BELFAST and SWANVILLE — A new principal will be at the helm of East Belfast Elementary School and Kermit Nickerson Elementary School this upcoming academic year. 

Regional School Unit 71 has hired Elizabeth Wakem to replace Elizabeth Drury, who spent one school year as principal of the Belfast and Swanville elementary schools. 

Wakem, who has been in education for 18 years, spent 11 years as an elementary school teacher and literacy coach for Regional School Unit 3, before spending time as a third grade teacher at the Drinkwater School in Northport for a year, a technology integrator at Troy Howard Middle School and a literacy coach for the Maine Department of Education for two-and-a-half years. 

In 2018, she returned to Regional School Unit 71 as a technology integrator. 

“I truly enjoy the challenge and the pace of public education and the opportunities for growth that this profession allows,” she said of her decision to pursue the new career endeavor. 

Having resided in Waldo County since she was one-years-old, and a Belfast Area High School graduate, Wakem felt she was well-equipped to take on the dual-principal role. 

“I feel as though I have a pulse on the community, families and the students that attend both schools,” she said.

Thanks to her past experience within the RSU 71 school district, Wakem has had the opportunity to establish relationships with the hardworking staff in both schools she will now oversee. 

“They are hard-working, dedicated educators and support staff with decades of experience and knowledge,” she said. “I feel at home when I am in both of these buildings and have seen the students grow and succeed under the direct guidance of these gifted staff members.”

This school year, the two schools will focus on math, critical thinking skills, and creating and supporting student autonomy with reading strategies. 

“Our most recent data indicates a learning opportunity for our students across all grade levels in these areas,” she said.

School climate and culture will also be a main focus for Wakem, who plans to establish daily procedures to be followed by both schools and implement a shared leadership model providing teachers and staff a voice in decisions impacting the school communities. 

“When we can answer the question, ‘What is best for students?’ and have this as the basis for our decision-making process, everyone wins,” she stated. 

Reach George Harvey at: sports@penbaypilot.com.