September 2008



Dear Friends and Family of Union Elementary School:

Welcome to the 2008/2009 school year – the FIRST year of our “stand alone” K/6 school, Union Elementary School.  Change was inevitable with the immigration of the 7th and 8th grade students to the beautiful new Medomak Middle School.  Welcoming the Educational Service Center (“Superintendent’s Office”) to our second floor further confirmed that we would become a very different place over the course of the year.

A major change is in the principal’s office – both the place and the person.  For those of you who remember Jenni Brooks’ office behind the main office, that space is now the principal’s office – my office.  The change in leadership is actually a little more complex than a simple relocation.  As a result of school board deliberations throughout the summer, it was decided that a half-time principal would be hired to provide leadership to the “new” school.  When I spoke with Dr. Carnahan, we felt that my experiences would help the UES staff respond to the new configuration of the school as well as assist the staff to provide current “best practices” to our students.  It is my sincere intent to provide such support as is needed to provide positive, enriching experiences for all of our students – a successful school year!

A few facts about my background should prompt future questions, conversations, and the beginning of a relationship I hope to establish with each person in the UES community.

•    I am a native Mainer who took a short detour to begin my professional career as a high school music director in southern New Hampshire and, later, a quick side trip to the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont as principal of a small, rural K/6 school there.
•    I have been a principal of schools with various combinations of pre-school through grade 8, in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
•    I currently live in Rockport with my husband, Tom Girard, VP of Human Resources for PenBay Healthcare, and my daughter, Frannie, a seventh grade student at Camden-Rockport Middle School.
•    I have enjoyed working on behalf of schools and doing “what’s best for kids” everywhere I have served – and look forward to sharing the UES experience with you!

Should you have any questions about UES or its new leader, please feel free to contact my office – I would enjoy meeting parents, relatives, friends and neighbors of the UES community.

Sincerely,




Deborah F. Howard