Indian Island School

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Indian Island School is a K-8 school located in the Penobscot Indian Island Reservation, Maine. [1] Indian Island School's school administrative unit is the Indian Island School District. [2]

Contents

History

In 1978 the State of Maine asked the school to stop having instruction on religion. [3]

In 1986 a new school facility began operations. [4] At that time the enrollment was about 100. It was designed by Webster-Baldwin-Rohman-Day-Szarniecki. That company received the Architectural Portfolio Award for this school design that year. At the time the school covered grades preschool through seven, and it planned to have up to grade 9. [5]

Governance

It is one of three schools in the Maine Indian Education (MIE) school district system, supported by funding by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). There are three school boards, one for each school, and each school has its own principal, while MIE has a collective superintendent. [6] The MIE is akin to a main "union of towns" school system where multiple school administrative units share a superintendent but otherwise operate separately. [7]

The funding for the school comes from the federal government and the state of Maine; no local tax-based funding is given to the school. [8]

Campus

The school has a building for cultural performances, and it has murals depicting indigenous culture. [9] The stone in the school has a motif based on basket weaving. [10]

Feeder patterns

As of 2020 common feeder public high schools in the same county as Indian Island School include Old Town High School and Orono High School. Some students attend John Bapst Memorial High School, which is a private school in Bangor. Linda McLeod, then the principal of Indian Island School, [8] and later MIE superintendent, stated that some graduates of Indian Island Elementary encountered problems at Old Town High, to where she said "when they go to Old Town High School, they are lost." [11]

High schools which take students from this school include, in addition to Old Town, Orono, and Bapst: Bangor High School, Brewer High School, United Technologies Center ("Bangor Region-Tech School"), and Stillwater Academy. [12]

References

  1. ↑ "Indian Island School". National Center of Education Statistics . Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  2. ↑ Geography Division (January 14, 2021). 2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Penobscot County, ME (PDF) (Map). U.S. Census Bureau. p. 5 (PDF p. 6/6). Archived (PDF) from the original on July 22, 2022. Retrieved 2025-07-12. UNI 00001 Indian Island[...]PENOBSCOT RESVN - Text
  3. ↑ Reilly, Wayne (1978-07-21). "State pressures Indians on religion in schools". The Bangor Daily News . Bangor, Maine. p.  17 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Indian Island School Community". Indian Island School (BIE site). Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  5. ↑ Curran, Jeanne (1986-12-12). "New Indian Island school wins architectural award". The Bangor Daily News . Bangor, Maine. p.  12 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Ramharter, Jordan T. (June 2020). "A Meeting of the Minds: Utilizing Maine's State Education System to Promote the Success of Its Native Students While Maintaining to Promote the Success of Its Native Students While Maintaining Tribal Sovereignty". Maine Law Review . 72 (2): 380–416. - Cited: p. 403 (PDF p. 26/39)
  7. ↑ "Maine Educational Facts 1987-88 1988-89" (PDF). State of Maine. p. 3-4 (PDF pp. 8-9/37). Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  8. 1 2 "Indian Island Principal Reflects On Native School's Goals, Challenges". Education World . Retrieved 2025-07-13.
  9. ↑ Hartin, Shelby (2016-02-04). "Indian Island schoolchildren perform Wabanaki tales". Bangor Daily News . Retrieved 2025-07-12.
  10. ↑ Curran, Jeanne (1987-07-01). "The architects: A firm that has helped shape Bangor". Bangor Daily News . pp. Midweek MW1, MW3 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Ramharter, Jordan T. (June 2020). "A Meeting of the Minds: Utilizing Maine's State Education System to Promote the Success of Its Native Students While Maintaining Tribal Sovereignty". Maine Law Review . 72 (2): 380–416. - Cited: pp. 405-406 (PDF pages. 28-29/39)
  12. ↑ "getTestimonyDoc.asp?id=179650". Maine Legislature. p. 6/14. Retrieved 2025-07-13.

44°56′59″N68°38′49″W / 44.9498°N 68.6469°W / 44.9498; -68.6469

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