Parents and community members. I wanted you all to know that I have been receiving A LOT of email communication lately, which is great (please keep that coming) but I haven't been able to keep up. Please know I will respond to each at some point today. In the meantime, I wanted to update you on our planning.
I am meeting with a group of health care professionals via zoom tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m. to discuss the +/- of School closures and the appropriate timing of said closures. There is A LOT of information out there on this topic, and at best the recommendations are "mixed"...so I wanted to hear from our local community professionals on what they felt was best. I am also meeting with Cumberland County Superintendents at 10:30 a.m. via zoom. At that time all Superintendents will share what information they have gathered locally as well and share what they believe are the best next steps to move forward.
I will then meet with members of the district leadership team to discuss the information and plan next steps - either what to do if school is open on Monday or what to do if we decide to close. A message will go out via school messenger tomorrow evening one way or the other. It would be prudent for parents at this time to think about the POSSIBILITY of child care coverage IF the schools were to close.
Thank you for your patience as we continue to work hard to navigate this difficult situation and please know we are all here for one another, to support, to share information and to ultimately try and do what is best for our school and our community. I suspect that whatever decision is made tomorrow will be much like a snow day cancellation, only times about 100! There will be a group of people who are supportive and a group who are not. Therefore, rest assured that whatever decision is made will be made based upon the best medical and scientific advice I have at the time and not on whether or not individuals will be upset or disagree. I hope everyone can understand this piece.
THANK YOU ALL for following this information and for reading these blogs and staying informed. I will reach out again tomorrow evening with a final decision for School on Monday.
In the meantime. . . be kind to one another, look out for one another, and my best advice may be to stay off of social media! ☺
My two cents: life as usual (with attention to all the sensible activities like hand washing, and staying home if you are feeling ill).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update Heather!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for all your updates, keeping up informed and your transparency during this new and rapidly changing time.
ReplyDeleteMy comment would be that I work at Maine Med and we have seen very rapidly how things need to change once we have community spread (cases in Androscoggin, Cumberland and York counties now). We have quickly had to change our protocols and I think we will see more changes in the coming days. I respect the challenging work being done to make the difficult decision one way or the other for our school district, but for the health of my family and all those we come in contact with at school, on the bus, at daycare, work, stores, and after school activities, we will be keeping our child home.
Good afternoon Heather, i believe we should have school closures minimum one week. We should learn from what is happening in the other states and countries. The children may or may not be in as much danger as the seniors in our community, but the kids will bring it home with them and pass it along. Lets do our part and nip this virus in the bud before it escalates even further. I know schools in other states moved their spring break up to this week. One week and you could reasses at weeks end.
ReplyDeleteHeather with all thats been happening and I understand how this may not be as major for the kids in the school, but more of an issue with one of them being an a typical carrier. Which is more risky for the teachers in your staff as it's them that are at more of a health risk from Covid-19. And speak as a parent who has had a child where a teacher died from a sudden health issue. That can cause its own issues and trauma. I trust you will make the best choice you are able to with the info you have and are learning.
ReplyDeleteWe need to follow in the footsteps of other countries and close things down. If cases are just popping up now, it means there are many, many more on the way. Please do the right thing for students, staff, and the community.
ReplyDeleteAs a parent in a higher risk group(hbp) of 6&7 year old kids who have three great-grands in poor-ok health and two grandparents in their 60s all living within 200 yards of us, I will breathe a HUGE sigh of relief if school closed for the moment! Please!
ReplyDeleteSchool needs to remain open. Suddenly canceling and expecting parents to line up daycare is unreasonable. Also, how is it different sending kids to daycare versus school in regard to a virus? If your kids are in touch with older family or friends, then keep those kids home and have their assignments sent to them. Don't punish the majority of families who need to work. We need the schools open. I'll be responsible for keeping my kids away from older family members.
ReplyDeleteWe feel strongly that the decision needs to be made to close schools as an act of social responsibility to protect our children and families. Let us learn from Italy and Spain and act swiftly to stop the spread of this virus in our community now. Yes, it will create inconveniences, but we will find a way to navigate it. Children do not have the self-awareness to practice prevention in the consistent manner that is needed now. As adults we have a duty to protect them and any other members of our community they come in contact with. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteSuch a hard decision as closing schools can further strain the community while everyone scrambles for alternative child care. Personally, I feel it's a little early to cancel given that there's only 2 cases in the state and outside of the Gorham community. My opinion would be to keep business as usual for the upcoming week with expectations to close the following week unless additional information dictates otherwise.
ReplyDeleteSwitch time table with April vacation, take a week to develop a bigger plan.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update Heather. Can we get a link to the Zoom meeting? I'd love to listen in if the public is allowed to do so.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your proactive approach.I think it might make sense to cancel april vacation now and use it earlier.I know it may overload day care systems.SO good luck since it is no win in either choice.Since I trust that you will do what you think is best for the kids.So thanks
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