9-28-15 Lewiston School Board Meeting from VIA-VISION Video on Vimeo.

LEWISTON — A referendum for a new elementary school will likely be held in June, Superintendent Bill Webster told the School Committee on Monday night.

The committee approved the proposed school’s site application that will be sent to the State Board of Education and the Maine Department of Education.

“As soon as the site is approved by the State Board of Education, which should be at its November meeting, the architects will be going full speed ahead developing a concept,” Webster said. The design will show the number of classrooms, square footage needed, what the school would look like and the building budget.

After the design and budget plan are approved by the State Board of Education, it will be brought to Lewiston voters in June.

If approved by voters, Martel and Longley schools will be replaced in 2019 by an elementary school that would accommodate about 900 students.

Plans call for the school to be built next to Lewiston High School on the football field. The state will pay for the school and new athletic fields.

Also approved Monday was the new school’s educational plan, drawn up by the staff of Martel and Longley elementary schools. After reviewing the plan, committee members praised teachers and administrators.

“The vision here is wonderful,” committee member Linda Scott told Longley Principal Kristie Clark. “The inclusion of a garden, the inclusion of good acoustics for students who don’t have good hearing, the inclusion of all the staff, I’m very impressed by this.”

Chairman Jim Handy agreed, but also suggested the plan include a more prominent showing of high school students working with elementary students to enhance learning. “Putting that out there as a new collaboration would be an additional attribute,” he said.

New proficiency-based learning ‘coach’

In other business Monday, committee members were introduced to Ted Hall, the proficiency-based learning consultant who will help Lewiston schools prepare to issue new high school diplomas.

Hall retired as Yarmouth High School principal in June and has experience implementing proficiency-based learning.

He told the committee his role is that of coach. He’ll focus much of his time in Lewiston with Lewiston High School teachers and administrators.

He’s been meeting principals and teachers at Lewiston schools and doing his homework, Hall said. “There’s nothing worse than having someone come in who thinks they know what the school system needs and hasn’t done their homework.”

What works in one district may not work in another, he said. What all school districts have in common is a need to figure out how to implement professional development “so teachers aren’t going into classrooms unprepared.”

Also, how to best engage parents “to build a school system that is going to be better for kids in terms of their ability to be more successful,” Hall said.

The goal of proficiency-based learning is graduating students who demonstrate they know what they need, not just graduating students after they’ve earned enough credits.

The state passed a law that schools had to issue proficiency-based learning diplomas starting with the Class of 2018. After districts were struggling with implementation, the state said schools could take more time.

Last year, Lewiston High School had difficulty coming up with new, consistent proficiency-based learning grading and standards. Teachers were unhappy, saying they needed planning time, and parents were unhappy with inconsistent grading standards.

In the spring, Superintendent Bill Webster announced the new grading would be postponed until the Class of 2021, giving Lewiston more time to implement proficiency-based learning.