Accountability Gap: Applying Charter Standards to Maine’s Public Schools

Charter School Profiles

In-Person Programs

ACADIA Academy

ACADIA, also known as “A Charter Academy for Developing Independence and Achievement,” is a pre-k through sixth-grade charter school. The school heavily emphasizes experiential learning and real-world projects. Established in 2014, it is also one of the state’s newer charter schools. 

Acadia’s students score substantially better than the average public school, with 4% more students passing the most recent state-level English Language Arts assessments, 2% more in Science, and a staggering 10% more passing state Math assessments than the average Maine public school. Despite this, the average public school in Maine spends approximately $24,600 per student, while Acadia Academy spends roughly $16,000 per student. Not only do Acadia’s students score substantially better than the average Maine public school, they also spend less, making Acadia an incredibly cost-effective model for Maine education.

Baxter Academy for Technology and Science

The Baxter Academy for Technology and Science is a STEM-focused college-preparatory high school and the only self-identified college-preparatory charter school in the state. The school is heavily focused on projects addressing “real-world problems,” and students dedicate every Friday to independent multi-year passion projects, such as underwater robots, radio shows, wind turbines, or VR-compatible footwear.

Baxter provides a wide array of electives outside of STEM programs as well, such as Mandarin, photography, creative writing, or journalism. With all these programs, it’s no wonder that Baxter is regularly ranked as one of the best high schools in the state.

Community Regional Charter School

Community Regional Charter School (CRCS), formerly Cornville Regional Charter School, is Maine’s first tuition-free, public Pre–K–12 charter school. With three campuses in Skowhegan and Cornville (Overman Academy, Dimensions Academy, Creative Children’s Academy), CRCS offers a learner-centered environment built on personalized learning plans and a proficiency-based model. Students advance when they demonstrate mastery, not just based on age or grade level.

CRCS also stands out for its deep integration with the local community. Electives are often taught by community members, giving students access to real-world skills and diverse learning opportunities that go far beyond the traditional classroom. This approach fosters student agency, engagement, and customization—empowering learners to pursue their interests and take ownership of their education.

Ecology Learning Center

The Ecology Learning Center is a public charter school in Unity that teaches grades 09-12 and integrates academic rigor and real-world fieldwork into its educational plans. Its education heavily includes ecology, with students studying various biological, ecological, and scientific subjects. It also integrates partnerships and apprenticeship programs involving Unity College, Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners’ Association, Kennebec Valley Community College, and UMaine’s Hutchinson Center.

The ELC integrates local communities and resources, and heavily utilizes hands-on and project-based learning.

“In my class students learned architectural drafting, built scale models of the unique homes they each designed, and then as a team built an actual full-sized building […] While the skills acquired are indeed useful, the deeper value lies in the growing self-confidence I saw in these students: they came to believe in themselves as competent, creative, productive.” — Paul Cartwright, Educator. 

Fiddlehead Center of Arts and Sciences

Fiddlehead is a pre-K through eighth-grade school located in Gray. Unlike some other charters, it focuses on both the arts and sciences simultaneously. Fiddlehead does so through a hands-on, project-oriented system and applies the “Reggio Emilia” education model, a student-centered approach from the Italian town of the same name. It emphasizes fostering student creativity and curiosity.

While in a rural area, Fiddlehead keeps an innovative approach to education, and a low teacher-to-student ratio. It attempts to give access to these highly-flexible alternative educational models to families who may not be able to afford private schools.

Maine Academy of Natural Sciences

The Maine Academy of Natural Sciences is the state’s first charter school dedicated exclusively to the natural sciences. Located in Hinckley, it offers hands-on education and educates students about nature, ecosystems, and agriculture and forestry. MeANS engages heavily with project-based learning, including designing gardens, studying trees, or organizing miniature farms.

MeANS applies a student-led individualized model, designed for students who may struggle in a more traditional classroom setting. It hosts a residential program through Good Will-Hinckley, which is a charitable organization that operates the school. It also operates with several greenhouses and a museum on the grounds, providing several different types of resources to its students for hands-on learning.

Maine Arts Academy

Maine Arts Academy (MeAA) is Maine’s only public charter school dedicated only to the arts, teaching grades 7–12. Located in Augusta, MeAA offers a full-day, arts-integrated curriculum that blends rigorous academics with daily instruction in dance, film, music, theater, and visual arts. Students follow specialized “pathways,” engaging in real-world creative projects—from original film production to cross-disciplinary visual media.

The school follows a college-like Monday through Thursday schedule, with early dismissal on Fridays. This, along with its project-oriented course design, helps students build skills for college. Unlike any other full-time arts-oriented high school in the state, this is free, making it available to families of all income levels.

Virtual Programs

Maine Connections Academy

The Maine Connections Academy (MCA) is the state’s first virtual charter school, offering a fully online 7–12 education to students across Maine. Notably, there are no other fully virtual public schools in Maine besides its two virtual charters. MCA is affiliated with Pearson’s Connections Education and prioritizes a more structured, teacher-led format when compared to the Maine Virtual Academy. Students attend regular LiveLesson® sessions and follow a curriculum that closely mirrors a traditional school schedule, offering more routine and academic scaffolding.

MCA serves a highly diverse student population, with roughly 40% of students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and more than one-in-five receiving special education services. Where MCA really distinguishes itself is in academic consistency and student outcomes: it boasts one of the highest four-year graduation rates in the state.

Maine Virtual Academy

The Maine Virtual Academy is the other of Maine’s only two virtual charter schools, serving students from grades 7-12 from across the state. Its curriculum focuses on synchronous (live) remote classes and self-paced coursework. Unlike the MCA, the Maine Virtual Academy (MeVA), operates under the K12 Inc. model and emphasizes a blend of live instruction and independent study. This is a highly in-demand educational model, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, the waitlist reached about 350 students.

Like many remote and charter schools, MeVA heavily supports low-income and special education learners, with more than one-in-four students there being in special education, and more than half of their student body being considered economically disadvantaged. Because of the flexibility of this program, it has the highest four-year graduation rate of any charter school and the lowest chronic absenteeism rate. Additionally, its students test above average on English Language Arts and about average for Science. Considering the fact that special education and low-income student populations can often underperform on standardized tests, this is another strong sign of a successful program.

Eliminated Programs

Harpswell Coastal Academy 

The Harpswell Coastal Academy operated from 2013 to 2023, and had locations in Harpswell and later Brunswick. It focused heavily on project-based learning and real-world marine and natural sciences. Like many charter schools, it predominantly attracted students who felt distracted or unhappy in traditional public schools.

Despite its cultural strengths, the school struggled with persistent challenges, including chronic absenteeism, inconsistent academic performance, and financial instability. In 2022, the Maine Charter School Commission refused to approve its renewal for these reasons, with only four of the seven commissioners voting in favor of renewal (five out of seven is required). 

Prospective Programs

Moxie Community School

Moxie Community School is a yet-to-be-opened charter school in Portland, Maine, approved by the Commission on May 13, 2025, to open for sixth through 12th grades for the 2026-2027 school year. The school is designed to focus on students from low-income families and with learning disabilities, like many other charters, but also English language learners. Portland public schools have a very low success rate in reaching proficiency with English language learner students, making this a crucial niche for cultural and economic integration for new Mainer populations.

Like many charters, Moxie intends to emphasize an innovative education model, including competency-based and project-based education. Its approval makes Moxie the 10th charter school in Maine, which brings the state to the current statutory cap on charter schools.