THE HEART OF THE COMMUNITY
North Haven Community School is the heart of our small island community. Its pulse is felt everywhere: at school when students present their Knowledge Fair research projects; at the Grange when students host a public supper; at Waterman’s Community Center when students stage a play; at basketball games in the dead of winter when cheering fans line the walls of the gym. The participation of our students in all aspects of island life has long symbolized what “community” means to the people of North Haven.
Our Town, Our School, school building fund campaign, 2006
Our Town, Our School, school building fund campaign, 2006
North Haven Community School boys basketball team runs onto the court amidst fans, 2014. Photograph courtesy of Scott Sell and the Island Journal.
For so many small, rural towns around the world, residents recognize that a community’s survival depends on the wellbeing of its heart, the school. If a school closes, it generally means the demise of the community. Along the Maine coast, where there were once 300 year round island communities, there remain only 15, with 13 of those islands having their own schools. On North Haven, when some of the one-room schoolhouses closed, residents moved to the mainland in search of opportunities and education.
I was probably about 7 years of age when the Town Fathers decided to discontinue the school at Little Thoroughfare. It was decided that the remaining students at Little Thoroughfare should go to the Northeast District Schoolhouse...This would have been quite a walk for the youngsters down there. No one knew how far it was except that it was “quite a distance” and “too far for small children”....This led to my father and mother’s decision to leave the island and go to the mainland.
Boyce Thomas, letter to Samuel Beverage, White Schoolhouses on an Island, 1980
In the 1960s, island communities fought and prevailed against state legislation requiring the closing of schools with fewer than 100 students enrolled.
High Schools at Vinalhaven and North Haven are among several granted emergency approval to remain open for another school year by the State Board of Education…Hamilton Bailey, superintendent for the North Haven and Vinalhaven school administrative districts said that permission to continue operating the island schools on an emergency basis was first requested last year. Such a request can be renewed annually, if geographical and transportation problems continue to apply.
“Island Schools Escape State Closing Law Due to Isolated Location,” Courier Gazette, December 24, 1968
Even at times when schools on North Haven closed temporarily due to fire or disease outbreak, the entire community felt the disruption.
Without an hour’s warning, she [the teacher] was ordered to close school on account of measles in town. This proved to be a permanent closing and a disastrous one for our winter term of schools as the teachers had no opportunity whatever to finish the work laid out. We very much regret that we could not finish the schools but the board of health did not deem it prudent to do so.
Fremont Beverage, Superintendent of Schools, North Haven Town Report, 1906
Temporary school closures on North Haven included the measles outbreak in 1906, the flu of 1918, epidemics of whooping cough and scarlet fever in 1927 and most recently, during the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020. During these times, as islanders grieved the absence of daily school rhythms and events, all were reminded of the central role the school holds in North Haven.
I was probably about 7 years of age when the Town Fathers decided to discontinue the school at Little Thoroughfare. It was decided that the remaining students at Little Thoroughfare should go to the Northeast District Schoolhouse...This would have been quite a walk for the youngsters down there. No one knew how far it was except that it was “quite a distance” and “too far for small children”....This led to my father and mother’s decision to leave the island and go to the mainland.
Boyce Thomas, letter to Samuel Beverage, White Schoolhouses on an Island, 1980
In the 1960s, island communities fought and prevailed against state legislation requiring the closing of schools with fewer than 100 students enrolled.
High Schools at Vinalhaven and North Haven are among several granted emergency approval to remain open for another school year by the State Board of Education…Hamilton Bailey, superintendent for the North Haven and Vinalhaven school administrative districts said that permission to continue operating the island schools on an emergency basis was first requested last year. Such a request can be renewed annually, if geographical and transportation problems continue to apply.
“Island Schools Escape State Closing Law Due to Isolated Location,” Courier Gazette, December 24, 1968
Even at times when schools on North Haven closed temporarily due to fire or disease outbreak, the entire community felt the disruption.
Without an hour’s warning, she [the teacher] was ordered to close school on account of measles in town. This proved to be a permanent closing and a disastrous one for our winter term of schools as the teachers had no opportunity whatever to finish the work laid out. We very much regret that we could not finish the schools but the board of health did not deem it prudent to do so.
Fremont Beverage, Superintendent of Schools, North Haven Town Report, 1906
Temporary school closures on North Haven included the measles outbreak in 1906, the flu of 1918, epidemics of whooping cough and scarlet fever in 1927 and most recently, during the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020. During these times, as islanders grieved the absence of daily school rhythms and events, all were reminded of the central role the school holds in North Haven.
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The heart is a complex organ and so is the relationship between a school and community. From the historic one-room schoolhouses to today’s K-12 school, North Haveners have shown extraordinary pride in island education but are also quick to level harsh judgement. Mostly, the balance of support and criticism proves essential, but at other times, tension over the school has reached a boiling point, with lines drawn, sides taken, and old wounds festering.
In the late 1990s, a time period referred to on North Haven as the “Troubles” or the “War Years,” extreme divisions erupted in the island community over teaching philosophies, school board decisions, and the day to day programming in the school. The turbulence divided families, affected island businesses, drew state and national attention, and involved legal actions. In the midst of it all, students protested board decisions and rallied for support of their school. |
We, the students of the North Haven Community School, are writing to express our frustration with the way the community is treating our school. We are tired of hearing negative things about our teachers, our academic work, and our school in general…We are sick of the town fighting over our school. We are sick of townspeople getting angry about the school and not even speaking to each other over school matters. This does not seem like the supportive community that we thought we lived in.
