Meet Lynne Witham!
We have been continuing down memory lane for our 50th anniversary, and we were fortunate to catch up with Lynne Witham! Lynne started at the Community School in 1998 as a Residential Coordinator, and then continued at the Community School as a Teacher before moving into the roll of Passages Director. Read the full interview with Lynne below!
WS: When did you first become involved with The C-School/Wayfinder, and in what capacity?
Lynne: I was hired as Residential Coordinator in the fall of 1998.
WS: What other roles have you had at The C-School/Wayfinder?
Lynne: Teacher/Counselor and Passages Director
WS: What drew you to the work of The C-School/Wayfinder?
Lynne: The alternative format and their willingness to hire me without teaching experience.
WS: What is one of you earliest memories of The C-School/Wayfinder?
Lynne: The group hiring interview in the C-School living room where they asked me all kinds of questions that I had no idea how to answer. Bob, Emanuel, Dora, Hazel, Fran. And of course, Bob's bare feet.
WS: What is one of your favorite memories of The C-School/Wayfinder?
Lynne: There are so many...but one favorites is shopping with Skip Lewis and his making baked stuffed lobster for the last supper (before graduation). And how hard it felt to let our students go at graduation, but also how proud we were of them for having come so far and grown so much.
WS: What makes you most proud of your affiliation with Wayfinder?
Lynne: The great hearts and souls of all the staff and students. Exceptional people.
WS: What do you wish people knew about Wayfinder?
Lynne: You can learn everything you need to know about education at Wayfinder (C-School). I did.
WS: What do you hope for Wayfinder in future years?
Lynne: That you keep spreading your message and program providing meaningful student-centered and self-directed learning, and working with staff and students who are often out of the ordinary.
WS: What did/do you do in your professional life?
Lynne: First I was in construction. Then education for the past 25 years; most recently in public school administration. Now I am consulting and doing various other jobs for fun.
WS: What do you do in your spare time?
Lynne: Cook, read, garden, walk, hang out with friends, explore spirituality, try to learn to identify land birds. And seem to always be in the midst of ongoing renovation projects.
WS: What did you want to be when you were young?
Lynne: Teacher, Psychologist, Philanthropist, Parent.
WS: Who was one of your favorite teachers as a child/teen, and why?
Lynne: Cindy Marshall, who was my high school English teacher and a good friend. She talked WITH us, was a great story-teller, had a wonderful sense of humor, and engaged us with student-centered project-based learning at a time when most teachers relied on the old "sit and git" lecture methods of teaching.
WS: What is one of your favorite things about living in Maine?
Lynne: There are places where children can run around and be free outside without their parents being reported to DHHS. Not as many as there used to be when I was a kid, but still some! And the many state parks and conservation areas where the public can enjoy the outdoors without getting arrested for trespassing. And the sense of Maine being its own country, so that even if you go away to live you will always belong - at least to a "Mainers in Exile" group.
WS: Anything else you'd like to add?
Lynne: Happy 50th Anniversary, C-School/Wayfinder!!! I love you.