Dear RSU 21 Families,

A quick reminder that we have a short week next week...no school Wednesday through Friday in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday.

The big game is on Saturday...Congratulations to our Kennebunk Rams Football team on making it to the Championship!

Our community is organizing two send-off sites to show support on Saturday. Folks will be lining Fletcher Street headed toward the turnpike, as well as the Eastern Trail Bridge over I-95, which is accessible from the KES parking lot. The bus is leaving at 12:00 p.m., so everyone is planning to be in place by then. Kennebunk Police have asked everyone to remain on sidewalks and out of roadways.

The Class B Title Game against Lawrence kicks off at 2:30 p.m. at Fitzpatrick Stadium in Portland...Let's Go Rams!

Have a great weekend!

Much Love,

Terri I. Cooper, Ed.D.

RSU 21 Superintendent



RSU 21 Seeking Host Families

for Exchange Students

RSU 21 is seeking host families for 10 exchange students in grades 9-12 from Madrid, Spain who will arrive on January 22, 2024, and will be staying in the district for four weeks.

We are seeking to have host families lined up by December 15, 2023.

KHS French and Spanish Teacher Eva Hernandez, who is coordinating the program, worked in GSD (Gredos San Diego Cooperativa) schools in Madrid for 13 years. The goals of this mutual cultural and language immersion program include improving knowledge of another culture to the whole educational community, development of new personal skills to our students and to strengthen links between both schools.

Families will be compensated $400 for hosting.

If interested, please contact Shelly Allen [email protected] for more information. 

Transportation Update for Bus 13 and Bus 40

Starting on Monday, November 20, 2023, Bus 13 will no longer provide transportation service to Emmons Road and Powder Mill Lane. Instead, Bus 40 will service Emmons Road and Powder Mill Lane addresses for all students. This route modification will cause a small change in pick-up and drop-off times for students on both bus routes.

Please check your pick-up and drop-off times using the Traversa Ride 360 system. This can be accessed by using the MyRide 360 application or by logging in via a web browser. Instructions are posted on the Transportation website.

For questions, please call Transportation at 207-985-2622. 

(This info was previously sent directly to families whose children ride bus 13)

U.S. News and World Report released their rankings for 2024…with MLD ranking in the top Maine elementary schools at #13! Congratulations, Monarchs!

MSK Band Teacher to March in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Note: This is a first...double coverage! Seacoast Online // York County Star Reporter Shawn Sullivan had reached out to Laurie to do a story on her trip at the same time in which we were planning to celebrate her. We're sharing both our profile and SCO's story. Enjoy! -David Singer, Communication Specialist

The last time MSK Band Teacher Laurie Ellis marched and played trumpet in a parade she was 21. Now she’s doing it again at 58. 

“I’ve been training–running then playing my trumpet afterwards–so I think I’ll be fine,” she said.

Laurie applied and was accepted to be part of the 400-member ensemble of the Saluting America’s Band Directors (SABD) after watching the group march and perform in the Rose Bowl Parade. The SABD is a project of the Michael D. Sewell Memorial Foundation, which honors the namesake band director from Pickerington, Ohio.

Having spent 36 years in RSU 21–her entire music education career–the commitment to community and collaboration aligns with the foundation’s values.

“I play weekly with the Casco Bay Wind Symphony in Gorham. I sit beside a doctor in their 70s, I sit beside a lawyer; someone who works at the shipyard. Music–It’s a lifelong thing. It’s a collaborative group making music and it’s not necessarily their occupation. And that’s what I try to foster with students in my classroom: I’m not training them to be professional musicians–I’m training them to reach a common goal.”

Laurie will be one of two band directors representing Maine, joining Jen Fletcher from South Portland. They will leave for New York over the weekend and start rehearsals on Sunday before playing at the 9/11 Memorial on Monday. Pieces played there will include Amazing Grace, The National Anthem and an ensemble arrangement of Taps. For Thanksgiving Day, a collection of pieces will be played over the 2-plus-mile parade route before culminating in a medley of marching pieces including Strike Up the Band, Simple Gifts and 76 Trombones.

“I’m looking forward to representing all my students, past and present. Every step I’m taking I’m thinking of them. I’ve had many students from over the years reach out and thank me recently once they heard I was marching.”

Still, staying in the same district for an entire career? It’s something Laurie couldn’t imagine any other way.

“This district has always provided opportunities to create music in creative ways. I started the steel drum program about 20 years ago…a principal at the time came back from a cruise and said, ‘you need to learn steel drums!’ She said a few weeks before school, ‘they’re here!’ She had written a grant and gotten them. I didn’t know how to play them. She said, ‘you’ll figure it out.’”

The Hour is Upon Us:

Computer Science Week + Hour of Code Dec. 4th - 10th

Since 2013, RSU 21 has participated in the worldwide Hour of Code during Computer Science Week. Elementary students participate in their STEM classes in a coding unit that lasts several weeks, while Middle and High School students participate during advisory and FLEX periods. 

“It's a great opportunity for students to see how coding integrates in many career fields and student interests,” said Sheila Wells, RSU 21 Technology & Curriculum Integrator. 

Click here to see this year’s Hour of Code programming, Creativity with AI, which students can access from home in addition to other programs in school.

The Hour of Code is a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify code and show that anybody can learn the basics. We hope it’ll spark interest in students to keep learning. Research also shows that kids can pick up programming concepts before they know how to read and write. In fact, their brains are more receptive to computer languages at a young age, just like foreign languages.

There are nearly 700,000 open computing jobs in the US, but only 80,000 computer science students graduated into the workforce last year. We know that regardless of what our students do when they grow up, whether they go into medicine, business, politics, or the arts, knowing how to build technology will give them confidence and a competitive edge.

                                  Computer Science Courses at KHS Include: 

AP Computer Principles, AP Computer Science, Computer Programming Honors , Computer Programming Python, Digital Design I, Digital Design II, Introduction to Computer Science, Mechanical Design, Robotics; Solidworks.

M.L. Day Peace Project - Photos + Video

After a showcase from Allied Arts Students at M.L. Day's Community Meeting on Friday Morning, students shared with everyone their "What Peace Means to Us" documentary.

Need some fan gear? Show your Rams pride by visiting the online apparel store.

Let's go Rams!

District Contact Information

2023-2024 School Calendar

Job Postings