Letter from North Haven Community School students, North Haven News, February 1997
In the wake of the Troubles, the community continues to grapple with the undercurrents of trauma and divisions. Ultimately, that contentious time period forced the school and community to define and shape education on the island.
Letter from North Haven Community School students, North Haven News, February 1997
In the wake of the Troubles, the community continues to grapple with the undercurrents of trauma and divisions. Ultimately, that contentious time period forced the school and community to define and shape education on the island.
In the “fishbowl” environment of a small town, teachers and students are often the focus, whether through praise or rumors. In the churning rumor mill, comments twist and turn to become malicious attacks, fueling “a scapegoat culture,” where someone or something is always to blame. Time and again, students, teachers, and board members encourage community participation in an attempt to soothe the tensions, slow the rumor mill, and ultimately strengthen education on the island.
Without the support and interest of the community, this school cannot properly do its job. We are offering chances for communication and involvement. If these opportunities are not utilized, it is hard for us to understand the criticisms. Please take the time to find the truth before repeating the latest rumor.
Tom Gjelten, North Haven Community School principal, “The News of the School”, Volume 2 No. 4, February 18, 1977
There is mutual benefit and a reciprocal give and take between the school and the island community. Islanders need the school as a sustaining force on North Haven just as much as students and teachers rely on interacting with families, elders, business owners, artists, farmers, fishermen, and town officials in their learning. Through those interactions, all involved grapple together with finding solutions for challenges faced in the community, with the school serving as a catalyst moving forward.
Intergenerational relationships and projects are routine, with students and adults working together using their hands and minds.
Our Town, Our School, a community building campaign, 2006
One of the “givens” in a small rural school is a sparsity of resources and materials. The smart rural teacher will learn to use the community as a learning resource.
Schooling In Isolated Communities, 1978
Without the support and interest of the community, this school cannot properly do its job. We are offering chances for communication and involvement. If these opportunities are not utilized, it is hard for us to understand the criticisms. Please take the time to find the truth before repeating the latest rumor.
Tom Gjelten, North Haven Community School principal, “The News of the School”, Volume 2 No. 4, February 18, 1977
There is mutual benefit and a reciprocal give and take between the school and the island community. Islanders need the school as a sustaining force on North Haven just as much as students and teachers rely on interacting with families, elders, business owners, artists, farmers, fishermen, and town officials in their learning. Through those interactions, all involved grapple together with finding solutions for challenges faced in the community, with the school serving as a catalyst moving forward.
Intergenerational relationships and projects are routine, with students and adults working together using their hands and minds.
Our Town, Our School, a community building campaign, 2006
One of the “givens” in a small rural school is a sparsity of resources and materials. The smart rural teacher will learn to use the community as a learning resource.
Schooling In Isolated Communities, 1978
North Haven firefighters visit with students, 2018
North Haven’s schools have long relied upon and benefited from the involvement of community members. Early on, parent groups included the Northeast Circle, a group of neighborhood women, who volunteered their efforts for the local school.
The ladies of the neighborhood organized “The Northeast Circle” whose object was to help the school. They furnished equipment and supplies for hot lunches for the children who had to stay all day. They bought 12 chairs for use when guests came. Also kerosene lamps for use at evening entertainments. They got a set of maps which were found very useful in the study of geography. Another thing that the children greatly enjoyed were swings erected by the schoolhouse which furnished hours and hours of pleasure.
Nettie Beverage Crockett, teacher at the Northeast School from 1918 - 1932, Personal recollections, 1966
Ever since summer residents started coming to North Haven in the 1880s, they also have worked to support the island’s school, whether through donations towards building of a new school or supporting the North Haven Foundation, a fund initially established by the Lamont family in the 1950s to provide scholarships for islanders pursuing further education. Additionally, as the summer population contributes the greatest portion of property taxes on the island, their payments provide for the majority of North Haven’s municipal and school budgets. Overall, summer residents recognize that the vitality of the school greatly affects the year-round population, many of whom work for summer families directly as caretakers or who are involved in the businesses and organizations that keep North Haven alive as a community. The ripple effects are endless and reflect the interconnectedness of all who spend time on the island, whether year-round or seasonally.
The ladies of the neighborhood organized “The Northeast Circle” whose object was to help the school. They furnished equipment and supplies for hot lunches for the children who had to stay all day. They bought 12 chairs for use when guests came. Also kerosene lamps for use at evening entertainments. They got a set of maps which were found very useful in the study of geography. Another thing that the children greatly enjoyed were swings erected by the schoolhouse which furnished hours and hours of pleasure.
Nettie Beverage Crockett, teacher at the Northeast School from 1918 - 1932, Personal recollections, 1966
Ever since summer residents started coming to North Haven in the 1880s, they also have worked to support the island’s school, whether through donations towards building of a new school or supporting the North Haven Foundation, a fund initially established by the Lamont family in the 1950s to provide scholarships for islanders pursuing further education. Additionally, as the summer population contributes the greatest portion of property taxes on the island, their payments provide for the majority of North Haven’s municipal and school budgets. Overall, summer residents recognize that the vitality of the school greatly affects the year-round population, many of whom work for summer families directly as caretakers or who are involved in the businesses and organizations that keep North Haven alive as a community. The ripple effects are endless and reflect the interconnectedness of all who spend time on the island, whether year-round or seasonally.