Boothbay Region Elementary School’s (BRES) new assistant principal, Nicole Mathews, knows how to handle a crisis, in more ways than one.  And saying she's excited to bring her unique skill set to the region may be an understatement.

"It's kind of corny, but even just getting the interview (for the job) … felt like Christmas," she said. 

A Whitefield native and longtime regional visitor, Mathews has felt that Boothbay is a special community, prompting her application for the BRES opening. "I know that they have a lot of resources and support to offer their students and make them successful. I want to be a part of helping the community help the students."

For Mathews, this means connecting teachers with what they need to succeed in the classroom, and listening to feedback from families. She's also eager to build one-on-one relationships with students—knowing their names and greeting them in their own unique style each morning. 

Children have a joy Mathews loves to share. Whether it's seeing a child thrive on the field in her role as a coach, or helping a reluctant reader find the book that finally connects with them when she taught language arts at Windsor Elementary School. 

“It's those small successes that make me love what I do.” 

However, despite knowing she wanted to be an educator since second grade, Mathews’ path to the K-12 classroom was unconventional. Spurred on by her family’s military background, time volunteering at Whitefield Fire Department and emergency medical technician (EMT) work at Central Lincoln County Ambulance, Mathews’ early career took her to the Maine Air National Guard.  

For 14 years, Mathews worked as a Guard emergency manager, preparing for and responding to crises. As a hazmat technician and one of the few instructors equipped to teach chemical warfare survival skills, she toured the state educating her fellow Guards. In 2012, Mathews was part of a team sent to New York after Hurricane Sandy to help with incident command systems and help at relief shelters.  

"We went where we were needed." 

Eventually, Mathews returned to school to receive her teaching certification and found herself back home at Whitefield School, where she was a student support specialist for seven years. 

Related to social-emotional learning, Mathews helped students who struggled with behavior, drawing on her background in restorative school practices. The idea is that students build strong relationships with their classroom, school and wider community that help them take accountability when some harm occurs, such as a mistake or unkind behavior. With a focus on student voice, children learn authentic communication through discussion circles. Mathews often found that students came to her to facilitate these conversations when an issue arose.

"Sometimes people think that means there's no accountability, but as adults, we know how hard it is if we make a mistake to stand up and say, 'I did that. Let's figure out how I can fix this.' That's probably harder than staying in for recess or staying after school. It takes ownership.” 

While Mathews has not officially held an administrative job before, her other work experiences have left her feeling confident about the coming school year.

"I am highly organized and definitely a planner, and I took really specific steps to get here. I specifically sought out Boothbay. I guess you could say between my goal setting and the stars aligning, this is exactly where I need to be."