BIDDEFORD — In the 21st century, the most important trait that a teacher can pass on to a student is the ability to think critically and that’s the aim of a new creative after-school educational program open to middle and high school students in Saco, Biddeford, Kennebunk and other surrounding towns.

The Penn program launched earlier this month at 140 Main St. in Biddeford and is the creation of Andrew Fersch, a Saco Middle School humanities teacher. It is designed to foster student creativity and spark individuality.

The after-school program features two tracks, one is media-based where students can choose a form of media, such as a podcast, video, or newspaper and a topic of interest, then they share their ideas and have to use their creativity to express themselves. The other track centers on creating a movie of some sort where students get to write a screenplay and then act it out and share it with others.

According to Fersch, his experiences as an educator has led him to understand that students thrive when they have opportunities to express themselves and they don’t have enough opportunities currently to study what they’re interested in.

“As a public school teacher for a decade, I know the challenges that we face in making real change to such a big system,” Fersch said. “The Penn was created because I believe we all agree that we need to change the way that we educate young people in the world we currently live in. To me, education should be aimed at creating opportunities to help shape dedicated and involved citizens who know how to work hard, to learn both independently and together, and who care about making the world a better place. When people take part in The Penn, the hope is that they learn how to become the best versions of themselves both individually and as a part of their community. The hope is that they’ll understand what they’re capable of and then be inspired to do all they can to better themselves and their community, and by default the world.”

Biddeford location

Fersch said he chose to locate The Penn program in Biddeford because what makes a real community is motivated people.

“I have been so impressed by how dedicated to Biddeford everyone I’ve met has been, and it speaks to the potential of a town,” he said. “I believe that Biddeford wants to make positive and impactful change in town, and a program that is aiming to do the same should be an ideal fit for that community.”

The Penn’s “Magazines, Newspapers and Other Media” track meets from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. every Monday through April 12. The Penn’s “Filmmaking and Storytelling” track meets from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. every Thursday and some Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through April 25.

Participation in writing and creative arts programs like The Penn is essential to developing young minds of students, Fersch said.

“If we’re honest with ourselves and introspective enough to think about it, the beauty in our lives comes from very few places. We are connected to family and friends, and that is invaluable. We love physicality and being physically and mentally present in our experience instead of worrying about the past or future,” he said. “And we love the arts because they utilize the creativity which is the beauty of our human mind — the ability to see things how they could be instead of just how they are. Writing and other art forms create opportunities for young people, for all people really, to express themselves, to understand our world, and to understand their place in the world and how they can make it a better one for themselves and for everyone else. It’s not about trying to make learning inherently meaningful, it’s about teaching.”

Development of specific skills while participating in the program can lead to student success across the board, Fersch said.

“The primary skill would be learning how to learn. So instead of relaying information it is a matter of teaching someone how to find information, discern its credibility, and to then utilize it to create something. It’s also about learning what community means. Community is about every single shareholder in a place, and so it is integral to understand that we need to do more than just understand our own little pocket of a place, we need to immerse ourselves in that place,” he said. “Middle schoolers are often given a hard time for being overly self-centered but it’s because they’re trying to understand for the first time what their role and place in the world is. Making time for children to be a part of their community is what makes them understand the potential of doing so and the rewards that are inherent when you do.”

A sense of optimism

Creating The Penn program also has given Fersch optimism about the future of our communities.

“As a classroom teacher in public school, I have always said that I believe young people are capable of changing their communities,” he said. “Often times though there isn’t time given for them to do this, or community connections made to help their ideas become reality. The Penn has shown me that taking the time to make those connections change the life of a child, and can create change in a community that survives far after students have moved past their middle and high school education.”

Students participating in the program say that they enjoy collaborating with peers and exploring the creative aspects of The Penn outside of their school classrooms.

“It is fun working on a movie,” said Boston Cochrane, 12, a seventh-grader at Saco Middle School. “It’s like an extension of school. It’s where you work together with other students and do something you enjoy.”

Alexis Pelton, 13, is a seventh-grader a Saco Middle School, and said that she’s using The Penn program to hone her skills as an actor.

“I hope I can be a better actor after this and get more experience in writing and directing a play,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to write a play and am writing a science fiction script that we are going to produce.”

Seventh-grader Sagan Guerrette of Saco, 13, said he’s happy to be a part of The Penn program.

“I think it teaches me another way of thinking,” he said. “It’s fun and exciting and you get to hang out after school and do things you can’t do in school.”

The cost to participate is up to the student and their family.

“For programs at The Penn as an after-school program, we ask that people consider making a donation to the program as they’re able,” Fersch said. “The Penn is a 501(c)3 nonprofit and would never turn any dedicated young person away from the programming, but we do greatly appreciate support, as all nonprofits do.”

Underlying purpose

He said the underlying purpose of innovative programs like The Penn is social evolution.

“We live in a world where we are not respecting our environment, where we are not addressing social inequalities, where we are not being the best versions of ourselves,” Fersch said. “Education is the only way to change this — and as my mentor Rolf Gates always said, ‘If you do what you’ve done, you’ll get what you got.’ We can’t expect to change the world by educating the same way we always have. And we must evolve together faster to make changes that matter to help our world. In five years, my dream would be that a public school funded the full-time version of this program. I believe wholly in public education and think no one should have to pay for a progressive and meaningful education. If that doesn’t happen, and if there is interest, then I’ll run the program full time on my own independently. We are not in a place as a world that we can just give up — we need to make change, positive change, and we need to do it now.”

Fersch believes his mission as an educator is far-reaching.

“The Penn is an idea, an idea for how we could make the world a better place, one community at a time through education. Education is something we all agree on, delivery isn’t,” Fersch said. “Pretty much everyone can agree though that we need to make a change and try something different and I’m offering that. Whether or not there is a meaningful change will rest on the shoulders of people and whether they’re willing to try something different in order to try to better our world — and bettering our world is something else that we can all agree on.”

To learn more about The Penn or how to participate, send an email to [email protected].

— Executive Editor Ed Pierce can be reached at 282-1535 or by email at [email protected]