Finding Growth Through Flexibility: Inside the Zenith Alternative Education Program

Zenith Alternative Education Program students carve pumpkins.

At Camden Hills Regional High School, part of Five Town Community School District (CSD), an off-site alternative education learning community is redefining what high school can look like for students seeking a more personalized, project-based path.

Located at Rose Hall in Camden, the Zenith Alternative Education Program serves students in grades 10-12 through a model rooted in flexibility, relationships, and experiential learning. While the setting differs from a traditional high school, students at Zenith earn the same diploma and meet the same graduation requirements as their peers at Camden Hills Regional High School.

What differs is the approach.

“Traditional high school experiences can feel like conveyor belts in many ways,” Zenith teacher and coordinator Mae Applegate said. “It’s already mapped out, and it’s your job as a student to stay on it. Alternative education is responsive. It’s flexible. It’s built around the students who are actually in front of you.”

Applegate joined public alternative education during the 2025-2026 school year after years of approaching education through a nontraditional lens.

“One of the first questions in my interview was, ‘What brings you to alternative education?’” Applegate said. “My answer was that I’ve always been alternative. It’s the way I approach education and learning.”

Zenith currently serves approximately 20 students, with enrollment fluctuating throughout the year as students transition in and out of the program. Students attend by choice and complete a multi-step application process that includes shadow days, reflective activities, and interviews with staff and family members.

The intentional admissions process reflects the program’s philosophy: Students are active participants in shaping their own educational experience.

Learning Through Experience

At the Zenith Alternative Education Program, courses are organized into interdisciplinary nine-week units that combine academic standards with hands-on learning and real-world experiences.

In a recent history course exploring the cultural and historical significance of food, students brainstormed topics of interest, voted on areas to study, and helped shape the direction of the class. One particular unit in this class included apple dissections, pie baking for community donations during Thanksgiving, and learning about apple preservation methods.

“We’re always asking how we can connect learning to authentic experiences,” Applegate said. “Students are meeting graduation standards, but they’re doing it through projects and collaboration.”

Cross-curricular learning is also central to the program’s design. During one interdisciplinary unit, students explored the physics of sound in science and math classes, led by Zenith’s science and math teacher John Van Dis, by designing and building their own speakers and instruments. At the same time, students participated in an English songwriting course that blended scientific inquiry with creative expression. At the end of their coursework, students visited the local elementary school to share their instruments and creative processes with younger students while demonstrating the science behind sound and vibration.

“The elementary students loved having the high schoolers come in,” Applegate said. “It became a meaningful experience where our students were seen as leaders and mentors.”

Another recent course, “Star Wars: Physics Strikes Back,” expanded upon student interest to explore scientific concepts. As part of this class, students visited the planetarium at the University of Maine, combining academic content with exposure to a college campus and future pathways.

“It was both a science experience and a life experience,” Applegate said. “For some students, it was also an opportunity to imagine themselves in a four-year college environment.”

Building Community Through Leadership

Relationships are a foundational part of the Zenith Alternative Education Program, and students are encouraged to contribute actively to the community around them. Every day starts and ends with a community circle, including gratitude and reflective exercises. On Wednesdays, students participate in a dedicated “Community Day” focused on leadership, collaboration, and culinary programming. Students help plan and prepare meals, manage grocery budgets, lead lunch preparation, and support cleanup responsibilities.

This year, students have also spent time revisiting and redefining the program’s community agreements—the shared values that guide how students and staff interact.

“When I arrived, there were 10 community agreements,” Applegate said. “Some students could explain some of them clearly, and others couldn’t name more than three. We realized we needed to better define who we are as a community.”

Through discussions, writing exercises, debates, and collaborative activities, students distilled the program’s values into a single guiding acronym: GROWTH.

“We knew that if students are coming to Zenith, they’re committing to growth,” Applegate said.

Students are now collaboratively determining what each letter in GROWTH represents through structured discussions and community voting. Two values that quickly emerged were “gratitude” and “welcoming.”

“When students come for shadow days, we want to clearly articulate what being here is all about,” Applegate said. “How do we, as students and staff, live our collective values every day?”

A Different Path, the Same Diploma

Students in the Zenith Alternative Education Program can participate in hybrid schedules, attending classes at Camden Hills Regional High School or programs through the Mid-Coast School of Technology, while remaining enrolled in Zenith.

Some students attend Zenith full-time, while others begin on alternating-day schedules. The flexibility allows staff to individualize supports, while helping students maintain connections to broader school opportunities.

Weekly social work services, close collaboration with counselors, and strong staff relationships also help students navigate challenges both inside and outside the classroom.

“Relationship is really the core pillar of this work,” Applegate said.

The program, funded through Five Town CSD, has existed for more than two decades. Staff members continue working to increase awareness about and understanding of the program among families, faculty, and the broader school community through newsletters, outreach, and presentations.

“There are more than 700 students at the high school, and many stakeholders do not fully understand what happens here,” Applegate said. “We want people to know that what we do here is highly engaged learning. Our students are doing important academic and character work.”

For staff and students alike, Zenith represents more than an alternative education setting. The community is like an extended family, with its own quirks and inside jokes.

“It’s a different way of doing things,” Applegate said. “It’s cool; it’s interesting; and I love it.”

This story was written in collaboration with Camden Hills Regional High School (Five Town CSD) as part of an ongoing series to highlight alternative education programs across Maine. For more information about alternative education, please visit the Maine DOE Alternative Education webpage. To submit a good news story to the Maine DOE, please fill out the good news submission form.