National Governors Association
The National Governors Association’s K-12 Education Team is supporting Alabama, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wyoming to address student academic needs and student and school staff well-being and mental health in their states.
Project Snapshots
Maine
The Governor’s office is scaling the implementation of BARR (Building Assets, Reducing Risks) to 71 schools across the state. Focusing on strengthening school relationships has demonstrated significant impacts on student and school staff well-being, academic success and a decrease in chronic absenteeism.
BARR Highlights in Maine:
- At Brunswick Middle School, the building administration team emphasized that the positive changes in the school are largely due to BARR’s impact on campus.
- The Dirigo High School attendance rate has improved by 6% from the 2022-2023 school year to now!
- Wendy Harvey, Co-Principal at Westbrook High School stated, “BARR is one of the key elements that has helped change this building. Our culture has improved, teacher collaboration has improved, our relationships have improved.”
- Calais Elementary School is implementing BARR with fifth and sixth grade teams. Commissioner Pender Makin visited the sixth grade U-Time Class where students learn about classmates and their teachers to help them understand each other better and learn more about their community.
- Mt. Blue High School has utilized BARR for five years, helping their ninth graders adjust to school and be successful. School leaders have seen increased attendance, lower failure rates and stronger relationships between educators and students while implementing BARR.
To read the rest of the project highlights: https://www.nga.org/projects/2023-2024-academic-supports-and-student-and-school-staff-well-being-project/