Education

Our schools are rated among the best in the country, receiving several state and national recognition awards. Our focus on career and technical education (CTE) starting in middle school and continuing through high school complements rigorous college predatory pathways also available to students through our community schools and Aroostook’s Maine School of Science and Mathematics (MSSM).

Our CTE Trade Schools include Region 2, SAD #1 Presque Isle Tech Center, RSU 39 Caribou Tech Center, and St. John Valley Tech Center. Course offerings include but are not limited to, AgriScience and Natural Resources, Business Technology, Building Trades, Early Childhood Education, Drafting/Engineering Technology, Cosmetology and Industrial and Farm Mechanics.  Career and technical education offers a dynamic hands-on approach to education and career development opportunities as well as a head start on college by offering many dual enrollment opportunities.

Maine School of Science and Mathematics (MSSM) brings together and helps a group of Maine’s most academically motivated high school students become innovative, well-rounded scholars with the ability to develop, investigate, and communicate critical ideas that improve the human condition and benefit the state of Maine. MSSM has built a reputation as one of the most well-respected high schools in the country. MSSM continues to rank strongly in publications such as US News and World Report (#2 in 2019) and Niche.com where we are ranked #1 in Maine and top 10 in the US throughout the years. MSSM alumni have built careers in a variety of fields, from aerospace to academia, medicine to marketing, software engineering to patent law, video game design to finance.

Unlike many other communities, in lieu of private schools, Aroostook County has focused on cultivating high quality education in our public schools. Our largest schools are the Caribou Community School, Presque Isle area schools, Houlton Schools, Fort Kent Schools, and Madawaska Schools, each separated by high school, middle school, and elementary school students. We make sure that our students will be empowered with the academic, personal, and social knowledge and skills needed to build fulfilling and engaging lives. Students are able to fully participate in activities thanks to our small class sizes. Extracurriculars are important to our systems, especially the afterschool programs of Band/Chorus, Hockey, Basketball, Theatre, and Soccer!