February 28 Post

And there it is!  The month of February is in the books!  Now marching on to March!  The groundhog says we have a few more weeks of winter yet, but I don't know about you - I'm hoping he's wrong!  With that little stretch of warmer weather earlier this week, I heard the birds singing for the first time...definitely got me thinking of spring!  Maybe if we all think spring, we can make it come quicker!  Until then we can enjoy all that our great state offers for outdoor activities regardless of the season!  

Some pictures from the past few weeks in our schools below, and then on to the updates!

FY 26 SCHOOL BUDGET DEVELOPMENT UPDATE

The initial 1st draft of the proposed FY 26 school budget has been shared with the School Committee and made available to the public on our website.  For convenience's sake, I've linked it below for your viewing.  It is 100+ pages of detailed information regarding the 1st draft budget - all that any budget lover could hope for!  

1st Draft FY 26 Gorham School Committee Budget Booklet

The School Committee will begin its series of budget workshop meetings this coming Monday, March 3, 2025.  The meeting will start at 7:00 p.m. in the upstairs conference room at the Gorham Municipal Center. All budget workshop meetings are open to the public to attend, and they will also be live-streamed or recorded and placed on the website for viewing.

These meetings are very informational and give people a sense of the detailed conversations held when developing a school budget.  Those who follow along will get a strong sense of the +/- and reasons why decisions are made.  If you want to stay informed about the budget - following these budget workshop meetings is the way to do it!  Below is a list of all Budget workshop meeting dates so you can follow along.  

-  March 3 Budget Mtg. #1, 7:00 p.m. in the Upstairs Conference Room at Municipal Center

-  March 11 Budget Mtg. #2, 7:00 p.m. in the Upstairs Conference Room at Municipal Center

-  March 17 Budget Mtg. #3, 7:00 p.m. in the Upstairs Conference Room at Municipal Center

-  March 24 Budget Mtg. #4, 7:00 p.m. in the Upstairs Conference Room at Municipal Center (As Needed)

-  March 31 Budget Mtg. #5, 7:00 p.m. in the Upstairs Conference Room at Municipal Center (As Needed)

Video links to the recording of these meetings will be posted on our budget website LINKED HERE.  

After these workshop meetings, the Gorham School Committee will be asked to vote on the proposed budget on April 9, 2025.  Whatever budget the School Committee approves on this date will be brought forward to the Town Council for consideration.  Here is the timeline of processes you can expect for this segment of the work:

-  April 16, 2025, Budget Booklets are delivered to the Town Council.

-  April 29, 2025 - Joint Budget Workshop meeting with Town Council and School Committee, 6:30 p.m. Downstairs Conference Room at Municipal Center.

-  May 6, 2025 - Joint Budget Workshop #2 with Town Council (IF NEEDED), 5:30 p.m. in the Downstairs Conference Room at Municipal Center.

Once the Town Council is fully informed of the School's proposed budget and its potential implications for the entire municipal budget, it is then asked to approve a proposed School Budget.  This is done at a public hearing on the Town's budget scheduled for May 13, 2025.  The meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. and will be held in Council Chambers.  Typically, we begin the meeting with a discussion and vote on the School's Proposed Budget, and then the Town Council moves on to a debate and vote on the Municipal Budget at this same meeting.  The Town Council may vote to approve a school budget that is the same as what was presented by the School Committee, or they can reduce the overall budget or increase it by an amount.  Whatever School Budget is approved by the Town Council on this night then goes on to the last step in the process - A public budget validation referendum.

The school budget validation referendum is scheduled for Tuesday, June 10, 2025.

Now that you have all the essential dates for your calendars...please follow along and reach out with any questions!  

REMINDER ABOUT THE POSSIBLE USE OF REMOTE LEARNING DAYS!

It is the end of February, but in Maine, that means we still have two solid months of possible snow days...so I wanted to send a quick reminder to families about expectations for snow days and the possible use of remote learning days.

In Gorham, we schedule 5 snow days into our calendar each year.  This means we can use up to five snow days each year without impacting the end of our calendar year.  On our school calendar each year we indicate the five snow days in June using a (*).  So, for each of the five days we use, that becomes the last student day.  The image below illustrates what I mean...

So as you see, the 12th, 13th, 16th, 17th, and 18th are all marked with the (*).  These are our built-in snow days.

Right now, we have used 2 snow days.  This means our last student day would be the 13th if we had no more snow days.  If we were to use all five snow days, the last student day would be the 18th of June.  

Now here is where remote learning days MAY come into play.  Let's say we use all five snow days, and then we have another day that could be a snow day.  Well, no one wants to extend the school year any further into the summer...but for each day we miss, we have to make it up because we have to have 175 total student days each year.  Because of this, if we have a sixth snow day and don't want to make it up, it needs to be a Remote Learning Day.  

