New Islesboro teacher to incorporate agriculture, education degrees

Tue, 07/02/2019 - 5:30pm

ISLESBORO — Islesboro Central School (ICS) welcomes another addition to its teaching staff.

Arla Casselman will be teaching High School Sustainability courses and Middle School Science beginning in the fall. She will also be managing ICS’ greenhouses, gardens, and orchard, as well as aquaculture and aquaponics equipment.

Casselman has taught life science at Medomak Valley High School for the past three years. Her classes have included Biology, Maine Ecology, Food and Nutrition, and Sustainable Agriculture.

Casselman received her undergraduate degree from St. Lawrence University where she created a self designed major in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems. In 2017 she left her position as a science teacher to pursue a masters degree in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She enrolled in Harvard's Specialized Studies master's program where she focused on designing curriculum that includes student voice, project based learning, and apprenticeship style learning specifically through agriculture.

Alongside teaching, Casselman has been farming organic blueberries for the past eight years. She is looking forward to bringing her experience running a farm into her position teaching horticulture, according to ICS, in a news release.