Join us in welcoming another incredible RSU 18 educator to our administration team this year – Maggie Solis, Dean of Students at Williams Elementary School!
What are you most excited about for this upcoming year? I’m most excited to reconnect with many former students and their families this upcoming school year! What a unique position I am in to be able to rekindle so many wonderful student and family relationships of students I watched journey through Atwood and on to Williams. It is going to be a great year!
What do you like to do in your spare time? In my spare time you can typically find me with my family! We love spending time outdoors, visiting with family and friends, going to our family camp in the Western Mountains, and traveling to rugby matches. This year my husband will be the head coach at Bates, so we will be cheering on the Bobcats this fall! I also love art, taking photos, home decorating, and traveling!
What’s your favorite meal? It’s hard to choose! I love ravioli, but I also love tacos!
What’s been your best school memory – either as a student or administrator? It is hard to choose my BEST school memory… but I have to say every year since I was a child through becoming a teacher, I have done pumpkin pie baking for the community Thanksgiving dinner. My mother began the tradition with me as a child through scouting, and I continued it with my mom and my students once I began teaching. Each year (even through COVID) we would bake at least one pie per child to donate to the community Thanksgiving dinner. The event prior to COVID was a family involvement activity, and it was always so much fun to get families from each of the kindergarten classrooms together to make pies with their children. We would make anywhere from 30 pies to 100 pies depending on the year!
Pumpkin pie baking became the start of the monthly service projects I did with my kindergarten classroom which became known as Kinder Kindness! It was these days – where I was able to immerse children in opportunities to truly help others, to bring joy to others, and to help them learn at the age of four and five that they are never too small to make a difference and to make the world a better place – which were my favorite memories as a teacher.
What would your students be surprised to find out about you? The kindergarten classroom I taught in for 8 years was actually my kindergarten classroom, and my awesome kindergarten teacher came back to volunteer in my classroom for many years! Williams Elementary is also where I had my first official job as a camp counselor at Oakland Summer Rec! Funny how everything tends to come full circle sometimes!
If you could live anywhere, where would it be? I absolutely love living in Maine. I love the four seasons and how we have a little bit of everything from the mountains, to the lakes, to the ocean. We really are pretty lucky to live here. I have traveled to, and love, Ireland and Italy – so both of those could be fun for a bit! And I definitely love the beach, so somewhere tropical for a short time could be fun!
What’s your favorite thing to study? I’m not sure I have a favorite thing to study, but I am always researching different ways to build positive, strong relationships with students and families. I believe this is the most important thing as a teacher and administrator.
Tell us about your family! My husband Tony and I live in Belgrade with our two small children and our dog, Blue. My husband, Tony, works for Maine General, coaches men’s college rugby, and owns and runs Sun King Health and Fitness. We both attended the University of Maine at Farmington. Our daughter, Maevia, is 5 years old and is just starting kindergarten. She loves art and dancing! Our son, Rocco, is 18 months old and loves trying to keep up with his big sister and tractors! I grew up in Oakland with my family and feel so fortunate to have most of them all so close. We spend a lot of time together. Family is everything!
What is your coffee order? I love a good cappuccino!
What has been your greatest accomplishment? Aside from my two children I am proud that I have been able to teach, build relationships, and give back to the community that gave me such great opportunities growing up. I look forward to many more years of working with the students and families of RSU 18!
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