A remote learning day would be called the DAY BEFORE a potential storm.  The information would be sent home with students sharing clear expectations of what that learning should look like.  We would also send bagged school lunches home to families that request them the day before so that we can provide lunch to students as required by law.  

Why am I sharing all this?  Well - mostly because I know that if we are all prepared to use remote learning days, Murphy's law tells me we won't have to!☺  But also, because if we do - for whatever reason - use all five of our snow days, I want it to be clear to families that we would then move to the use of Remote Learning Days so that we do not have to extend the school year further into the summer months.  I want folks to be aware and be prepared for this just in case we have to use this "tool" in our proverbial "toolbox".  

If you want to learn more about what a remote learning day might look like for your student, please contact your child's school principal to learn more.  In the meantime, I want to remind families that if we ever use a remote learning day - you would need to sign up IN ADVANCE for school lunches.  Right now, we only have a handful of families who have signed up, so I want to remind families who may be interested in their child having a bagged lunch if we have to use a remote learning day how to do that.  

The link to the school lunch for remote learning days is below.  Just click on the link and sign up...you only need to do it once a year, and we use that list for any remote learning days that may occur in that school year.

REMOTE LEARNING DAY LUNCH SURVEY FOR FAMILIES 

Now, with all that...let's all do a spring happy dance and hope we don't have to go there! ☺

DO YOU KNOW HOW OUR INCREDIBLY TALENTED TEACHERS CONTINUE TO GROW AS PROFESSIONALS?

With all the negativity that can sometimes be out there about public school teachers, I wanted to take a moment to share with you that our teachers are incredible professionals who don't just go to school for their training once and are then "done."  Our teachers continue to learn, grow and sharpen their craft year after year after year!

There are layers upon layers of ways that our teachers continue to learn while working in our schools with your children.  Some are minimal expectations required to maintain their teaching certificates from the State of Maine, while others are incentivized like working to obtain their National Teacher Certification Credential and everything in between!  I thought it might be good to provide an overview of the various ways our teachers continue to grow to help demonstrate how dedicated these adults are to the children they serve!

First, it is important to note that all fully certified teachers have a four year degree under their belts which includes at least a semester of student teaching, or specific on the job training before they can get their initial certification and begin teaching.  

Once in the classroom, each teacher is assigned an experienced mentor teacher to work closely with them for the first few years of their practice.  These mentors are master teachers who work hard to share their incredible practices with one another.  In addition to the assigned mentor, the minimal requirement for all teachers in Maine is that they complete at least six college credits (or the equivalent in specific job related contact hour training) every five years in order to maintain their certification.  This is a minimum.  I can share that in Gorham - our teachers far exceed this minimum.  Well over 60% of our teachers have either multiple certificates (meaning they are highly qualified in multiple areas) or they have advanced degrees in their fields of study.

Our bargaining agreements also incentivize teachers to advance their degrees.  We do this because there is clear research that demonstrates that the more highly trained teachers are, the better achievement results are attained by their students.  So in Gorham, we provide modest salary increases for teachers who obtain their Masters Degree for example, or for teachers that go above a Masters degree to earn things like their C.A.S. (Certificate of Advanced Study) or who may even earn their Ph.D.   These incentives are part of what creates a system whereby a large portion of our professional staff have advanced degrees.

In addition to formal coursework, our teachers also participate in many different levels of Professional Development at the National, Regional, State and local levels.  Often these types of PD opportunities are specific in nature.  For example, we may have a team of teachers and tech integrators that attend a national conference on technology integration, or perhaps a team of teachers that attend conferences to improve Literacy Instruction at the state level, or a team of our early childhood teachers attending a state wide conference on how to strengthen the use of purposeful play in the classroom.  These are just a few examples of many.  The Maine Department of Education hosts a wide range of high quality training that is often free to our professionals to attend.  Most content areas and grade levels have specific PD opportunities across all the levels mentioned above that are high quality, focused trainings that our teachers participate in on an annual basis.

At the local level (or in-house), we offer specific trainings during our full day teacher workshop days or during our early release days.  These trainings are typically very focused trainings on specific needs we have in our district.  For example, they could be focused on providing staff safety care training for how to work with students who may have special needs, or how to use these practices to improve regular classroom environments.  We may be working on implementing a new curriculum and need to provide specific training in this area, or perhaps we have seen something in our data that requires us to look more closely at our practices in order to improve results for our students.  This past year we've spent a considerable amount of time during our PD days at the PK-5 levels on training in the area of literacy instruction while implementing our core curriculum in this area.   Again, these are just some examples of many.

