Mission and Vision Statement

 Our mission is to inspire learners with rigorous courses and activities to enhance their physical, emotional, intellectual, and social well-being. Through various learning experiences, we provide all learners with a foundation in 21st-century knowledge and skills. We engage students by leveraging their strengths, interests, and prior knowledge to foster a personalized learning experience. Through the arts and project-based opportunities, students focus on creative, real-world problem-solving. The teachers address relevant global topics and strive to build positive community connections. We prioritize students' voices, and together, we learn from each other, celebrating our similarities and differences. All students demonstrate respect, adopt a growth mindset, and create personal space for positive changes to occur. Bridge students leave as contributing citizens within our communities and wherever their futures take them.

Core Values and Success Strategies

1. Belonging: Students feel relaxed, heard, and safe in an environment where they belong.

2. Confidence: Teachers highlight the positive qualities in each student and foster a growth mindset.

3.  Learning Orientation: Teachers focus on authentic learning opportunities that foster a love of learning and move away from concentrating on merely grades. 

4. Autonomy: Students have a voice and choice and are at the heart of the decision-making processes. 

5. Relevance: Students understand why what they are learning about is important and how it correlates to the real world. 

*Resource Dr. Pei Pei Liu

The Bridge Program Difference:

The Waterville High School Bridge Program provides an option for those students who are motivated to earn their high school diploma and may have attended high school without success. There are many factors that may contribute to this lack of success. Maybe class sizes were too big and there was not enough individual attention, maybe the mass of people moving about and the noise caused anxiety to flare, maybe students felt like they were outcasts and stigmatized, maybe there was the incessant problem of bullying and social intimidation. 

The Bridge program offers smaller class sizes are smaller, allowing students to receive more individual attention from their teachers. Learning is personalized with personal learning plans created to increase students' success. Additional emphasis is placed on creating an atmosphere where individual differences are celebrated and accepted, instead of being targeted. Academic standards remain the same as those at the high school; students are required to meet the same course requirements to graduate with their high school diploma, and each teacher in the Bridge program is state-certified. 

Interested students should contact their Waterville or Winslow Senior High School guidance counselor or the department head (TBD). We look forward to meeting you.