About the Archive

Making History in Real Time

On March 15th, 2020, due to the COVID-19 virus, the leaders of the MSAD#17 school district made the decision to close schools to the public and to enter a period of remote learning. Administrators, teachers, support staff, bus drivers, food service staff, and custodial staff quickly began to ensure that our students would continue to have learning opportunities and school meals while at home.

It soon became apparent that this emergency closure of our schools was going to continue, most likely for the rest of the year. An idea was floated to teacher leaders to try to develop a unit of learning that could include all of the students in our school engaged in a unifying theme and support our parents while they were teaching children at home. A vision of History in the Hills project emerged after a few conversations and meetings on Zoom.

What if….

• We engage all of our students and staff in a common unit designed to document our time during this unprecedented time?

• Our students contributed to a digital archive to donate to each historical society in our district? Created a time capsule for each school?

• We engage our students in authentic opportunities to learn as they are away from our schools?

Essential Question: What do we want our descendants to know about our community during the Spring of 2020?

Our teacher leaders met several times via Zoom to develop our History in the Hills Unit. These teachers worked in teams to develop the choice boards for each week, they reached out to community members to make connections with local businesses, and they helped developed the systems to collect artifacts from our the students in our schools.

Digital Archivists

Chief Archivist: Catherine Emery, Technology Integrator, OHMS and OHCHS

Jenn Chafin, Agnes Gray School Haley Benedict, Hebron Station School

Robert Ripley, Harrison and Waterford Schools Carisa Miner, Guy E. Rowe School

Pamela Marshall, Otisfield Elementary School Melissa Guerrette, Oxford Elementary School

Bryan Eldridge, Paris Elementary School Savannah Sessions and Heather Manchester