Senator Collins Meets with Maine Principals’ Association

Click HERE for a high-resolution photo.

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins spoke with members of the Maine Principals’ Association about the difficulties and opportunities schools are facing as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.  Maine principals who attended included Matt Haney from Mount Desert Island High School, Paula Callan from Messalonskee High School in Oakland, Mike Davis from Walton Elementary School in Auburn, Lori Smail from the Ames and Weymouth Elementary Schools in Searsmont and Morrill. Holly Blair, Executive Director of the Professional Division of the Maine Principals’ Association, was also in attendance.

“It was a pleasure to meet with members of the Maine Principals’ Association and discuss ways we can work together to address the widespread teacher and principal shortages, reverse learning loss caused by school closures, and provide increased mental health services to students,” said Senator Collins.  “Maine principals are confronting these challenges head on, and I look forward to our continued work together to ensure that schools in Maine have the resources and tools they need to prepare our students for a successful future.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly exacerbated an already alarming issue in K-12 education: widespread shortages in the principal, teacher, and school support staff professions.  A recent National Association of Secondary School Principals survey found that almost four in 10 principals are planning to leave the profession within the next three years, and 68 percent are concerned about teacher shortages in their school.

Further, the pandemic and school closures have caused trauma and increased mental health challenges for educators and students.  For some students, being physically out of school for months has upended their support systems, created isolation, and made it difficult for school-based mental health professional to reach them.

The Maine Principals' Association is a private, educational, nonprofit corporation with voluntary membership that provides a network of resources for all school community members.

+++

As a member of the Senate Education Committee, Senator Collins has been working to address the teacher and principal shortages across Maine and throughout the country.  In June 2021, she introduced the Preparing and Retaining Education Professionals (PREP) Act with Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA), a bipartisan bill to help boost teacher and principal recruitment through a new grant program, particularly in rural communities, and increase teacher diversity.

As the nation recovers from COVID-19, Senator Collins has repeatedly underscored the need to reopen schools.  At a Senate Health Committee hearing recently, she questioned mental health and substance use disorder experts about how pandemic restrictions have led to lost learning, social isolation, and widespread mental health problems among children.

###