7 Pleasant St
Winterport, ME 04496

I go here and we've had two threats in the bathroom also yesterday we had a lock in and bag check because of a threat in the bathroom

For those of you thinking of moving to Hampden, I would have advised you to do so ten years ago but if you have school-aged children, my advice is to stay away from the RSU22/Hampden area school district.Recently overtaken by woke politics, and after conducting an "equity audit", the schools have gone into a decline. One of my children reports being repeatedly asked what pronoun she would prefer, students are allowed to "change names" and take on names such as "Frog" etc. School board members repeatedly acknowledge looking at all decisions through an "equity lens" which is code for CRT. Although they will deny it, the leadership is deeply committed to the principles of the woke educational consultancy. The academic success that this district was known for has taken a back seat in the past two years. Frankly, they are coasting on the demographics of the area, which have high levels of parent education and income. On top of this, the decision to have school in person only two days a week during the last year was catastrophic to all students. Whereas a neighboring school district, Bangor, managed to have their students in school five days a week, Hampden's children suffered greatly because of the school board and superintendent's lack of imagination/ Only when there was a general revolt among parents in the spring of 2021, did they offer four days of in-person learning for K-5.My advice, find a town nearby with school choice. Sadly, RSU22 is a dead end.

Leroy H Smith School has a committed and enthusiastic staff. Parent volunteers are welcomed and encouraged and provide many enrichment programs for students. The facility is beautiful and well maintained, with a fully equipped playground and a walking trail and ballfields next door.