Brunswick Buzz

Episode 9: Ben Martens, Executive Director of the Maine Coast Fisherman Association

This time on the Brunswick Buzz, Phil talks with Ben Martens, Executive Director of the Maine Coast Fisherman Association. Maine Coast Fisherman Association partners with schools to provide fresh, locally sourced fish for school lunches. 

Episode 8: CountMeIn

This time on the Brunswick Buzz, Phil talks with Jess Anderson, Executive Director of CountMeIn. CountMeIn student partners with schools, businesses, families, youth, and state and community organizations are focused on reducing chronic absenteeism by improving student and family school engagement and school attendance, and academic achievement.

Episode 7: Brunswick Area Teen Center

On this month's podcast, Phil talks with Stacy Frizzle-Edgerton, Executive Director of the Brunswick Area Teen Center. The Teen Center provides opportunities for students in the Brunswick School Department and the greater Brunswick community, a place to go outside of school where they can have fun and feel safe. The Teen Center is a central place where young people like our students can meet safely to explore creative outlets, share their talents, participate in intergenerational activities, and develop into well-rounded adults.

Episode 6: Full Plates Full Potential

On this episode of the Brunswick Buzz, Phil speaks with Justin Strasburger, Executive Director of Full Plates Full Potential. Full Plates Full Potential works to identify and break down barriers to food access faced by too many children.

Episode 5: Say Something Anonymous Reporting System

On this month’s podcast, Phil talks with Anathea Chartrand the Associate VP SS-ARS of Account Management & Program Delivery of Sandy Hook Promise, the non-profit that has helped implement the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System ( SS-ARS) in the Brunswick School District. The SS-ARS)m allows students a safe and anonymous way to report issues 24/7/365 when they see a classmate who is at risk of harming themselves or others. Phil and Anathea discuss the background of Sand Hook Promise and the importance of the SS-ARS and answer some questions about how it is implanted in the school district.

Episode 4 (Media Literacy)

On this month’s episode Phil talks with Brunswick School Department’s Technology Integrators; Ashley LaCroix (Kate Furbish Elementary School), Janice Rodriguez (Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School), Michelle Russo (Brunswick Junior High), and Dan Dearing (Brunswick High School) about how they  teach about Media Literacy to students at various grade levels as well as some helpful tips for parents navigating the ever changing digital landscape their student are engage with. 

Episode 3: 2022 School Board Election Candidates

On this episode Phil talks to three candidates running for the Brunswick School Board as well as Brunswick Town Clerk Fran Smith on the upcoming School Board Election. 

Episode 2 (Stop Hazing)

On today’s episode Phil talks with Dr. Elizabeth J. Allan (University of Maine, STOP HAZING) and Dr. Dacve Kerschner (STOP HAZING) from Stop Hazing. 
STOP HAZING is an organization dedicated to violence prevention and to disrupt ways in which abuses of power are normalized. They will be working with the Brunswick School Department to assist in helping address these issues and promote strategies to promote a positive school climate. 
StopHazing’s mission is to promote safe and inclusive school, campus, and organizational environments through research, resource sharing, and the development of data-driven strategies for hazing prevention and the promotion of positive group climates.
https://stophazing.org/
 
 
Elizabeth J. Allan, Ph.D., Principal
Elizabeth J. Allan, Ph.D., is Professor and Program Coordinator of the Higher Education graduate program at the University of Maine. She was the Principal Investigator for the National Study of Student Hazing (2008) and currently leads StopHazing and the Hazing Prevention Consortium – a research-to-practice initiative designed to build an evidence base for campus hazing prevention. An experienced researcher, Allan’s scholarship focuses on campus cultures and climates including studies about campus diversity, equity, student engagement, and hazing in the context of higher education. She has authored two books and more than 50 scholarly articles and book chapters. Her research has been featured in the Harvard Educational Review, the Journal of Higher Education, the Review of Higher Education, and the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice. Allan has presented her research about hazing for the Department of Defense, the U.S. Senate HELP Committee, and at numerous national and international conferences and institutes.
 
Dave Kerschner, Ph.D., Post-Doctoral Fellow
Dave Kerschner, Ph.D., is the Post-Doctoral Fellow for Research and Evaluation for StopHazing. A 2021 graduate of the University of Maine, Dave has been involved in the work of StopHazing and the Hazing Prevention Consortium since 2013. His dissertation examined factors predictive of varsity athlete hazing experiences across five NCAA Division III institutions and, building off of his prior experience as a Division III athlete and athletic administrator, he aspires to conduct research that will inform practice and change in college athletics. He has published on hazing and hazing prevention in the Journal of Amateur Sport, the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, and the Journal of School Counseling. A 2009 Summa Cum Laude graduate of the University of Maine at Farmington, Dave received his M.S. in Sport Management from the University of Massachusetts in 2010 and an MBA from the University of Southern Maine in 2012. 
 
 
Phillip J. Potenziano, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools
Dr. Potenziano began his career in education over 25 years ago in Albuquerque, NM, as an educational technician. Phil Potenziano was raised by his mother, who worked in the local textile mill and school cafeteria as well as by a father who worked as a high school custodian, both of whom never completed high school. During his last two years of high school, he lived with a sister and a local family. As a result, he has always been grateful for the support of others to help him reach college, including a guidance counselor who helped him complete the college application.
Dr. Potenziano previously served as the Interim Superintendent of RSU 21, one of Maine’s highest-performing school systems. As Interim, he oversaw the implementation of district-wide diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative that is anchored on implementing Universal Design For Learning as well as implementing Restorative Practices. As Interim Superintendent, Dr. Potenziano worked to build a collaborative and caring approach with a student-centered focus by expanding student voice and choice. Dr. Potenziano believes in deliberately increasing stakeholder engagement and did so by implementing school board and community engagement forums (Community Cafes), a monthly three-town manager forum, that included select persons, and school board members. Before being appointed Interim, Dr. Potenziano was the Assistant Superintendent in RSU 21 and initiated several curriculum reviews focusing on student engagement and achievement. He also worked to implement strategies and programs to improve teaching and learning, heighten expectations for staff and students, and increase the level of performance for socio-economically disadvantaged and at-risk vulnerable youth. As a result, RSU 21 achieved improvements with more students participating in Advanced Placement Courses, International Baccalaureate, and College Credit in High School. Dr. Potenziano supported an ambitious implementation of a district-wide four-year-old Pre-K program, widely viewed as a cornerstone of the district providing for successful foundational programming for all students.
Before joining RSU 21, Dr. Potenziano’s career achievements include being a founding member of the Sebago Educational Alliance Day Treatment Program, a coalition of five public school districts. In 2018, he was selected as one of twenty-five educators nationally to participate in the American Association of School Superintendents Aspiring Superintendent Academy.

Episode 1: School Year Update

On this episode we talk about some new hires in to the BSD for this upcoming school year and some amazing grants be put into place at a couple of our schools. 

Brunswick Buzz Podcast Teaser

A brief teaser introducing the new Brunswick School Department Podcast.