Also at the local level, we offer our teachers participation in PLC's (Professional Learning Communities) where groups and teams of teachers can work collaboratively on their craft together during the course of the regular school day.  Often at the elementary level these PLC's are grade level based, at the MS they are often team based, and at the HS level they are often department based.  This work may involve bringing together evidence of student learning, calibrating assessment practices, and making sure instruction is aligned to specific standards and much more.

Finally as part of our PE/PG system (Professional Evaluation/Professional Growth), teachers are evaluated based on specific standards.  For first and second year teachers, we require a self assessment and goal setting process each year that is combined with at least two formal observation processes completed by their supervisors.  After the first two years, teachers are required to complete a self assessment, set goals and complete formal observations every three years.  For those that might be interested in what our evaluation standards for teachers look like, we use what is known as the Danielson Model, a national set of competencies created by Charlotte Danielson that look like this:

For each of the four domains, there are specific indicators listed and then for each indicator listed, there are specific competencies.  Teacher must demonstrate proficiencies in each.  Its a very thorough process that is heavily focused on continuous growth in teaching practices across the district.

These are just some of the ways our teachers work every day to sharpen and grow their craft to benefit our students.  I hope what you can tell from this high level overview is just how dedicated our professionals are to making sure that our classroom learning environments are strong and that our students - all our students - are well prepared for their future success after graduating!  We have an incredible team of professional educators here in Gorham and that is not by accident! 

ASPIRE GORHAM UPDATE

Earlier this week Eliza Kenigsberg, our Career Aspirations and ELO Coordinator for the Gorham Schools, shared a presentation with the School Committee on the continued strength of this program even after grant funds have run out and we are now entirely supporting the program locally.  

I thought that folks might want an update to know just how well the program is doing even though we are now "on our own".  You can CLICK HERE to view the full slide presentation.  And if you are interested in hearing the presentation - which includes two of our incredible students - you can CLICK HERE to view the video.  The presentation takes up the first 28 minutes of the meeting.  Special THANK YOU's to Abby Rogers and Gabe Harrington for sharing their incredible learning stories with all of us! 

Once you view these items, I think it becomes very clear that even after the original grant funds have run out to support this program, Gorham continues to invest in this important work for our students and we continue to lead the way in the state of Maine in this work!  

Here are just a few highlights from the presentation below...

First a reminder of what Aspire Gorham is:

Second, ELO's (Extended Learning Opportunities) are a core component of this work!  These are semester long or year long job embedded learning experiences for our student that gain HS credit (and sometimes college credit) for workplace learning experiences.  The number of students participating in this portion of our programming continues to grow and we want to see that continue!

Third, although we lost our full time communications coordinator because of the shift from grant funding sources to local funding sources to operate the program - we have not lost the investment from staff in this important work.  What has emerged instead is the creation of school based "Aspire Champions" from our staff!  These staff help lead the way for this work at each our schools!  Thank you Champions!

Fourth, Eliza included a snapshot of how students are involved in this work across all grade levels.  Here are the summary slides on that:

Finally, I wanted to highlight how community members can get involved in this work!  If you are interested in perhaps sharing your craft with our students via one of our Career X events - just reach out to Eliza at eliza.kenigsberg@gorhamschools.org.  If you are interested in perhaps helping to mentor a student for an ELO experience - just reach out to Michelle at michelle.bourget@gorhamschools.org.  If you are a business owner and want to learn more about the program and perhaps how you can engage, the best way to do that would be to join our Gorham Business Roundtable.  If you are interested in joining that group - you can email me at heather.perry@gorhamschools.org.  We have over 100 business partners and are always looking for more across all levels of engagement!  Thank you!

SCHOOL MEALS DURING RAMADAN NOW AVAILABLE!

We are excited to announce that the USDA has approved the Maine Department of Education’s waiver permitting our Nutrition Department to serve meals to students who are fasting to observe Ramadan in 2025!  Families who observe Ramadan can request meals by completing the following Google Form:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeyB6cNn_1G8SadONMyg8G6Qng1GZnMvoaZ-H0uCQQh5uR6qg/viewform?usp=sharing

All students who have been signed up and who are present in school that day are eligible for a meal.  Beginning March 3rd, meals will be available for pick up at the end of each school day during the observance of Ramadan.  Our goal is to make this process as simple as possible, ensuring students can observe their religious practices while still having access to nutritious meals after their period of fasting ends.  Please direct any questions to our Nutrition Department at (207)222-1375 or rainalee.cooper@gorhamschools.org 

EAT AND LEARN EVENT REMINDER & 

REGISTRATION LINK!

