Maine School of
Science and Mathematics
By Christine Grillo
Located in Aroostook County, the Maine
School of Science and Mathematics (MSSM) is a
public residential magnet school chartered and funded
by the Maine State Legislature. Since 1995, the
Maine School of Science and Mathematics has been
educating students from communities across Maine
and beyond. When the Loring Air Force Base closed
in 1994, the closure created the availability of facilities
within the community that allowed the establishment
of the school.
science and humanities,” said Luke Shorty, Executive
Director of MSSM. The challenging curriculum and
stimulating environment create an ongoing learning
experience with students working, studying, and
socializing with classmates who share similar interests
and goals. Many students relate that at MSSM they
feel like they “fit in” for the first time in their academic
experience. “MSSM has an amazing community,” said
MSSM student Tristan Strack-Grose, New Gloucester,
ME. “It’s almost like a giant family.”
Over its 17 years, the Maine School of Science and
Mathematics has been consistently recognized as a
leader in education in Maine. This past spring has
been a busy one for the school. The MSSM Math
Team won the 36th annual Maine State Math Meet,
and the school was ranked by U.S. News & World
Report as the 38th best high school in the nation out
of nearly 22,000 high schools nationwide. MSSM was
also ranked ninth best magnet school and second best
magnet school in New England.
And if MSSM students are committed to
learning, then it can be said that their teachers
are equally committed to inspiring them. Simply
imparting knowledge is not sufficient for a teacher at
MSSM. The nature of the school encourages teachers
to take the extra step for students, whether this means
having a pizza party while reading Shakespeare after
class or simply being available for students to visit
for assistance with a perplexing lab write-up. “It’s
a community where the teachers are actually there
because they want to be. They want to teach you,” said
MSSM student Molly Masters-Schiller, Crystal, ME.
While MSSM students come from diverse
backgrounds, one common purpose prevails - the
enthusiasm, desire, and motivation for, as well as the
commitment to, learning. “It’s a school where you bring
together a group of students who are highly motivated,
high achieving and excited about learning math,
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SUMMER 2012
MSSM is a close-knit community. The
teachers have fewer students than most other
schools, enabling them the ability to forge not only
working relationships with students, but a mutual