LA Welcomes New Educators in Residence

Will Bliss (left) and Gus Williams (right) and are Lincoln Academy’s 2023-24 Kieve-Wavus Education Educators in Residence.

In early December, Lincoln Academy welcomed two new Educators in Residence from Kieve-Wavus Education, Inc (KWE). Each year KWE brings between 20 and 30 young people who are interested in pursuing a career in education to their campuses in Nobleboro and Jefferson. These educators live in KWE camp facilities and go through educator training. In the winter months they are stationed at local schools to get hands-on experience in classrooms. LA hosts one or two educators each year.

The KWE Educators in Residence (EIR) program started in 2012, with seven educators at six participating schools. Now serving more than 15 schools around Maine, including all AOS 93 schools, the EIR program strives to “spread the Kieve-Wavus message of kindness and respect,” according to the KWE website. During the 2022-23 school year, the program added a certification component, and participants have the option to work towards a Maine teaching license.

This year’s Lincoln Academy EIRs, Gus Williams and Will Bliss, are both pursuing their certification, and accruing student teaching hours at LA.

Gus Williams hails from Bristol. He graduated from Lincoln Academy in 2016 and Wheaton College in 2020, with a degree in studio art and a minor in education. He is splitting his student teaching time between LA and Jefferson Village School as he works towards becoming certified as a K-12 visual art teacher.

While he admits to feeling a little nervous about returning to his alma mater, Williams said, “LA is the place where I took my first ever art class, and it put me on a path. There are so many facilities and teachers dedicated to the arts here. I always wanted to be in this environment again.” He will be doing his student teaching hours with his former art teachers Jonathan Mess (ceramics), and Nina Sylvia (drawing, painting, and printmaking).

Will Bliss is originally from Connecticut, and he found his way to the KWE Educators in Residence program through summers as a Kieve camper and counselor. He graduated with a degree in English from St. Lawrence College in 2020, and this is his second year as an EIR. Last year he was placed at St. George School, and this year he is excited to work at the secondary level, where he eventually hopes to teach English full time.

Bliss said he looks forward to working at LA because the school has “high quality academics and teachers who are willing to invite us into their classrooms, offering time and space for us to learn and practice. The LA residential program also gives us a chance to see what boarding school work might look like.” He will be mentored by LA English teacher Bridget Wright.

“The EIR program offers a safe path for young people to explore a career in education,” said Kelley Duffy, LA Director of Curriculum and Instruction. “We have discovered some great educators in this way, including [English teacher] Jack DeAngelis, and Ed Tech Matt Kellett, who both found their way to LA through the EIR program.”

Both Williams and Bliss are taking online courses at the University of Southern Maine as part of their certification program. In addition to logging student teaching hours, they will help out on the LA campus in various capacities, including supporting Focused Learning Block activities, coaching athletic teams, and covering other duties in classrooms, study halls, breakfast, and lunch.

“The EIRs bring a lot of fresh energy and perspective to our classes,” said Duffy. “We have some superb teachers who are excellent models for new educators and, at the same time, I believe that our teachers benefit from explaining their methods and discussing practice regularly. Students are engaged by having younger adults in the classrooms. A fresh set of eyes can help with innovation and keeping the curriculum vibrant.”

“I’m really excited to be back at Lincoln, because I remember it being a very student-driven school,” said Williams. “Students are the force behind so many things going on around campus, students get to chase their own ideas, especially in art. I am looking forward to being part of this culture and helping kids with their own projects. I hope to one day become the same force for students that I felt from the faculty when I was here.”

The KWE educators will be on the LA campus until late April of 2024.