The Gorham Anti-Racism & Equity Committee will be hosting its third annual "Eat and Learn" event coming right up on Monday, March 10, 2025 starting at 5:30 p.m. at the GHS Library.  Check out the flyer below for more details and PLEASE REGISTER TO ATTEND using the following registration link:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2025-eat-learn-tickets-1247279609889?aff=oddtdtcreator

CONGRATULATIONS TO GORHAM STUDENTS WHO EARNED P.A.T.H.S.  STUDENT OF THE QUARTER HONORS! 

Way to go Eben and Cameron!  GO RAMS!

GORHAM INCOMING KINDERGARTEN PARENT INFORMATION NIGHTS ARE NEXT WEEK!

Each of our three elementary schools are hosing a parent information night for all INCOMING Kindergarten students who will begin Kindergarten in the Fall of 2025.  These will be held on Thursday, March 6 at each of the three schools.  Check out the flyers below for details and call your school to register today!  

A NEW VIDEO ABOUT THE FAMOUS MURALS AT NARRAGANSETT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL!

If you are a local history buff like me, this new video created by Georgia Humphrey and the GoCAT Team here in Gorham on the Dahlov Ipcar murals housed at Narragansett Elementary School is for you!  A Fascinating look at a local gem unique to our schools!  Check it out and Enjoy!  Thank you Georgia! 

https://vimeo.com/1060924212

Dahlov Ipcar - Mural at Naragansett Elementary - Gorham, Maine Well known Maine artist Dahlov Ipcar painted the 108 foot mural that is displayed at the school.Over the years thousands of children have passed through the doors… vimeo.com

Well that's it for this blog post!  See you again for the next one scheduled for March 14th!  Hopefully by then we can be seeing a little more spring type weather! ☺

 

February 7 Post

The month of January is in the rearview mirror, and before we know it, the February break will be upon us!  Time sure does have a way of flying by! It has been a fun couple of weeks since my last blog, too!  Winter Fun Night at Great Falls, Little Shop of Horrors at GHS, Unified B-ball, Kids Clubs at Narragansett, Read-a-thons and all the various happenings across all our schools!  We sure do know how to keep students and families active and engaged! ☺ 

Below are just a few pictures from the past few weeks across our schools.  Check them out - and then on to the information! 

FEBRUARY IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH!

Black History Month, celebrated every February since 1986, recognizes and honors Black Americans' achievements, contributions, and history. It was established to ensure that the often-overlooked stories of Black individuals are acknowledged and appreciated as an essential part of American history. This month also provides an opportunity to learn about the incredible resilience, leadership, and cultural impact of Black communities throughout our nation's history.

In the Gorham Schools, we take this opportunity to educate and inspire our students by highlighting influential Black figures, exploring important historical events, and encouraging meaningful discussions about Black History. We invite families to join the celebration by reading books, engaging in conversations, and participating in local events recognizing Black history. Together, we can foster an environment of respect, understanding, and appreciation for the contributions of all people.

Here are some great resource links below for families:

- PBS For Kids - Black History Month

- Black History Month Resources from Common Sense Media

- Boys & Girls Clubs of America Black History Month Activities & Resources

-  National Geographic For Kids Black History Month Resources

MAINE CONSTRUCTION ACADEMY

A GREAT WAY TO LEARN SOME SKILLS THIS SUMMER WHILE MAKING SOME $$$! 

Gorham High School, in partnership with the Association of General Contractors of Maine and the Maine Construction Academy, is pleased to announce that it will once again offer the Maine Construction Academy program to eligible GHS students this summer.  

The Maine Construction Academy is a four-week training program in which accepted students will:

- Gain skills in multiple trades

-  Earn Certifications and Credentials, including OSHA, First Aid & CPR, and Rigger/Signal, and Complete NCCER Core Curriculum.

-  Visit work sites and meet industry leaders

-  Have guaranteed interviews with prospective employers and apprenticeships

-  Receive a $800.00 one-time stipend upon completion of the program. 

The course will be offered on-site at Gorham Middle School and is open to interested GHS Seniors (Class of 2025) and Juniors (Class of 2026). Space is limited. If you are interested, please contact your school counselor or Eliza Kenigsberg today to learn more!

INFORMATION REGARDING RECENT FEDERAL EXECUTIVE ORDERS

Recent executive orders have caused some families to be confused about potential impacts on our public schools. We have received many questions, so I thought briefly overviewing the four most recent items was appropriate. 

The first concerns removing the "safe haven" designation, which allows federal law enforcement agencies, including ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), to operate on school grounds. Please know that this shift in enforcement will not affect our schools' daily practices. Our schools will continue prioritizing safety while collaborating with law enforcement within the letter of the law.

