Working Waterfront

An upside for Maine—virus boosts school enrollments

Early in August, the Island Institute received an inquiry from a Southport Island community member: Are other islands facing unexpected enrollment increases this school year? How are schools responding to take extra care to physically distance when there is limited space for more students? Enrollment increases are often a late-August… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Behind the scenes on this first day of school

Most years, the Labor Day weekend marks the start of the school year. Teachers begin weeks earlier, preparing their classrooms, refreshing lesson plans, and creating an organized, welcoming space for their students. This year is different. Administrators and teachers started preparing months before the planned start of school. The work… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

In age of division, a need to respect process and structure

In politics, there have always been deep differences of opinion and partisan divides. But processes and institutions provide opportunities for people to come together, follow behavioral norms established over generations, and see whether it’s possible to find common ground. Those institutions are in danger of being undermined and, indeed, forgotten… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

COA, Mount Desert 365 build student housing

The project will bring approximately 15 students and a guest or faculty member to live downtown, but it will be more than a simple space to house students, said COA President Darron Collins. “The center will be a catalyst for deepening COA’s mission to add to the cultural, intellectual, and… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Six young environmental change-makers honored

Six young Maine change-makers have been honored as the inaugural group of Brookie Award winners for their leadership and effectiveness working on environmental issues. The Brookie Awards is a new statewide recognition program organized by NRCM Rising, the young member arm of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, to elevate and amplify… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Frenchboro school sends students home to garden

When I moved to Maine four years ago, I quickly observed that Mainers are resourceful, creative problem-solvers. I have noticed this is particularly true of islanders, who, by necessity, take extra care to think about resources available on-island and how and when they come and go. When COVID-19 made its… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Column raises important question for schools

Thank you for the Field Notes column by Rob Snyder (sent via email on June 5 and included in this issue of the newspaper, on page 20) about Maine and diversity. But I was surprised by this line: “But what if one of the underlying issues in a community is… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Leadership means having the seat with the view

The Passamaquoddy word for leadership is nihkanke. The literal translation of that word is “the one who paddles in the front of the canoe.” I clearly remember when I first heard this word and learned its cultural context. I was at a leadership seminar for island leaders, sponsored by the Island Institute. Linda Cross Godfrey, founder… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

COA students hear Native view of challenging times

Time moves not in a line, but in a circle of beginnings and endings that can be celebrated with gratitude and compassion. That was the heartening message, in hard times, that came from Robin Wall Kimmerer, a Citizen Potawatomi Nation member and award-winning author who delivered the keynote address during an… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Outer island schools celebrate decade of connection

What do a two-day old baby boy in Hope, a family in the Bahamas, an Island Fellow on Frenchboro, and a Maine Islands Coalition representative on Cliff Island have in common? They were all among the 50-plus people who attended a virtual party in May to celebrate the 10th anniversary… SEE MORE