AROOSTOOK COUNTY (NEWS CENTER Maine) - It's the end of an era in Aroostook County.
More and more schools in the County are either shortening the annual harvest recess for students, phasing it out, or have already ended the practice altogether.
SAD 1 schools, which include Presque Isle High School, are ending the harvest recess. Starting in the fall of 2019, students will no longer be given a harvest recess.
Brian Carpenter, the superintendent of schools in SAD 1 and MSAD 45, says it came down to the cost and participation. "There was a cost because we have to keep buses on the road and pay teachers that teach high school and elementary school. The participation of the students in the harvest has also dropped significantly." Carpenter added, "In surveys, we found that most students were going back to their summer jobs and not taking part in the harvest whatsoever."
Just 15 percent of the students who filled out those surveys said they were actually working the potato harvest. Carpenter says that number is too small, and the school has to be considerate of the other students who do not work the harvest.
Not all schools are getting rid of the harvest recess, however. At Central Aroostook High School in Mars Hill, the tradition is still alive and well.
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The school principal, Dr. Kay York, says the school has no intention of getting rid of the harvest break because it's a need in the community. "It’s not just tradition, it’s actually a need in our community to have the student workers."
Principal York also says working the harvest builds strong character. "It also really produces kids that are responsible and know the value of hard work. I talk to people from around the state, and when people say they come across someone they’re going to hire, and they say they’re from the county, then they’ll hire them because they know they’re going to be a hard worker. And that type of education you can’t get in the classroom."
Farmers in the County say it will be difficult to get by without the student labor. Keith Doyen, the owner Willard C. Doyen & Sons in Mapleton says, "Without the kids from the schools, we’re going to be short. There’s just not enough kids in the community to man all the positions that we need."
However, Doyen says farmers in Aroostook County will ultimately find ways to get by. "I’m sure we’ll all survive, it will take some time to figure it all out and figure out where we’re going to get the help from. But in the meantime, we’re going to utilize [the students] the best we can."