With the school year already upon us, many have already met our new Assistant Principal, Molly Dilworth.  Now it is time to learn more about her goals for getting to know Kennebunk and the community.  If one thing can be said about Molly Dilworth, it’s that she seems to have a continuous reservoir of positive enthusiasm.  

She grew up in Yarmouth, going to Yarmouth High School and then went to Bates in Lewiston for college. Ms. Dillworth taught at a variety of high schools throughout the country, as her educational career brought her to Texas, Massachusetts, and most recently California.  Though Ms. Dilworth lived near Kennebunk for about the first 20 years of her life, she never really had the chance to get to know the town.  However, since moving to Kennebunk, Ms. Dilworth is determined to change that.  She’s been exploring the area and learning about what makes Kennebunk tick. One unique activity that Ms. Dilworth has been partaking in, is an ocean swim almost every day after work.  To some people, this may be considered a freezing pastime that only an individual out of their mind would do for fun.  Molly Dilworth’s reply, however, when the concept of temperature is considered, is that “the water is actually surprisingly warmer than the Pacific.”  Ms. Dillworth is not just exploring Kennebunk’s many natural attractions; since taking the position of assistant principal, she has also been busy learning all she can about KHS and all the programs it offers.

Ms. Dilworth loves that Kennebunk can focus on many specialized programs that allow kids to explore their interests and become more invested in school.  At the high school she worked at most recently in Richmond, California, they did not have the same amount of funding for different programs and classes.  Because of this, Ms. Dilworth is “excited to see what public high schools are able to do, and how they make the most out of their resources.”  One program Ms. Dilworth is excited to see at KHS is the Civil Rights Team.  Currently, they are attempting to encourage students to read Jason Reynolds and Ibram X Kendi’s book, Stamped.  This is a great goal of the Civil Rights Team, and to Ms. Dilworth even more exhilarating because she’s reading the same book!  In the future, Ms. Dillworth “would love to hear more about what the Civil Rights Team does and get involved with them.”  There is no doubt that Ms. Dillworth is invested in being a participating member of Kennebunk High School’s community.

Along with Kennebunk’s clubs, Ms. Dilworth is also an avid supporter of several other programs.  She believes “there is all kind of reasons why someone is invested in high school, and it’s not just your English class, your history class, or your science class.”  One of these is the arts and musical department.  Ms. Dillworth was an active member of her high school band, playing trumpet, and went on to play in the jazz band at Bates college.  Her school in Richmond was unable to have such a large musical and theatrical department, and Ms. Dilworth is excited about the prospects of all Kennebunk’s programs.  One program that caught her eye specifically, was none other than our ukulele lab!  Ms. Dilworth has been excited to see all of the opportunities for unique learning at Kennebunk High.  Along with participating in her school band, Ms. Dilworth also competed in sports.  She played lacrosse in high school and college and has coached at past schools.  Sports was one of the elements that brought her to love high school, and Ms. Dilworth enjoys seeing students drawn in for the same reasons.  She is looking forward to supporting sports in Kennebunk.

While in Richmond, California, Ms. Dilworth was in charge of the English Language Development department.  She was an instructional coach for several English and history teachers, while also teaching a class of English language learners. As an instructional trainer, she gained experience supervising teachers.  Ms. Dillworth was also a program coordinator, allowing her “to plan a lot of professional development.”  

Though the new job as an Assistant Principal will be a bit of a change, Ms. Dilworth is prepared to learn all she can.  She understands that “with each job and each transition, you’ve got to learn a lot and ask a lot of questions.  [She’s] been asking tons of questions so far and that’s been great.”  Ms. Dilworth is not only enthusiastic about being an Assistant Principal; she is also exceptionally invested.  As a final message to the students of KHS, Ms. Dillworth details her passion for reaching out to students.  “I can not wait to meet you all, and I am here if you need anything.  I feel most fulfilled when I am supporting students.  So if you need anything, you can always come to me, and come to my office and I am happy to help you and/or your families.  But I am very excited to get to know this community, and get to know this school, and become a part of such a strong school culture.”