TO: RSU #74 Board of Directors

FROM: Jean Butler

DATE: April 29, 2026

PreK-5 ELEMENTARY REPORT

We are in the fourth and final quarter of the 2025-26 school year, and the next seven weeks will be very busy. An important part of this time will be our spring NWEA testing, which shows us the progress our students have made in their academic studies throughout the school year. These are important tests, and teachers work hard to impress upon their students the importance of taking their time, working hard, and trying their best to show us and their families all that they have accomplished this year. Our intervention team members also administer spring benchmarking assessments in May. With all of the spring test data, we will hold data meetings in early June to review students’ progress and make decisions about the level of supports students will need next year.

The Community Literacy Team’s Adventures in Literacy Night on April 16th was a successful endeavor. We had 210 students from grades PreK-5 and their family members in attendance to enjoy a free Subway dinner, presentations by Maine children’s author Lynn Plourde, and various activities related to the themes of Lynn’s books such as cookie decorating, arts and crafts, bookmark making, games and puzzles, a photo booth, a Story Walk, Escape Room fun, and a free used book table. Oliver & Friends Bookshop was on site to sell Lynn Plourde books, and Lynn autographed those as well as any of her books that families had at home and brought to the event. Six students won gift baskets which included one of Lynn’s books and other items related to the theme of each book. We appreciate the help of the CHS Culinary Arts Club in baking cookies for the cookie decorating activity and five members of the CCS student leadership team who helped at the event. We want to thank the Anson Academy Association for funding this activity for our district. 

To coordinate with and to promote our literacy night, we asked fourth and fifth grade students to volunteer to be guest readers of some of Lynn Plourde’s books. Teachers in grades PreK-3 at Garret Schenck and Solon agreed to have guest readers come into their classrooms to read to their students during the week of April 13-17. This was a great experience for both the readers and the audience members!

We will be holding Preschool/Kindergarten Screening events at Solon Elementary School on May 4th and Garret Schenck Elementary School on May 7th. We have invited all incoming preschoolers as well as any incoming kindergartners who did not attend preschool in RSU #74. Besides assessing students’ skills in concepts, language, and motor skills through the DIAL-IV screening tool, we will check students’ hearing, and the Lions Club will check their vision. Parents will have a chance to meet with our nurse to discuss any medical needs of their child as well as to meet their child’s teacher for next year. In late summer the preschool and kindergarten teachers will hold Open Houses for students and families to attend.

The week of May 4-8 is Staff Appreciation Week, a time to show our gratitude for the great teachers and staff we have in RSU #74. Our PTO’s will bring lunch to school one day for our staff members as a way to recognize them for their dedication to and support of our students. We are very fortunate to have such a great staff in RSU #74!

On three Friday mornings in May, we will be holding Career Days for our K-5 students from all three elementary schools. Grades K-1 will participate on May 1st, Grades 2-3 on May 8th, and Grades 4-5 on May 15th at the Garret Schenck School. I want to thank Brenda Mullin and Kayla Starr for helping to recruit speakers for this year’s Career Days. We hope to expose students to the many career options that exist for them after they graduate as well as to teach them that to be successful at any job you have to have good reading and math skills, work hard, get along well with others, and keep learning – all skills we teach in school.

On May 12th, twelve students from grades 3-6 in RSU #74 have been chosen by their teachers to participate in Discovery Day at the University of Maine at Farmington, sponsored by the Western Maine Educational Collaborative. The district is sending three students from grades 3-5 in each of the three elementary schools and three sixth graders from Carrabec Community School. Classroom teachers chose students who are curious learners, good thinkers, and able to work with others. The theme of this year’s event is Pathways, and students will participate in workshop sessions with students from other schools in western Maine. Third and fourth graders will attend three sessions: Pathways to Freedom, Whose Track Is That?, and Following a Real Path. Students in grades 5-6 got to choose a theme which interested them from four choices: Coding Our Pathway, From Books to Beyond: Creating Your Pathway to the Future, Lego Robotics, and Pathways to Imagination. Their workshops will revolve around the topic they chose. Accompanying the students on this trip will be Garret Schenck third grade teacher Jasmyn Wagg, Solon fourth grade teacher Cally Chick, CCS fourth grade teacher Kim Swihart, and CCS sixth grade teacher Sarah Dutch. 

We have several field trips going on during the month of May. The Garret Schenck grades 3-5 students are going to the Wire Bridge in New Portland on May 1st to explore the area and take a hike. Grade 4 students at the Solon Elementary School will visit the Maine State Museum and State House in Augusta on May 7th. Grades 3-5 at the Solon School will take a field trip to the Cole Transportation Museum in Bangor on May 19th. These trips are wonderful supplements to students’ classroom learning experiences.

The district’s STEAM Team is sponsoring STEAM Nights at all three elementary schools this spring. Garret Schenck’s STEAM Night will be May 21st, and Solon’s will be June 1st. Art teacher Rich Reichenbach will display student art work at each of these events, and teachers will display STEAMrelated projects their students have done. At the Garret Schenck event, Jasmyn Wagg’s third grade students will display their Genius Hour projects as well.

Our music teacher and band/chorus director Lindsay Burke-Cinsov will hold her annual Band and Chorus Spring Concert on May 28th at 6:00 PM at Carrabec Community School. Band and chorus students in grades 4-8 will perform for their families and friends, and we look forward to this chance to showcase our talented student musicians and singers. 

If you have any questions about either of my schools, please contact me.

Enjoy the spring!