The second concerns recent executive orders regarding "indoctrination" in schools.  Recent guidance from the Maine Department of Education clarifies that while federal orders have altered some requirements regarding gender identity within federal departments, Maine Human Rights law still protects gender identity as a class under our state's discrimination laws.  As this continues to get worked out and clarified, I want to assure families that our schools will continue to do what they have always done: love each child who enters our buildings for who they are and ensure they feel welcomed in our schools.

The third, the recent spending freeze on federal funding did not and would not have immediately affected federal funding for schools through IDEA or ESEA, as these funds are allocated a year in advance. While there is potential for future impacts, we remain vigilant and prepared to address any challenges collaboratively.

Finally, some anticipate a new executive order from the Trump administration next week or the week after regarding trying to dismantle or significantly reduce the Federal Department of Education.  There is some confusion about what this may or may not mean for local schools. Although the administration has pretty broad controls regarding how departments operate, they cannot remove the funding associated with statutes passed by Congress.  Although some significant moves may either remove or greatly diminish the powers related to the Department of Education, the budget allocated to schools via federal programs cannot be adjusted without congressional action.  Therefore, at the end of the day, I do not see significant impacts to federal funds due to any executive orders dealing with the Federal Department of Education.  The actual conversations will be taking place at the congressional levels.  Please stay tuned.

As a school system, we will continue to focus on our work each day: providing a high-quality education to the children of this great community and ensuring that every child is prepared for future success in an ever-changing world.  Past, current, and future executive orders will not change this focus. 

FREE COURSE FOR PARENTS FROM PARENTGUIDANCE.ORG

The Gorham Schools have worked with Parentguidance.org for two years now. They are a great FREE resource for families across the country. One of the many FREE resources they offer is the ability to participate in FREE on-demand courses professionally developed and shared with families.  Did I mention these resources are FREE?☺

You can CLICK HERE to view these online course series' full range of options. Still, I wanted to draw your attention to one in particular that I thought families might find valuable as we continue to work hard to support the mental health of our teenagers:

"Understanding Your Child's Emotional Development: 11-14 Years of Age"

Being a parent these days is no easy job, and being a parent of a "pre-teen" or "teen" can be even more challenging.  Check out the course.  If you like it, there are plenty more course series where that came from.  If you don't find it useful, send it to your digital junk folder! ☺

You can also view their January Newsletter by CLICKING HERE and their February Newsletter by CLICKING HERE.

Finally, you can also attend a FREE "Ask A Therapist" event that is coming up on Feb. 19 at 8:00 p.m. with Dr. Kevin Skinner where participants can anonymously submit questions and get authentic answers from a licensed therapist regarding any parenting questions you may have.  If you are interested CLICK HERE to sign up for free.  

GORHAM FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE 

WORK UPDATE

At our last meeting on January 16, 2025, the group shared some initial Key Performance Indicator (KPI) ideas to see what we might want to try and use moving forward to measure success.  We discussed that we don't want to use these KPIs to "convince" anyone of anything but rather to tell a story of our community's overall fiscal health.  Our hope would be that, taken as a whole, these KPIs would indicate if we were maintaining sustainable taxes while continuing to manage our community's present and future growth.  We will continue to work on developing these KPIs, and share continued work at our upcoming meetings.

Additionally, during this meeting, our facilitator shared with us some initial draft ideas of specific recommendations we may want to consider for our final report based on our conversations over the previous 7 meetings.  Five initial goal ideas were shared and discussed.  The facilitator is going to put them together in a more organized draft and then send out a survey to all committee members for feedback before our next meeting so that we can discuss results together at that time, make revisions as necessary, and work to sharpen up our recommendations over the next three meetings.  Those final three meetings are scheduled as follows:

- February 10, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. in Conference Rm. A at Municipal Center

-  March 10, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. in Conference Rm. A at Municipal Center

-  April 14, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. in Conference Rm. A at Municipal Center

Overall, the final report is beginning to take shape. We have been working hard to finalize details over the last three meetings, with the intention of having a report to share with the School Committee and Town Council by mid-April to assist with FY 26 Town-wide budget discussions.

As a reminder, you can view agendas and minutes from the group's meetings by CLICKING HERE, and you can go to the Town's Website to view video recordings of our meetings.  

CAPITAL CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

As you may recall from posts earlier this fall, the Gorham School Committee has submitted three applications to the Maine Department of Education Capital Construction Program.  The three projects are:

-  Gorham High School

- Village & Narragansett Schools - Consolidated project.

