Make a gift in honor of the good that comes from BDN journalism in your hands, and help raise $60,000 this spring to support our reporting. Make a donation now.
A graduate of George Stevens Academy with more than two decades of education experience will be the next leader of the Blue Hill school.
Shelly Schildroth, most recently the curriculum director for Sullivan-based RSU 24, starts July 1, the school announced Wednesday. She follows Dan Welch, who held the role for two years.
Schildroth takes the role as GSA continues to navigate budget challenges and declining enrollment that officials said earlier this year could threaten its future if the student body doesn’t grow. The private academy has long served as the high school for seven Blue Hill peninsula towns, which have school choice for their secondary students.
“My philosophy is centered on the belief that schools are strongest when students are known, valued, challenged, and inspired to pursue their individual strengths and aspirations,” she said in a statement. “And, as a third-generation Eagle, this feels like a homecoming.”
The school’s board of trustees unanimously recommended her appointment, according to its chair, Deborah Ludlow. Ludlow said the board is confident Schildroth has the experience, vision and leadership to successfully navigate the school’s “next chapter.”
Schildroth has previously worked as a teacher, curriculum coordinator and principal, according to the school.
The academy said her vision includes a focus on relationships as a foundation for a strong school community. That includes “focusing on supporting students, empowering faculty, strengthening communication, and fostering meaningful partnerships with families and sending communities.”
Enrollment has declined sharply in recent years, with about a third of students in sending towns choosing to attend other schools. The school has gone through two rounds of layoffs, the latest taking effect this year.
For the last six years, George Stevens Academy has also asked towns for additional tuition money to help cover costs. Penobscot and Surry residents voted down those requests for the first time this year.
Other towns sending students to the academy through school choice are Blue Hill, Brooklin, Brooksville, Castine and Sedgwick.
Earlier this year, the school introduced an initiative to contract with those towns to guarantee enrollment, which some communities resisted as a limitation on school choice. The school said it was slowing that initiative in February after Welch announced his resignation, effective at the end of June so he can take a superintendent job closer to his family at Union-based RSU 40.
George Stevens Academy has also increased recruiting and communication efforts, which the board said in February was boosting enrollment.
