Community-Driven Consolidated Elementary School Project Underway in MSAD 54

MSAD 54, which serves the communities of Canaan, Cornville, Mercer, Norridgewock, Skowhegan, and Smithfield, is celebrating the construction of a new $75 million birth through grade 5 consolidated elementary school. The Margaret Chase Smith Community School, located at 40 Helselton Street in Skowhegan, is slated to open in the fall of 2025 as the first school of its kind in Maine, representing meaningful, positive change for the approximately 800 local students it will serve and their families.

Just before the 2024-2025 school year began, MSAD 54 held its groundbreaking event, bringing together a couple hundred staff members and people from the community to celebrate the momentous occasion. Those who attended remarked how unique this school construction build is compared to other schools across the state and the country.

“The building of the Margaret Chase Smith Community School represents a once-in-a-generation project that started as a dream and a vision of our educators and community members,” MSAD 54 Superintendent Jon Moody said. “It is becoming a reality because of the tremendous support of the state and our community partners.”

The Margaret Chase Smith Community School goes beyond the traditional brick-and-mortar elementary school. It will include an early childhood center, serving children from six weeks to three years old. It also will offer comprehensive pre-K services to support young children—and to provide students in the Early Childhood Education Program at the Somerset Career and Technical Center with hands-on experience. In addition to updated features that meet the needs of a 21st-century learning space (e.g., improved internet, handicapped accessibility, etc.), the school will have a food pantry, clothes closet, outdoor learning spaces, after-school programming, areas for professional development and coaching, social work support, and ample space to support student needs across the educational spectrum.

The community aspect of this project has been apparent from the start, with MSAD 54 providing roughly 6% of the project cost locally. By the end of 2024, a locally-driven fundraising campaign had exceeded its $3 million dollar goal, minimizing the impact to local property taxpayers. With tremendous support from Maine’s Federal delegation, MSAD 54 was awarded a Congressionally Directed Spending grant. The stewardship of Senator Susan Collins, with support from Senator Angus King and Representative Jared Golden, helped the district to secure the remaining local-only portion of the project.

“The success of any community is built on the success of its children and families,” said Sam Hight, a local resident, business leader, and the Committee Chair of the Building Better Beginnings campaign, which helped with fundraising efforts. “This is an important project for our community, and I am tremendously proud of the donors and private-public partnerships that have made it possible.”

Community partners, like the Kennebec Valley Community Action Program (KVACP), which has worked in partnership with MSAD 54 and the Skowhegan area for more than 50 years, were integral in developing the vision for this new school, even before MSAD 54 was placed on the 2017-2018 school construction rating cycle. Those involved with this project approached it by focusing on coordinated efforts to combat challenges they saw stemming from high poverty, high need, and low educational aspirations for students. Through their work, they identified a coordinated pre-K through grade 12 mission, including a focus on early childhood interventions and expanded pre-K offerings as central to improving outcomes for students.

“A child’s learning continuum begins at birth, with parents remaining the primary educators of their children. Quality early childhood includes partnering with parents, with community resources, and with public schools—which not only bolsters children’s school readiness; it offers a myriad of supports to strengthen families, promote lifelong learning, and build thriving community for years to come,” Tracye Fortin, Chief Operating Officer of KVCAP’s Child and Family Services, said.

Moody said that the project is on pace for substantial completion in June of 2025, with an expected opening for staff and students in August. As of early February, Landry-French, the construction company that the district has partnered with to complete this project, had facilitated tours for staff members who worked in the four buildings that will be consolidating into the new school.

“This school is going to be a game-changer for our students and communities, but as we know, it’s the staff that makes a school; we couldn’t be happier with the administrators and amazing staff that will be coming together to work with our kids in this beautiful new space,” Moody said.

The Margaret Chase Smith Community School is the culmination of this vision and collaborative hard work, reflecting a strong partnership between MSAD 54 and its community that may serve as a model for other SAUs in years to come.