Keep letting in other towns' students, let ninth grade stay part of the high school, and, most of all, know that Wiscasset High School is the great school its students say it is.

Those were some of the key points that five students put forward in an April 18 group interview at the school.

For months since Wiscasset decided to leave Regional School Unit 12, school committee members and others have mulled the ifs and whens of consolidation and other issues. The Wiscasset Newspaper wanted students’ take on topics that could directly affect their school careers and those of younger students, including some of their siblings.

The views were upbeat. Students said they hope those planning the school system, along with other residents and the media, will share in that optimism.

The town knew ahead of time there were going to be costs to withdraw from the RSU; it's time to move forward, sophomore Erika Auger, 16, of Wiscasset said.

“Look at the positive side,” she said.

Regarding the school committee's plans to keep accepting out-of-town students, the students all said they're for it.

“When you close doors, you eliminate possibilities,” said senior Nick Brackley, 17, of Alna. “The more people we can get into this school, the better.”

There was no support in the room for an idea one resident has floated to the school committee, to close the two lower schools, put their students at the high school and send the high school students to schools their parents choose in other towns.

“I want to go to school in the town I live in, not Lincoln Academy or wherever...,” said sophomore Amanda Marcus, 16, of Wiscasset. “We should try to keep the high school.”

The teens asked for people to see their school as they do, not just for issues that have been in the news. All schools have problems, whether it's drugs or something else, Brackley said.

“The difference is, we're addressing it,” said fellow senior Nathan Austin, 17, of Wiscasset.

The high school, which recently won WGME's “Spirit Challenge,” has good teachers who care about students' futures; and the students have, in many cases, grown up together, they said.

On consolidation, students interviewed said they would need more information on the options; some said so far, of the three schools, the middle school looks like it would make the most sense to consider closing.

If the middle school did close, those interviewed said they would support adding seventh and eighth grades to the high school. But they expect there would be a period of adjustment.

“It definitely will take a little getting used to,” Auger said. “It will be kind of interesting seeing how it plays out.”

“It could definitely work,” Austin said. Older students can be role models, he said.

The group favored keeping ninth grade part of the high school if seventh and eighth move there. A longer high school experience prepares students better for college and gives them more exposure to possible career paths than three years of high school, students said.

Eighth graders look forward to high school and are ready to take that step in ninth grade, they said.

Senior Dale Peaslee, 19, of Whitefield used to go to a grades 7-12 school, Cony High School in Augusta. He liked that ninth grade was grouped with the school's older grades, he said. He would recommend Wiscasset keeping it that way, he said.

Near the end of the interview, students restated their hopes for the town to keep a positive approach going forward. Referring to a phrase Wiscasset High students and staff often use, they said they want everyone else to see the school the way they do: Small but mighty.