Valjeane Olenn was principal of Wells High School in Wells, where she worked with other educators to establish a youth apprenticeship program in her part of Maine. "I think that apprenticeships are the best way available to us to raise the aspirations of young people," she said. Ms. Olenn believed that apprenticeship programs will "substantially change the way in which education is delivered," and that they will help make education more meaningful to many students. She saw education as a process that develops talents and abilities that are inherent to the student. Educators must help students bring their knowledge to the fore; they must help students articulate their relationship to knowledge. "I would like the people who work with me to see that they have stretched themselves and gone beyond what they thought they could do," she added. Ms. Olenn believed that the success of her work depended on the kinds of relationships she establishes with teachers, students, and parents. "I pay attention to people," she said.
