Micronesia RPCV William Holt is new principal at Phippsburg Elementary School
Holt: 'I plan to learn'
Former professor switches focus to elementary school
By Bob Kalish, Times Record Staff
PHIPPSBURG - William Holt, the new principal at Phippsburg Elementary School, plans to make his first year here a learning year.
"I plan to continue with the work that (former principal) Pat Manuel did," Holt said. "I plan to learn. It certainly would be presumptuous of me to start to change things immediately."
Holt comes to Phippsburg from Auburn, where he was assistant principal at a middle school. Prior to that he was a college professor in Cambridge, Mass., teaching education and social sciences at Lesley College. Part of his move from Massachusetts to Maine, and from college professor to elementary school administrator, was inspired by his second marriage and three-time fatherhood.
"The schedule of a college professor doesn't leave much time for family life," Holt said.
In his middle 50s - he prefers not to give an exact age - Holt has three children ranging in age from 2 to 7 years old.
"Having young children made me want to get back to the basics," he said. "The classroom is where the action is and this way I'm close to the action."
Holt grew up in southern California, in a small beach town near Los Angeles. Following his graduation from California State University at Los Angeles, he spent two years in Micronesia as a Peace Corps volunteer. He earned a master's degree from Chapman College in Orange County, California, and a doctorate from Boston University. His years at B.U. made him realize he wanted to remain in New England.
Holt's education philosophy is determined by one overriding factor: what best helps the student to learn. And that is why he respects the Maine Learning Results but is skeptical of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
"I like the Maine Learning Results because it focuses on improving students' learning," he said. "I would hate to see Maine go in the direction of Massachusetts, where there is only one means of assessment and the schools end up teaching to the test. That's like using a carrot without a stick."
Holt and his family are building a new home in Bowdoinham.
