Education Commissioner Celebrates Washington County School Improvements On First Day of Report Card Rollout Tour

*Maine Department of Education Commissioner Jim Rier returned to his native county to present Rose M. Gaffney Elementary School their A grade and Narraguagus High School their C. Both schools have higher rates of low-income students than the state average and spend less on classroom instruction, yet both improved by two letter grades.*

MACHIAS, Maine - Maine's Commissioner of Education spent Monday in Washington County, recognizing two schools there for raising their grades on the 2014 school report cards that will be released to the public on Thursday.

This week Commissioner Jim Rier is touring the state to celebrate the 110 Maine schools that have seen their grades improve by at least one letter since the first report cards were released a year ago under the new Maine School Performance Grading System.

Monday's first stop marked a homecoming for the Commissioner, a Washington County native. He spent the morning touring Rose M. Gaffney School, the Machias elementary school where he and all three of his sons attended.

While there, Commissioner Rier presented Principal Mitchell Look an advanced copy of the school's 2014