Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday since the start of the school year, students and faculty at Auburn’s Franklin Alternative School have run — or walked — in the surrounding High Street neighborhood to prepare for a 5K race. The event not only supported a favorite school cause but ended up bringing them together and teaching lessons in ways they never expected.
“So many of our students face barriers when it comes to being part of their community. Sometimes they are tangible — poverty, abuse, instability — and sometimes in their heads — anxiety, depression — but all of those barriers send the message to kids that they don’t belong. A 5K is such a simple thing but it’s an event that has a strong sense of community,” said Principal Melissa McLeod.
Despite the rigors of a 5K, the students didn’t need much convincing right from the start, McLeod said, because the 5K benefited the organization behind the school’s beloved comfort dog, Luna.
And as far as McLeod was concerned, it didn’t matter that there ended up being more walking than running as training for the 5K progressed, because it was all about the effort and the cause.
“A lot who wanted to run are now walking,” McLeod joked last week, before eight school staff and 22 students lined up Oct. 4 for Moxie’s Memorial 5K in Oxford.
Franklin School is an alternative learning environment that students at risk of not graduating can choose to attend. It serves about 100 students from Lewiston and Auburn. In the eight years McLeod has served as principal, the school has always had a wait list, she said.
The school secured a $125,000 grant two years ago from The John T. Gorman Foundation, a philanthropic organization in Maine, to pilot trauma-informed programming that can bolster academic achievement and social outcomes.
McLeod said the school implemented an aerobic movement program three times a week as part of the wellness side of the grant. She explained that academic research shows that movement not only helps regulate a person’s nervous system, but can help improve academic performance.
The addition of training for a 5K felt like a perfect way to implement that exercise, she said. And the staff idea to do the Moxie’s Memorial 5K was a great motivator: The event raises funds for the nonprofit that brought Franklin Alternative’s comfort dog Luna into the school’s life.
Every student and staff member who could participate, did, and they were out of the building every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to train. The staff had a lot of fun with it, McLeod said, and some even started lifting weights.
“One thing I emphasized to staff is that if we are going to get the kids to do this, we have to show enthusiasm, and there ended up being a lot more than we thought,” she said.
Luna has become a staple to Franklin Alternative School. She has a distinctive personality and free reign through the school’s hallway. McLeod said Luna helps the students immensely. If students, or even staff, are having a difficult day, they can spend some time cuddling with Luna to lift their spirits. At the end of the day, Luna goes home to McLeod and her family.
Luna has also made an impact on the greater Auburn school community. McLeod jokes that if she goes anywhere with Luna, it will take twice as long because everyone wants to pet her.
Luna came to Franklin School from Mission Working Dogs, which hosts the Moxie’s Memorial 5K in Oxford. The organization breeds, raises and trains service dogs for disabled veterans and civilians who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, or mobility issues, while also providing comfort dogs to hospitals and schools.
Christy Gardner, an Auburn Edward Little High School graduate, was injured in 2006 while serving as a sergeant in the U.S. Army Police Military in Asia. After returning to Maine, Gardner adopted her service dog, Moxie, in 2010 and in 2020 founded Mission Working Dogs.
Auburn Police Department’s comfort dog, Benny-Bud, also came from Mission Working Dogs.
Gardner said after the 5K event Oct. 4 that it was “awesome” to have the Franklin students and Luna participate in the race.
“They brought great attitudes and smiles to the event. We love our partnership with their school and the difference therapy dog Luna brings to the environment there,” Gardner said.
McLeod said she knows it sounds cliché, but participating with students and staff in an event like the one this past weekend reinforces the feeling of family that the school has.
Often, students at Franklin Alternative School arrive needing more than just academics, they need a support system. The combination of physical movement training for the recent 5K and the new statewide cellphone ban have strengthened that bond, McLeod said.
“We have these kids who are always walking around the city, but now they’re forced to walk with adults and other kids. They are all talking to each other, and they’re still at school so they can’t have their phones. It’s forcing the kids to be more social with adults and it’s been great, just walking around chatting,” she said.
Several teachers, including Stevie Dunton, a special education teacher, got involved in the 5K. He said he is not a runner, but he wanted to show his students that they could do whatever they put their minds to.
Melissa Anderson, a social worker, said Luna is an integral part of the support system at Franklin. Anderson herself is a new member of the “Franklin family” and being a part of the training for the 5K and seeing the success of the students was meaningful to her.
“The conversations that grew out of morning walks and the confidence built through this opportunity were truly wonderful to observe and be a part of,” said Anderson.
Moving forward, staff at Franklin Alternative School will continue to remind their students that they have a sense of belonging in the community, whether they are training together or bonding in the classroom with Luna, especially in the light of conversations around youth and the gun violence Lewiston is experiencing.
“Kids who are told that they don’t have value and don’t belong in their communities have no incentive to protect their streets or contribute in positive ways. They also have no incentive to hold each other accountable. We will continue to encourage our kids at Franklin to be a part of their world and will open any doors we can to get them passage into their community,” McLeod said.
This story was originally published by the Maine Trust for Local News. Emily Duggan can be reached at eduggan@sunjournal.com