Email this page
Print this page
del.icio.us
digg
Not many Maine educators fly to China to recruit students. But Judson McBrine III, the energetic, 43-year-old head of school at Washington Academy in East Machias, is not your ordinary school administrator.
“I’ve been here 13 years,” he says. “The demographics have shifted a lot during that time.”
Rural Washington County has been hit harder than most of the state by declining school-age populations. Faced with the potential loss of programs and teachers, McBrine and his board of trustees decided instead to reach out to the world. In 2001, Washington Academy welcomed seven students from Korea, Japan, Taiwan, France, and Hungary. This year, 90 students from other countries will intermix with more than 300 local kids, continuing a success story that has created a thriving new international community at a school that has educated generations of Downeasters since 1792.
“It’s really amazing how quickly you can develop a reputation,” says McBrine, who spends part of each summer traveling abroad to promote the school. He was in China in March 2007, during the Tibetan uprising.
“I was surprised, actually, that it was more urban than I expected—subways, skyscrapers, high-end department stores all over the place, but at the same time you see rickshaws,” he says. “There seemed to be soldiers everywhere, in dress uniform, doing a lot of ceremonial marching. But the people were friendly and not intimidating at all.”
Two years ago, Washington Academy had no Chinese students. Last year, they had 70 applications from China and 14 Chinese students in residence. “Word of mouth is tremendously important in a number of Asian countries,” McBrine says. “It helps that we’re in a safe, rural area, with few distractions and virtually no crime. And their perception is that New England is the seat of education in the United States.”
The first international students lived with host families in the community. In 2001 the school purchased a nearby inn and converted it into a dorm. Another dorm has since been built. Though technically a private school, Washington Academy contracts with surrounding towns and accepts all students from those communities. The presence of international students in their midst has provided educational opportunities for the locals
as well.
“Our kids have much more of a global perspective than they did before,” McBrine says. “They can sit and listen to a classmate from Vietnam in world history class, for example, talk about communism from firsthand experience.”
Friendships develop, which create additional opportunities. “I would bet that every summer we have at least 10 students who travel abroad with a classmate,” McBrine says.
Adding boarding students has enabled the school to hire two full-time ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers and to offer advanced placement classes, three years of Latin, and specialized programs like computer software certification, nursing, culinary arts, and marine engines. McBrine estimates that the residential program will bring in $2.6 million over the next school year. “Our payroll has increased by about $1 million since we started,” he says.
Education is in McBrine’s blood. Both his parents were teachers; a brother, a sister, and his wife, Paula, also work in education. McBrine’s father was a school superintendent in Presque Isle, Auburn, Lincoln, and Houlton. Now, instead of moving around the state, he travels around the world, extolling the virtues of a school in rural Maine. In 2005, the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA) named him High School Principal of the Year, calling him “a credit to the profession.”
McBrine doesn’t let his or his school’s success faze him too much. “We were teasing him after he received the award,” says his assistant, Holly Costley, “and we started calling him “potty” [for POTY—Principal of the Year]. Jud got such a kick out of it, he signed his internal emails POTY for the next year.”
“I’ve been here 13 years,” he says. “The demographics have shifted a lot during that time.”
Rural Washington County has been hit harder than most of the state by declining school-age populations. Faced with the potential loss of programs and teachers, McBrine and his board of trustees decided instead to reach out to the world. In 2001, Washington Academy welcomed seven students from Korea, Japan, Taiwan, France, and Hungary. This year, 90 students from other countries will intermix with more than 300 local kids, continuing a success story that has created a thriving new international community at a school that has educated generations of Downeasters since 1792.
“It’s really amazing how quickly you can develop a reputation,” says McBrine, who spends part of each summer traveling abroad to promote the school. He was in China in March 2007, during the Tibetan uprising.
Advertisement
“I was surprised, actually, that it was more urban than I expected—subways, skyscrapers, high-end department stores all over the place, but at the same time you see rickshaws,” he says. “There seemed to be soldiers everywhere, in dress uniform, doing a lot of ceremonial marching. But the people were friendly and not intimidating at all.”
Two years ago, Washington Academy had no Chinese students. Last year, they had 70 applications from China and 14 Chinese students in residence. “Word of mouth is tremendously important in a number of Asian countries,” McBrine says. “It helps that we’re in a safe, rural area, with few distractions and virtually no crime. And their perception is that New England is the seat of education in the United States.”
The first international students lived with host families in the community. In 2001 the school purchased a nearby inn and converted it into a dorm. Another dorm has since been built. Though technically a private school, Washington Academy contracts with surrounding towns and accepts all students from those communities. The presence of international students in their midst has provided educational opportunities for the locals
as well.
“Our kids have much more of a global perspective than they did before,” McBrine says. “They can sit and listen to a classmate from Vietnam in world history class, for example, talk about communism from firsthand experience.”
Friendships develop, which create additional opportunities. “I would bet that every summer we have at least 10 students who travel abroad with a classmate,” McBrine says.
Adding boarding students has enabled the school to hire two full-time ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers and to offer advanced placement classes, three years of Latin, and specialized programs like computer software certification, nursing, culinary arts, and marine engines. McBrine estimates that the residential program will bring in $2.6 million over the next school year. “Our payroll has increased by about $1 million since we started,” he says.
Education is in McBrine’s blood. Both his parents were teachers; a brother, a sister, and his wife, Paula, also work in education. McBrine’s father was a school superintendent in Presque Isle, Auburn, Lincoln, and Houlton. Now, instead of moving around the state, he travels around the world, extolling the virtues of a school in rural Maine. In 2005, the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA) named him High School Principal of the Year, calling him “a credit to the profession.”
McBrine doesn’t let his or his school’s success faze him too much. “We were teasing him after he received the award,” says his assistant, Holly Costley, “and we started calling him “potty” [for POTY—Principal of the Year]. Jud got such a kick out of it, he signed his internal emails POTY for the next year.”
