Many Flags/One Community, a regional education initiative, announced it selected Audrey Lovering to serve as executive director of the recently formed Many Flags/One Community (MF/OC) Regional Board of Directors.

In December, an 11 member MF/OC Regional Board of Directors was established to oversee the implementation of the integrated secondary and post secondary regional education model for the greater Knox Country region. In January, the new MF/OC Regional Board began its search for a lead staff person for the regional board. Lovering, a Rockland resident, was selected to begin a six month contract as the executive director for the new board.

A former teacher and economic and community development specialist, Lovering previously served as the Director of Community Development for Rockland.

Loren Andrews, Chair of the MF/OC Regional Board said in a news release: "We were very fortunate to have a great group of qualified candidates to choose from. Audrey's professional background and her ability to hit the ground running makes her a particularly excellent fit for us at this time. We are very pleased to have her on board."

Her initial work will be focused on working with area educators to coordinate programs and services for all high school, career and technical and higher education students in the region. Linking programs, sharing existing resources, coordinating curriculums and policies, offering early college and dual credits, and using technology to provide extensive virtual learning opportunities for all students in the region will be stressed. In the future, as funds become available, a new campus is envisioned that will colocated and integrate a regional high school, a career and technical school, a higher education center and industry directed training centers.

In January, Many Flags/One Community and Penquis Community Action Agency were awarded a U.S. Dept. of Education "Promise Neighborhoods" grant.

Alan Hinsey will continue to serve as executive director of the Many Flags/One Community Foundation. The foundation will lead take the lead in the area of fundraising, lobbying, and promotion of the innovative Many Flags model.

Many Flags/One Community is a regional approach for an integrated secondary and post-secondary education system. The concept promotes educational excellence and administrative efficiency by integrating, both physically and virtually, the programs, students, faculty, staff, classrooms, labs, and technological infrastructure of area high schools, a career and technical education center, a higher education center, and an industry training center.

In March, Lovering and the board will be opening up a local office that will become the headquarters for all Many Flags and Promise Neighborhoods activities at 313 Main St., Suite 207, in Rockland.