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S P R I N G 2 0 2 4 / W O R K F O R M E 47 before becoming the principal at Central High School in Corinth two years ago. "What I did was try to foster their love for a subject. That's a key," Mayfield says. "If a teacher can convince a kid that what they're studying is worthwhile studying, the kid's going to excel. But it's challenging to convince kids of that sometimes." The value of a teacher Most everyone has a story of a memorable high school teacher or two who made a lasting im- pression, or even changed the trajectory of their future in school and beyond. The value of good teachers is more than just anecdotal, however. Study after study has shown that good teachers in the class- room have a far bigger impact on student achievement than any other aspect of schooling. Good teachers matter more than class size. More than a school's sched- ule. More than technology. More than a revamped curriculum. Attempting to quantify the impact of top-notch teachers, a research project led by econo- mists at Harvard and Columbia concluded that the best teachers also have a profound impact on the future earnings of their students. A high-performing teacher — one in the 84 th per- centile — produces an increase of $400,000 on each student's lifetime earnings, the study says. Multiply that by a career's worth of classrooms and the numbers are staggering. 'I just coasted by' While school was always easy for Hamilton, he says nobody urged him to do more. He grew up in what he describes as a low-income household in Alton, a town of less than 1,000 about 20 miles outside of Bangor. His mother never attended college, and his father dropped out of college before later returning to earn a degree. Household finances were sometimes tight, he says, and his parents divorced when he was in middle school. "I got bored pretty early on in elementary school with class- work," he says. "So I just coasted and did what I needed to get by, because I didn't need to put in a lot of effort to get by." Mayfield saw in Hamilton what he's seen in many students through the decades. For him, the best way to get students en- thusiastic is to be passionate about what he's teaching and hope it rubs off on students. "You try to make the classes challenging and engaging and fun," he says. "One of things that drives kids crazy is when they're bored in a class. I think they'd much rather feel chal- lenged and have to work hard than walk into a class and not feel like they have to work at it. Then they just get bored with it." At Mayfield's urging, Hamil- ton stepped it up and has contin- ued to do so. For his doctorate, he is studying what is known as tumor microenvironments, researching breast cancer with He was the first teacher who said, 'Just because you're smart and it's easy doesn't mean you just coast by. You need to challenge yourself just like other students are challenging themselves at their levels. — Josh Hamilton UMaine graduate student T e c h n o l o g y C O N T I N U E D O N F O L LO W I N G PAG E » BIBBY & HAROLD ALFOND DINING COMMONS, KENTS HILL SCHOOL We meet every project with a passion for quality, creativity and an emphasis on sustainability. WARRENCONSTRUCTIONGROUP.COM 207.865.3522 Purchase a group subscription for your team or entire organization. Get access to Mainebiz for your entire team EMAIL CIRCULATION@MAINEBIZ.BIZ FOR MORE INFORMATION

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