Collaborative Models
Maine Forest Collaborative & the Eastern Maine Skippers Program
Why collaborate to build programs?
Maine is rich with resources, and by resources we mean both our natural resources and the organizations and institutions within the State.
We believe that amazing things can happen when we all combine our expertise, experience and resources to support Maine students in becoming the future leaders and stewards that are so essential to strong rural vitality.
What does it look like?
Our collaborative models are designed to foster leadership and stewardship of Maine's legacy natural resource industries; Fishing, Farming and Forestry. Our work is centered around partnerships between schools, non-profit organizations, industry practitioners, State agencies and post-secondary institutions. From these partnerships, we are able to create common outcomes, identify needs, and build a common curricula that supports students, formal and informal educators and community representatives as they explore innovations to challenges facing a particular industry sector. Most importantly, students are brought together to share their experiences, meet practitioners from the field, and share their findings to other cohort schools and community stakeholders within the collaborative model.
Who do collaborative models benefit?
Students: Through our collaborative school projects, we've seen increased student attendance and increased engagement in school. Students are excited about learning with field experts and practitioners. Overwhelmingly, students report that they are working on projects that they care about.
Teachers: By joining a collaborative model teachers increase professional contacts beyond their districts and support curriculum development ensuring that the curricula created supports student outcomes. Rural Aspirations Education Specialists provide extra support by providing individualized professional development, creating and modifying resources as teachers need them, differentiating materials to meet the needs of each school, and creating tools specific to their classrooms and students.
Schools: Teacher turnover is high in rural schools, which often means a loss of expertise, created resources, and gaps in students learning. By joining a collaborative model schools increase connection with other rural schools. Schools gain access to a shared and growing curriculum and increased connections within their communities and Maine's legacy industries. Projects that students and educators develop can increase visibility and funding sources for school projects as well.
Communities: Our collaborative models focus on student engagement in local issues to give voice to student experiences and opinions but also to increase student engagement in real-world problems facing rural communities. Rural communities gain students who are confident, critical thinkers, citizens who have a shared sense of ownership over their community and increased exposure to potential jobs and entreprenurial opportunities in rural Maine.
Current Collaborative Models
Read about our current collaborative models and what those involved have to to say about them
Past Collaborative Models
Read about our models that have been passed onto schools and organizations
