Portland Superintendent Emmanuel Caulk visited several schools on
bicycle on the first day of classes, September 2. At each stop, he
greeted students and staff and encouraged them to make the most of the
new school year.
At his final stop, King Middle School, Caulk
answered the challenge from Karen MacDonald, a King teacher and 2014
Maine Teacher of the Year, to participate in the ALS Ice Bucket
Challenge.
Superintendent Caulk encourages students to stay
healthy by exercising every day. His bicycle ride modeled how students
can build exercise into their daily routine by walking or bicycling to
school.
King students watched and cheered as Caulk and Kathleen
Casasa, former president of the Portland Education Association, dunked
themselves with ice water to raise money for the ALS Association, a
national nonprofit organization fighting Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Caulk
made donations to the ALS Association and eHope in honor of the late
Nan Urban, a social worker at Deering High School for nearly 25 years
who died of ALS in 2009. He publicly challenged Portland Mayor Michael
Brennan, Maine Senate President Justin Alfond and Chris Hall, CEO of the
Portland Regional Chamber, to take the challenge. Casasa challenged the
new leaders of the Portland Education Association to do the same. They
are Sue Olafsen, president, Kevin Brewster, vice president, and Carrie
Foster, secretary.