The applications were completed and sent to the MDOE in August 2024. The MDOE received over 100 applications from across the state for these limited funds. The next step is for the MDOE construction team to visit each school that requested project funds. The team has been working through the list and is finally at Gorham! We will conduct the site visit with the MDOE team on March 3 and March 4, 2025. During these full-day intensive site visits, the team gathers additional data to inform their overall state ranking decisions.

After all site visits for all 100+ applications have been completed, the next step is for the MDOE construction team to review its notes and rank each project requested in order of priority. Due to significant constraints on state funding, only the top 6-8 projects are funded in each application cycle, which occurs once every 6-8 years.

The MDOE team should release their rankings in late spring or early fall 2025. Once we have this information, we will share it with the Gorham Community.

As we wait for the results of this work, I wanted to remind everyone that part of this work also entailed doing an updated facilities study for the three buildings in question.  It really shows the investments that need to be made.  Check it out by CLICKING HERE, and feel free to ask questions.

FY 26 SCHOOL BUDGET DEVELOPMENT UPDATE

On February 12, 2025, the School Committee will be presented with an INITIAL proposed FY 26 Gorham School Department Budget.  At this time, School Committee members will be asked to review the 100+ page document between that meeting and their first budget workshop meeting scheduled for March 3, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. in the upstairs conference room at the municipal center.  On the February 12 meeting, School Committee members will also be given access to a Q&A document to record their questions while reviewing their budget booklets.  These questions will be answered as part of the agenda for March 3's workshop meeting.

When this budget is shared on Feb. 12, it is essential to note that there can be A LOT of changes between this initial proposed budget and what the School Committee eventually approves in early April.  We have a total of 5 budget workshop meetings scheduled whereby the school committee will pour over every line in our proposed budget, scrutinize it, and decide what to keep, add, or remove.  This work concludes with their approved budget, which is then shared with the Town Council for their review.  The Town Council votes on the proposed budget in May and then a budget validation referendum occurs in June.

Long story short (I know - too late), there is a long way to go between where we start on Feb. 12, 2025, and where we end up in June 2025.  I encourage the Gorham Community to follow along with the process.  You can do that by CLICKING HERE.  You can also attend our budget meetings listed in our budget development timeline document and on our website. All budget meetings will be recorded and archived on the website link above.

As always, please contact us with any questions you may have now or later in the process. We know from experience that misinformation can spread during this process. We are happy to help you stay informed. Thank you!

FAMILY INFORMATION NIGHT - FINAL REMINDER!

"Let them Play"... coming up on Feb. 13, 2025!  See flyer for details!

GOHRAM RECREATION TEEN PROGRAMS FOR FEBRUARY BREAK

If you haven't seen the sign, Gorham Recreation offers teen programs during the upcoming February Break. Check out the link HERE for more on these and all the other great programs our incredible Re!

That's it for this blog post!  My next blog post won't be til Feb. 28 due to the February break!  See you then!

January 24 Post

It is officially the halfway point of the school year!  As with any good "race," this is when the coach tells you to start picking up the pace.  Not too much, mind you, because you have to reserve a burst of energy for the final leg, but it is always at the halfway point of any long-distance run that you begin to give just a little more to ensure you can finish the race strong!  

What does this mean for students?  It means putting in just that little extra effort on your homework, studying a little more for your assessments, or perhaps making it a point to participate just a little more in class.  It also means making sure that you are at school every day, putting in just that little bit more effort for good attendance, which we know can make all the difference in the success of our students!  

Whatever you are doing, push yourself to do just that little bit more. You will find it rewarding to a) know that you can and b) see the results at the end of the race! ☺

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks in our schools...then on to the information.  

ELEMENTARY S.A.I.L. STUDENTS HELP SULLIVAN HOUSE BAKERY!

Elementary School students in our S.A.I.L program recently collaborated with the Sullivan House Bakery in Gorham to help them describe the food on their menu to customers.  Sullivan House Bakery generously donated some very tasty treats for students to sample and then students revamped the descriptions of the food items using figurative language incorporating language techniques such as onomatopoeias, personification, similes, and hyperboles.  The bakery was so impressed with their work that they are now displaying these creative descriptions in their store to help customers order the best-baked goods around!  

Check out the pictures below and DEFINITELY head to Sullivan House Bakery to read for yourself!  I bet you won't be able to walk out without buying something yummy!

RESULTS OF RECENT POLL ON LATE START VS. EARLY RELEASE DAYS

I try not to do surveys of parents, students, or staff without sharing back the results so that you too can benefit from whatever learning may be contained within.  If you recall in my last blog post, I asked families to chime in on their thoughts regarding the use of late start days vs. early release days to help inform some upcoming discussions from the School Committee on this topic.  I wanted to make sure folks saw the results.  

