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Saco's Thornton Academy Attracting Students From Around the Globe

Tom Porter
/
MPBN
Thornton Academy in Saco.

SACO, Maine - The head of a southern Maine high school traveled to Washington recently to receive a presidential award - not from the Department of Education, but from the Department of Commerce.

Saco's Thornton Academy received the President's "E" award, which recognizes efforts that contribute significantly to U.S. exports. In the case of Thornton Academy, the product is the American educational experience, which is being exported to hundreds of foreign students, thanks to the school's thriving international program.
 
It's the end of another school day at Thornton Academy - home to 1,600 students grades 6 through 12. Most of them hail from the local community - Saco, Biddeford, Dayton, Arundel. But a fair number come from further afield - much further afield.

"This is my third year here, so I came as a sophomore," says senior Lucy Chen. Chen is one of the 155 overseas students from more than 20 countries enrolled at Thornton Academy, or "T-A," as students and staff call it.

Most live in dorms on the 88-acre campus. But some, like Lucy Chen, choose to live with local families. She's wrapping up her senior year and preparing to attend MIT this fall.
 

Credit Tom Porter / MPBN
/
MPBN
Thornton Academy students, from left, Victor Menezes, Katherine Gillespie and Lucy Chen.

Chen, who is from Bejing, China, says she and and her family chose T-A because of its strong academic offerings, among other things. "I also look at how many extracurricular activities they have, how many clubs, and if they have a good science, math and dance program," she says, "because those are three things I really care about."

"Science, math and dance?" I ask.

Yes," Chen says. "I know it's a weird combination but it's kind of my major thing in my life."

"Location was the biggest factor for me choosing Thornton Academy," says Victor Menezes, also a senior. Menezes is from southern Brazil. When choosing a boarding school in America three years ago, he says his parents had one stipulation: that he pick a part of the country where fewer people spoke Spanish.

"Yes, so they said, 'You might prefer to go to New England and the Northwest, where people are going to speak English more often,' " he says.

"Most people don't think about a school receiving an award for exports," says Rene Menard, who has been on Thornton Academy's faculty for 20 years, and has been headmaster for the last three.

Tom Porter: "So, in effect, you're exporting your product - the Thornton Academy education - to these markets where the kids are from?"

Rene Menard: "Absolutely."

Tom Porter: "Did you think when you became a teacher you'd get an award for exports?"

Rene Menard: "Absolutely not."

Menard says the international residential program was started seven years ago as a response to demographic challenges, namely a decline in the number of school age children in the community.

"So by bringing these 150-plus international students to the campus we were able to offset the decline in local enrollment," Menard says, "and not only maintain our program offerings but actually enhance the program offerings that we have."

All of which helps the local community as much as it helps the international students, says Menard. The nearly $7 million a year in fees brought in by the program have created 38 additional jobs and enabled T-A to grow its advanced placement courses from 6 to 24. The school also now offers seven language courses, including Chinese and Arabic.

Katherine Gillespie is a senior from nearby Arundel. "I feel very lucky that we are exposed to so many cultures from around the world," she says, "and I think it helps socially and academically."

And, say supporters of the program, it's good for business.
 
"International students definitely have an impact on Maine's economy," says Lucy Sommo. Sommo runs the StudyMaine program, which was set up five years ago by the Maine International Trade Center to entice students from overseas. "We really believe that this makes Maine better prepared for a world that's globally connected."

Sommo says in recent years there's been a noticeable growth in international students seeking a high school education here as a way of easing their way into an American college.

According to StudyMaine estimates, there are nearly 1,000 of them enrolled at some 20 schools across the state, contributing about $31 million to the Maine economy in 2014.