Reacting to this latest achievement, Record shared his success with others. “I continue to be very proud to serve the students, staff, and community of Gorham. I consider this a team win because I am surrounded by so much professional talent who work tirelessly to help all students succeed every day.”

A graduate of Mount Blue High School, Record began his teaching career armed with a history degree from Bates College. He accepted a position as a teacher/counselor at an alternative wilderness school in North Carolina where he would be spending 24 hours a day with challenging students. He explained his choice by stating, “I wanted to serve.”

Record vividly described his first teaching opportunity. “The kids were given the choice to go to jail or come to this school.” Spending much of their time outdoors, he and his students ambitiously hiked the Appalachian Trail for three weeks in Maine.

That early wilderness experience continues to shape Record’s educational beliefs with his stress on the importance of getting kids outdoors to experience nature. “My ideal educational focus would be to encourage outdoor educational opportunities for all children. They have too much screen time and not enough time outdoors. Put the screens away!”

Record’s work in an alternative education program comes through in his efforts to provide meaningful professional development built around support for students who are struggling with social and emotional health issues. He credits a training series titled, “Creating Trauma-Sensitive Schools” for increasing his understanding in this important educational area.

After receiving his Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from University of Southern Maine, Record later earned his PHD from the Muskie School at USM. He admitted the move from principal to assistant superintendent was a significant change. He loved being the “face of the school” as a principal but sees advantages in the new role, “As an assistant superintendent, you are allowed to be a part of large scale change.”

Collaborating with Superintendent Perry and the School Committee, Record believes being a part of the leadership team allows him to support achievement of district goals while he can still continue to build closer relationships with the K-12 staff.

Record explained that administrative work is often behind the scenes and not always apparent to the public. He referenced his interaction with the school community in the areas of emergency management, policy committee work, professional development and supervision of other administrative positions. Two projects cited in his recent award were the completion of a Comprehensive Needs Assessment and implementation of the ALICE active-shooter protocol. He considers the ALICE (alert, lockdown, inform, counter, evacuate) protocol, with its goal to ensure the safety of all students and staff, as one of his most important accomplishments as assistant superintendent.

Record lives in Scarborough with his wife Mary, a health teacher at Scarborough High School, and their two children, Ashton, a high school junior, and Kylie, an eighth grader. He labels his family as “very outdoorsy” with plenty of skiing, ocean adventures, and trips to Kezar Lake.