-  There were 114 parent responses to the survey

-  The largest percent of participation came from GMS families (38.6%).  Other school participation broke out as follows:  Village (28.9%), GHS (26.3%), Narragansett (26.3%), Great Falls (15.8%).

As can be seen in the chart above, approximately 63.2% of the respondents preferred Early Release Days, while about 36.8% of respondents indicated they wouldn't mind giving late start days a try.

Folks were then asked to share their thoughts/questions/concerns about a potential move to late start days vs. early release days.  A summary of those responses (created by A.I. from Chat GPT) is below:

Support for Early Release Days:

• Routine & Focus: Many parents find that maintaining the regular morning routine helps children start their day focused and ready to learn. Early release days allow for this consistency.
• Childcare Benefits: Early release days are easier for families to manage childcare, as they align better with existing afternoon arrangements. Late starts create challenges for working parents and those without morning childcare options.
• Flexibility for Appointments: Families use early release days to schedule appointments without disrupting the school day significantly.
• Independence for Older Students: Early release days provide opportunities for middle and high school students to practice independence, socialize responsibly, and support local businesses. Some parents see this as a valuable life skill.

Concerns About Late Start Days:

• Childcare Challenges: Many parents expressed difficulty in finding morning childcare or ensuring younger children get to school safely, especially if older siblings are unavailable to help.
• Transportation Issues: Some parents worry about students missing the bus or lacking a ride in the morning, potentially leading to absences.
• Disruption to Routines: A late start disrupts established morning routines, which could cause stress for younger children and families.

Support for Late Start Days:

• Sleep Benefits for Teens: Some parents and staff highlighted the potential benefits of additional sleep for middle and high school students, which could improve focus and well-being.
• Less Unsupervised Time: Late start days might reduce unsupervised gatherings of students in town after early dismissal, addressing community concerns about behavior downtown.

Suggestions & Other Feedback:

• Local Business Engagement: Some parents noted that businesses appreciate the influx of students during early release days, as it boosts the local economy. Others suggested collaborating with businesses and community organizations to manage student behavior.
• Community Dialogue: Parents suggested more engagement with families and local stakeholders to find balanced solutions that address everyone's needs.

Conclusion:

While opinions vary, many respondents favor keeping early release days due to their predictability, ease of childcare, and alignment with routines. Late starts are seen as beneficial for teens' sleep but pose logistical challenges for families with younger children and working parents. Many urge the school to consider alternative solutions that preserve existing benefits while addressing concerns.

STUDENT VOICE SURVEY RESULTS SUMMARY

In early December 2024, all students in grades 5-12 were asked to participate in a student voice survey. This is the first time Gorham Schools have used such a tool to collect student voices locally on matters important to our schools' overall climate and culture.  We intend to give this survey annually and track the data longitudinally to help us identify the effectiveness of programs we may implement to address areas of concern/challenge shared by our students.  

Over 1,200 students participated in this survey, with 80% of GMS and GHS students and over 70% of grade 5 students participating. This is a robust sample, and there is lots of rich data to explore and discuss in ways that can strengthen our schools and our community!

I want to provide some highlights of the survey results below, but please know you can view a more comprehensive summary using 61 slides by CLICKING HERE. This slide presentation was recently shared with the Gorham School Committee at its workshop meeting this past Wednesday night and with the Gorham Anti-Racism & Equity Committee at their most recent meeting last night. This data has also been shared with the Gorham District Leadership Team and will be shared and discussed more in-depth at each school.  At the end of the slide show, you can see some initial analysis of the data, and the last slide indicates some "next steps" we plan to take as a school system moving forward.

Again, just a sampling below!  Please review and reach out with questions you may have! 

Please note that the general slides show district-wide data, which can be broken down by school, grade level, and ethnicity. When you review the full slide deck using the link above, some key questions are highlighted for you to view.

The slide above shows student responses to the statement, "The overall energy/climate at my school is positive." Of those students who decided to share an opinion (in other words, those who did not respond "neither agree nor disagree"), the vast majority agreed with this statement. However, 101 students responded strongly disagree or disagree, which gives us a good opportunity to pause and wonder why students might have responded this way.

The 101 students who responded strongly disagree or disagree were asked to explain why they selected this response and provide examples if they could. Their statements included things like bullying, disrespect, and fights. They also mentioned mean behavior, racism, sexism, homophobia, and verbal abuse. Some students shared examples of uncaring teachers and/or descriptions of generally feeling unhappy.  These students felt they needed better support and wanted to see adults better communicate and respond to bullying behaviors among students so that the behaviors stopped.

This slide shows student responses to the statement, "I feel like my teachers care about me and would notice if I were absent."  A smaller percentage of students decided to take the middle ground. While 762 students responded strongly agree or agree to this statement, 100 responded either disagree or strongly disagree. 

