At the end of this school year, several Extended Learning Opportunity (ELO) programs celebrated their students' work by showcasing their ELO experiences. Brittany Brockelbank, ELO Coordinator at Yarmouth High School, had over fifty students present and created a gallery-style showcase. Esther and Agnes Bolese, students at Yarmouth High School, created Bobo Butters with employers from MadGabs as part of a group of 6 students who did an Incubating Innovators small group ELO. During the showcase they shared the evolution of their product from their process, ingredients, their label, to selling out.
Sarah Hinson completed a year and a half of Work Study ELO with two different veterinary offices, including Yarmouth Veterinary Center. Her colleagues from the center visited the high school during the showcase. Her ELO helped confirm her career path and she has been accepted to attend York County Community College in their Veterinary Technician program.
Paige Brewer worked with a middle school teacher to adapt a marine science lesson for elementary students. She made online curricula and made anatomy charts of an oyster. She plans to pursue engineering after high school and also did a design project creating signage for Shred Electric for a STEM ELO.
At Belfast Area High School, ELO Coordinator Solomon Heifits and colleagues also arranged for students to present their ELO Experiences from the spring. They had students present in front of their peers, teachers, family and friends, and community members. ELO experiences were diverse ranging from audio-recording and sound engineering to childcare to taxidermy to flying planes, and many more. Chris Weaver, a student at Belfast Area High School did a multifaceted ELO, including, but not limited to, state government, media, and art. To learn more about the ELO program, at Belfast Area High School, please watch this video, created by ELO film students.
Yarmouth High School and Belfast Area High School were both awardees of Maine Job and Recovery Plan grants totaling more than $5.6 million, supporting 26 programs across Maine covering 13 counties.
Learn more about the Maine Jobs Recovery Plan.
Learn more about ELOs in Maine or reach out to Lana Sawyer at lana.sawyer@maine.gov.