The words “The Way Life Should Be” greet visitors and lifelong Mainers alike as they cross the border from New Hampshire into Maine.

This slogan holds many meanings. For some, it evokes a deep connection to nature and the beauty of places like Acadia National Park; for others, it’s the close-knit feeling of waving to neighbors or exchanging smiles with strangers; or maybe, it just reflects a slower, simpler way of living. But for many, especially Maine’s students, the phrase doesn’t reflect their lived reality.

I uncovered this truth as a high school English teacher at Bonny Eagle’s alternative school. For my students, their previous experience in the education system was not “the way life should be.” Many of them had felt unsupported, unseen and struggled with issues they faced outside of school in silence or isolation.

While MSAD 6 is fortunate to have an alternative program, many rural communities lack access to public alternative schools designed to meet the diverse needs of their students. This gap, along my deep love for the state that I grew up in, inspired my vision for Pine Grove.

The most meaningful part of my master’s in education program at Harvard has been honoring my home state and my former students through Linda Nathan’s course, “Building a Democratic School.” Here, I had the opportunity to reimagine education in a way that uplifts all of Maine’s communities and began to envision what “The Way Life Should Be” could mean for education.

This is the school our state needs: one that embodies the communal spirit of what it means to be from here. I named it Pine Grove. Through its curriculum and culture, Pine Grove honors and uplifts rural families, LGBTQ+ youth, Mainers of color, immigrants and refugees, low-income households, blue-collar workers, those experiencing houselessness, local businesses and every other unique identity across our state.

Though it serves rural Mainers, Pine Grove commits to communities across the state by teaching students that we collectively thrive when tending to each other’s roots — and that caring for one another is the way life should be.

Through collaboration, ideas and support from my former students and colleagues, I designed a prototype for Pine Grove, a public alternative high school in rural Maine created for students whose strengths, needs and lived experiences have not been fully supported in traditional school settings.

Pine Grove offers a relationship-based learning environment grounded in care, community and purposeful learning. Here, students earn their diploma while developing a meaningful vision for life after graduation. The name itself reflects a commitment to collective care: Pine for Maine’s state tree, Grove for a connected stand of trees that thrive beside each other. Together, they symbolize commitment to people across Maine.

True to the mission, “Pine Grove is an alternative pathway to graduation where learning connects to life and every student is supported personally, academically and collectively,” and academics are rooted in community learning. Students engage in collaborative, project-based learning connected to real world issues, particularly relevant to the Maine context.

Whether publishing a newsletter, leading a community teach-in or working on interdisciplinary projects, students create with purpose and for authentic audiences.

Pine Grove is more than a school, it’s a community. Families are invited into the life of the school through monthly gatherings, student-led events, shared meals, newsletters and teach-ins. Students care for the school by decorating hallways, gardening, cooking and organizing seasonal projects instilling pride and shared ownership of the space.

Partnerships with local elementary, middle and high schools and organizations across Maine promote mentorship and mutual respect through shared experiences. My vision for this school is that not only will all students find belonging, purpose and a fulfilling path forward, but that Pine Grove graduates will bring the same care, community and commitment they experienced here to people and places all across Maine.