For this slide students responded to the statement:  "I feel like my voice matters with the adults in my school."  In this case, a larger percentage of students took the middle ground while a smaller group agreed or strongly agreed and a slightly larger group indicated that they disagreed or strongly disagreed with this statement.  I am very confident that our staff will be digging more into this question response and trying to better understand why 161 of our students don't feel as though they have voice and/or agency in our schools.  

For this slide, students responded to the statement: I feel like people of different cultural backgrounds, races, or ethnicities get along well at this school. A pretty large group, 74%, either agreed or disagreed with this statement, while a smaller group took the middle road and indicated that they either disagreed or strongly disagreed.  

Once again, the 49 students who indicated that they disagreed or strongly disagreed were asked to provide examples of why. Students shared their concerns about discrimination against other students, bullying behaviors, body shaming, and sexism. Some students also shared that language barriers may cause barriers and force students to feel more isolated than they should.

For this question, students were asked if they felt they followed our code of conduct online. Only 26% of students agreed or strongly agreed that students followed the code when online. At the same time, many (the most significant number of all questions) strongly disagreed or disagreed with this statement.  

This slide provides some food for thought regarding screen time and the importance of digital citizenship. It begs the question: What more can we do to help students understand that the Code of Conduct applies in these spaces as much, if not more so, than in our classrooms?  

In this slide, students were asked to respond to the statement:  I feel safe at this school.  60% of students agreed or strongly agreed with this statement.  7% disagreed or strongly disagreed, and 33% took the middle ground.  Once again, the 84 students who responded that they disagreed or strongly disagreed with that statement were asked to provide context or examples.  These students mentioned threats of violence, bullying, school shootings, discrimination against transgender youth, and general rude behaviors as reasons they did not feel safe.  

Finally, I wanted to share this last slide. On it, students were asked to rank the work that they felt would strengthen the climate and culture of their schools.  

The TOP THREE priorities for our students were 1) Mental Health, 2) More work on understanding and appreciating differences (ethnic, cultural, religious, gender, etc.), and 3) Making sure students feel safe.

Again, this is just a portion of the full results summary, which can be viewed by clicking on the above link.  

Overall, I was highly impressed with our students and their willingness to think critically about their school's climate and culture and to offer up areas to focus on moving forward.  Based on an overall view of all the data, I would say THREE key regions of importance come to the surface that can assist us in moving forward:

1.  We need to do more to provide meaningful opportunities for students to share their voices in our schools and help them feel "agency" that their voices matter and have an impact.

2.  We need to do more to better and more holistically address issues of bullying, cyberbullying, and discrimination to ensure that our students feel safe in our schools and that our students feel as though they belong.

3.  We must do more to support our students' mental health.

Please take the time to examine this survey's results more thoroughly and engage your child(ren) in some conversations about what they think. Our students are deep thinkers and often see far more clearly than we think they do! 

CONGRATULATIONS TO NEW SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBER JACI REYNOLDS! 

Congratulations to Jaci Reynolds, our newest School Committee Member. Jaci will fill the slot left open by the recent resignation of long-time school committee member Stewart McCallister. She will serve as an appointed member until the next municipal election in June 2025.

Here's some information about her for those who may be interested. Jaci Reynolds is new to the community of Gorham but has served many years on a School Board in her previous home.  She served on the School Board in Brattleboro, Vermont, for several years, including navigating COVID-19 and selecting and onboarding a new Superintendent. While on the board, she served on the Finance Committee. Following her time on the Board, she served on the Independent Budget Review Committee, which assessed the school and town budgets and presented them to the public. Jaci recently moved to Gorham and has two children in elementary school. 

Thank you, Jaci, for being willing to step into this critical role at such an essential time of the year! 

KINDERGARTEN PRE-REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN for 2025-2026 SCHOOL YEAR!

Please see the information below regarding Kindergarten Pre-Registration Meetings at all elementary schools for any students who will be entering Kindergarten in the Fall of 2025.

Great Falls Registration Link

Narragansett Registration Link

Village Registration Link

PK-5 PARENT NIGHT!  TOPIC:  LET THEM PLAY!  

This family information night is intended for all elementary school families at Narragansett, Village, and Great Falls. 

Let Them Play: Navigating Childhood Beyond Screens

Presented by Sarah Drury and Lindsay Hanson 

Representing Gorham Alliance for Thoughtful Technology

Thursday, February 13 at 6:00 Hosted at Narragansett Elementary School

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS COMING SOON! 

That is it for this blog post!  Catch you on the next one scheduled for February 7!  GO RAMS!