all have baby snuggles every day, that would be good.

- It definitely helps.

- Even with the occasional snuggle, early childhood work is clearly demanding, and across the country, most childcare centers report staffing shortages.

The average pre-K teacher makes about half the salary of a K-12 teacher.

Low pay combines with inadequate training and support to lead to high turnover.

The Hight Center is changing the perception of what an early childhood teaching job can be.

It's even bucking those shortage trends by attracting students to the field.

Like Gabby.

- I learned how to be a teacher through this program.

About two days out of a three-day week, we would go into a classroom and work with these kids.

- The Somerset County Technical Center's early education and learning program is located right here in the Hight Center.

- And it's just a really great learning experience to show us all the different career paths in education that we can take, as well as getting college credits.

- [Derek] The Hight Center now employs four current students or alums from SCTC, and the synergies will only increase with time.

The research is clear on the benefits of universal pre-K.

More mothers can go to work, boosting the local economy and their kids do better too.

They're more likely to attend school and pass classes, even to graduate on time.

- In the long term, what you see is improved educational outcomes.

You see improved healthcare outcomes.

- Every community should have high quality program access for pre-K children.

- [Derek] But Skowhegan is moving towards universal access, not just for three and four-year-olds, but for infants and toddlers as well.

Many have even more benefits.

- Everybody deserves a chance to have the building blocks to have a wonderful life.

- [Derek] And ideally that would be paired with robust supports available for their parents.

Amanda's story underscores why.

- [Interviewer] So to be clear, you're raising four kids.

- Raising for kids.

- [Interviewer] You're working here.

- Working full-time.

- [Interviewer] And now you're working on your bachelor's degree as well?

- And full-time college student.

- [Interviewer] And full-time college student.

- Yes.

- [Interviewer] So that's at least three full-time lives you're leading.

- Yes.

- Amanda's second son, Remington, is one of his mom's biggest fans, but even he can't believe what she's pulling off.

Is your mom the best in the world?

Are you and your brothers easy to take care of?

She takes classes when you're in bed.

You're sleeping, she's in class.

- So like on the Chromebook, on the laptop?

- Mm-hmm.

(laughing) - That is crazy, isn't it?

Amanda and her four boys have cultivated their place and their best selves at the Hight Center.

Amanda's also found her career.

She's been assisting in early childhood classrooms with KVCAP for several years and now works at the Hight Center.

Great parents for sure make great teachers.

With her family coach's steadfast support, Amanda earned her associate's degree in 2025.

As she eyes her next degree and certification, she's more determined and confident than ever.

- I am goal-oriented.

I am going for my bachelor's.

I want my own classroom, I want it by the end of the year.

- [Derek] The Hight Center is not only expanding students' and parents' belief in what is possible, but it's doing the same for Skowhegan.

- We need families of all kinds to have a resilient community here.

And that includes young families.

And when young parents have the supports they need, they will stay here.

They will work here.

- The school really represents a reinvestment in ourselves that we matter and whoever else comes here, we can welcome them and they matter too.

- This building is more than just a building.

It's a promise to our children and a tribute to what's possible when a community comes together for family.

- The turnaround, I think, did come with an effort that required all of us to start facing what do we have?

Not what do we don't have?

And how do we feel proud about that?

- Everyone says, well, it's never gonna happen.

Well, we were able to show that it can happen and it will happen.

- [Derek] Public schools now serve about 60% of our four-year-olds, a 30% increase in just the last decade.

Nearly half of Maine districts report universal pre-K enrollment.

However, the state has set a goal for every Maine kid to have that kind of access by fall 2026.

Will it get there?

Should it?

- I think it's a nonpartisan issue, early childhood, and I think we have an understanding that we need to do right by kids.

- Here in rural Maine, that's what you have.

You have public schools.

We know the importance of public education and we know how good it can be.

- I believe this is going to be a model for the state and that you're gonna see facilities like this all across Maine.

(audience applauding) - [Derek] Wouldn't that be great news?

Imagine if 80% of all of our kids' brain development was nurtured at places like the Hight Center.

(all chattering) - [Child] Can I help you too?

- [Sara] Sure, I'd love that.

(all chattering) - [Derek] Well, thank you for teaching people how to be a person.

- (laughing) Thank you.

I try.

- [Derek] There's no higher calling than that.

♪ We wish you well ♪ ♪ We wish you well ♪ ♪ All through the day today ♪ ♪ We wish you well ♪ (upbeat music) - Thanks for watching "Learning from Maine."

If you missed any of the stories from our first season or want to go deeper with bonus content, head to our YouTube page or our website at mainelovespublicschools.org.

Coming up on our next episode, how one Maine district is teaching its students and faculty to navigate the daunting threats and daunting opportunities of generative AI.

Thanks again for watching and let's keep "Learning from Maine."

(upbeat music)