Message from the Superintendent

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July, 2022


Dear Mount Ararat students, staff, parents, and residents:


I am extremely honored to have been selected to serve as the MSAD No.75 Superintendent of Schools.  Mount Ararat is recognized for its traditions, community support, and excellent schools.  Demonstrating that, I have already received very kind welcomes from staff members, parents, several students, and citizens.  


I am learning some of the history that people wish to share, so I wish to share my own related family history to the communities.  My maternal grandmother, Eleanor Lubee. was born in Cundy’s Harbor and lived on Bailey Island in her youth.  I always enjoyed taking my grandmother for rides around the area so she could show me her old “haunts”.  Also, my maternal grandfather Bert Spear had a long line of family from Bowdoin!  


So that you have an idea who “the new guy” is, I wish to take this opportunity to tell you a bit about myself and my family. My wife JoAnn and I reside in Gorham.  Our daughter Caitlin and her husband Joe have two boys, Jack and Elliott; and our son Joe and his wife Keila have two-month-old Addison.  Some of our favorite times are family game nights, spending time on Sebago Lake, and cooking s’mores at campfires.  Being a father and grandfather has certainly shaped important parts of my thinking about what is most important in education.  JoAnn and I also have “a little  girl” at home - Penny, who is a year-old Cockapoo.  Also, I am an identical twin… and, no, I am not your investment planner… but John might be!  I have a younger brother and older sister as well.  My father was a longtime Westbrook School Superintendent, and my mother was a teacher.   


I have begun a Listen and Learn Tour that includes data collection from numerous groups: Board members, staff, students, families, parent groups, and agencies that work with our schools.  I look forward to being a regular visitor to our classrooms and program spaces, working with school and department leaders to continually improve our practice, as well as connecting with our students in and outside of classrooms.  If you see me at events, please feel free to say hello!


Upon reading the District Mission statement, the four communities of MSAD No.75 are united in our dedication to develop confident, fluent learners, critical thinkers, and creative contributors to our society, I find these words resonate strongly with me.  I take my role very seriously and will demonstrate great energy, passion, systemic thinking, and a strong conviction to see this mission carried out.  I desire to support all students’ pursuit of their goals and dreams!


For now, I continue to get acclimated, doing lots of reading about district programs and resources, visiting and learning about facilities, examining several kinds of data, asking lots of questions, and “turning over rocks” to see what is there.  I do plan to host a Good News FB page or twitter account, so I look forward to keeping you up-to-date once school begins.


Best regards,




Steve Connolly  Superintendent of Schools

Go Eagles!


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