Whatever the Problem, Community is the Answer

The change that Brown brought forth is the Central Maine Education Consortium, a new collaboration among area higher education institutions, K-12 school districts, and community nonprofits formed to address the region’s critical educational challenges. Brown, lecturer and coordinator of teacher education at Colby, is director of the consortium and a driving force behind the initiative.

“She built this structure,” said Wang, fingertips pressing together to create a scaffolding. “I don’t need to go knock on doors or send out emails myself. There’s a structure there to attract people together for the same purpose.”

Through the consortium, Wang is now part of a group of teachers, librarians, and others interested in supporting multilingual learners.

“I’m glad we have this consortium. It makes my work a lot easier when I want to place students in classrooms, and I can continue to explore more ideas of how to work closely with the local community,” said Wang, whose department has a history of working with the Waterville community. “How to use Colby resources to support them, and how to bring them into my classroom to enrich my students’ learning experience.”

The Central Maine Education Consortium is designed to break down silos through a network that elevates the teaching profession and supports central Maine educators. The consortium will act as a nexus where educational practices, school and teacher needs, and research intersect and inform one another to find solutions specific to the needs of rural central Maine.

Because, as Brown likes to quote author and leadership coach Margaret J. Wheatley, “whatever the problem, community is the answer.”

Across the nation, education from preschool to higher ed is under attack, said Brown. Shrinking school budgets, declining K-12 student populations, Covid-related learning losses, behavioral and mental health issues, and teacher burnout are among the plethora of challenges facing America’s educational system. Central Maine is not immune to these challenges, of which Brown is well aware as a Waterville native with more than 20 years of experience teaching in the area. She brings a sense of urgency to her work.

“Our teachers are struggling,” said Brown, who knows that teachers often feel detached, alone, or unheard. And yet, central Maine is flush with resources, with three higher education institutions—Colby, Thomas College, and Kennebec Valley Community College—along with school districts and community organizations. Everyone is doing good work, but largely in isolation.

“The more we silo ourselves, the worse off we are,” she said. “We should all be working together.”

Now in its second year, the Central Maine Education Consortium is bringing people together in the spirit of collaboration rather than competition through professional learning networks. More than 150 people have participated in one of the consortium’s many events, workshops, or special interest groups.

“I’m working toward something positive,” she said. “The consortium is a way to really think about how we can all work together to create this really rich educational community for educators, students, and for the community in general.” Brown’s research focuses on teacher resilience and positive persistence. It’s in her nature to see the bigger picture.

“I’m a purpose-driven person.”

Energetic, upbeat, and tenacious, Brown’s connections throughout the area run deep, making her an invaluable bridge-builder. Sherry Pineau Brown attended Waterville public and private schools and graduated from Lawrence High School in neighboring Fairfield before completing her undergraduate and doctoral work in education at the University of Maine in Orono. Her teaching experience includes Fairfield and Waterville public schools, Thomas College in Waterville, and Kennebec Valley Community College in Fairfield.

“When I say I know this community, I do. And I know the strength that we have in this community and in our teachers,” Brown said at last fall’s Dine & Discuss, the consortium’s biannual event for stakeholders. “It’s only through coming together that we’ll really be able to make central Maine thrive. And it’s because of folks like all of you,” she said, gesturing to the teachers, school administrators, librarians, state officials, and community partners who gathered at Thomas College for the event.

A year after Brown joined Colby’s faculty in 2023 and began initial work toward a consortium, she approached Katie Rybakova, associate director of education and chair of the Lunder School of Education at Thomas College.

The two educators shared a vision of bringing people together, and in 2024 they jointly founded the consortium, focusing on school districts in China, Fairfield, Oakland, Waterville, and Winslow.

Brown and Rybakova built the consortium from the ground up, identifying teachers’ needs through Dine & Discuss events and by simply talking to teachers. Today, the consortium offers coordinated learning opportunities, including professional development workshops, discounted graduate courses through Thomas College, and events for teachers and students. There are also six special interest groups, or SIGs, for active, ongoing involvement.

Waterville High School ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teacher Avery Munns ’21 is the facilitator for the Multilingual Learner Support special interest group.

Originally from Topeka, Kan., Munns double majored in educational studies and sociology at Colby and taught in Alaska and at Lewiston High School in Maine before returning to Waterville last fall to teach ESOL.

Leading the Multilingual Learner Support SIG has been “really positive” for Munns as a newcomer to the area. His SIG includes a wide range of representation from area districts, adult education, libraries, and Colby—people he might not have met otherwise, or quickly.

While the consortium was not in place when Munns was a student, it’s here for Mimi Brick ’28, an educational studies major from New York City. Brick has attended a few consortium events, including last fall’s Dine & Discuss, where she saw a representative from Maine’s Department of Education, whom she had met through an organized lunch on campus, and a principal from a school where she had observed.

“It’s nice that I’ve already started making connections with people in the central Maine education realm,” said Brick. At the Dine & Discuss roundtable breakouts, she joined the Outdoor Education SIG.

“It was really interesting to see how all these teachers are trying to integrate outdoor education into their classrooms and bring it to their schools,” said Brick, who loved seeing teachers from different schools sharing ideas, challenges, and solutions. She thinks the consortium is “a great idea.”

“Why wouldn’t we share ways to keep building … when there’s a whole network of us who are trying to do the same thing?”

Brown is encouraged when the consortium brings people together. “Those are the moments,” she said, “when you’re like, see, this is working.”

Other times, it’s two steps forward and one step back, Brown said. The breadth of challenges facing education can be overwhelming. So can navigating the town-gown relationship between Waterville and Colby. Her sensitivity to the situation allows her to bring intention and credibility to the table.

“Sherry has experience and context to back up her reputation. She’s lived it. She knows it all, and that breaks down a lot of barriers for people,” said Munns. “Sherry is trustworthy, and she doesn’t have to overcome some of the hurdles that an outsider may have to overcome.”

Town-gown tensions should always be addressed and navigated with care, added Tyler French, associate director of artistic planning and community engagement for Colby Arts. French is also the facilitator for the consortium’s Arts Education SIG.

“I think for me, the best part is being able to connect with people who understand what your job is like, what you’re going through, and the challenges you’re facing.”

“These things always move at the speed of trust, and if we keep demonstrating trust, we can move faster,” he said. “Not that speed should also be one of our goals. I think the goal is that we build a strong structure that works, and that will sustain.”

French has faith in the consortium because it employs a network theory. “It’s not just one person holding it; the strength of the network relies on these multiple kinds of connections that people have.”

Central to that network is Brown. “She’s always asking us to think bigger and to dream bigger,” French concluded. “She’s an incredible connector.”