There is no greater adversity we face as a global society, as a nation, as a state and as a community than the current adversity caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic. There are no "playbooks" for how to operate our schools or our communities under the circumstances we now face due to COVID-19. There is no "right" and there is no "wrong" there are just people trying to do the best they can to make difficult decisions balancing the need to "return to normal" with the new understanding that our old "normal" will never really return. Ensuring our students, staff and our community are safe and remain safe has always been a top priority for the Gorham Schools and today's realities make this goal an even larger one. As Karin Muzumdar-Shaw has said: "Ultimately, the greatest lesson that COVID-19 can teach humanity is that we are all in this together." An incredible lesson indeed!
The Gorham School Committee, the Gorham School District Leadership team, our Medical Advisory team, our school based leadership teams and our labor associations have been working non-stop since this past spring to plan for how our schools may re-open this fall under a myriad of ever-changing conditions, rules and guidelines. As this work continues to unfold, the ground literally changes beneath us. These are not the easiest conditions within which to make difficult decisions. This is not an excuse. It is simply context. Above all, please know that the groups listed above continue to pour their literal hearts and souls into planning for our schools and continue to do their very best to prioritize the health and safety of our students and staff while balancing the very real economic conditions our families and our communities face during these difficult times. Gorham has always been a community filled with "big hearted" people. People who support one another and seemingly become stronger during times of adversity. I encourage us all to remember our core values and to remember who we are as a community as we continue to navigate these "uncharted" territories together. WE ARE GORHAM RAMS...WE ARE RESPONSIBLE, WE ARE RESPECTFUL, WE ARE HONEST, WE ARE COMPASSIONATE, AND WE ARE COURAGEOUS (yes, that is our Code of Conduct).
I have no doubt that we will get through whatever lies ahead of us as long as we remain true to our beliefs and remember that our children are watching us...let's make sure they learn the lessons we need them to learn about public discourse, about values, and about putting others first.
Now...on to the IMPORTANT INFORMATION!
August 6 School Committee Vote:
At its meeting on August 6, 2020 the Gorham School Committee made three important votes regarding the re-opening of our schools within the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic. The first was a vote to approve of the Gorham Schools Pandemic Operations Plan (Re-Opening Plan). The vote was 6-1 to approve with one dissenting vote from SC Member Phil Gagnon. You can find the full 56 page Re-opening plan by CLICKING HERE or you can also review the Re-opening Plan Executive Summary by CLICKING HERE.
The second vote was to approve opening Gorham High School under a RED LEVEL Plan. This vote was 5-2 with two dissenting votes, one from SC Member Phil Gagnon and one from SC Member Darryl Wright. This motion also allowed for Extra and Co-Curricular programs at GHS to open under the yellow model plans and to delay the first day of school to Sept. 8, 2020. PLEASE KNOW THAT THE GORHAM SCHOOL COMMITTEE AND THE DISTRICT LEADERSHIP TEAM ARE WORKING NON-STOP TO ADJUST THE YELLOW MODEL RE-OPENING PLAN FOR GHS IN A MANNER THAT WILL HOPEFULLY ALLOW GHS TO OPEN UNDER A YELLOW PLAN. THIS WORK IS ONGOING AND WILL BE MORE FORMALLY PRESENTED TO THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE DURING THE WEEK OF AUGUST 17, SO PLEASE STAY TUNED.
The third vote was to approve opening Gorham Schools operating grades K-8 under a YELLOW LEVEL Plan. This vote was 7-0 with no dissenting votes. This motion also allowed for the delay of the first day of school to Sept. 8, 2020.
SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
It means that AT THIS TIME, GHS is slated to open in a fully remote setting while students in grades K-8 will open school attending school 2 days per week as outlined in the yellow re-opening plan. Additionally, GHS extra and co-curriculars will be allowed to operate using the yellow re-opening model and while maintaining all safety protocols as outlined by our district plans and by the Maine Principal's Association.
It also means that all students will begin school on Sept. 8, 2020 rather than the original opening date of August 31 for K,6 and 9 and Sept. 1 for everyone else. We will maintain originally scheduled Kindergarten screening processes on August 31 and Sept. 1 so those will remain unchanged.
It is our hope that we will be able to revise the yellow plan for GHS to allow for students in grades 9-12 and staff to return to school in some sort of hybrid plan that allows for face to face instruction to occur in conjunction with distance learning.
IMPORTANT NEXT STEPS - FINAL PARENT SURVEY
It is now time for me to send out a FINAL PARENT SURVEY that will be used to make final staffing and other detail oriented decisions for the re-opening of our schools.
Please click on THIS SURVEY LINK and complete the survey by Friday, August 14 2020. The purpose of this survey is to make final determinations for the numbers of students who will be participating in our entirely virtual learning model for the first semester and to determine final numbers of students who will be participating in face to face instruction for the opening of school assuming all schools will open under a yellow model (again, this will require a reconsideration vote from SC for GHS). Additionally, the results of this survey will be used to determine final transportation routes for our buses.
We ask that parents please complete ONE SURVEY PER STUDENT so families with multiple children will need to complete multiple surveys.
OTHER UPCOMING IMPORTANT NEXT STEPS TO BE AWARE OF
First, there has been a slight change in timing for our upcoming Q&A sessions. I've had to delay the Grades 9-12 Staff and Parent Q&A sessions until Thursday, August 13, 2020. The full schedule is now below with links:
Monday August 10, 2020
K-5 Staff Q&A Meeting (10:00 a.m.)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://networkmaine.zoom.us/j/83811234487?pwd=RDB4cDZOQnRQWDg1R0xPR2pPejFuZz09
Meeting ID: 838 1123 4487
Passcode: 637728
K-5 Parent Q&A Meeting (6:30 p.m.)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://networkmaine.zoom.us/j/82721543145?pwd=Wnk3Nk44aldEdkkvZEt0UlZBSW1jZz09
Meeting ID: 827 2154 3145
Passcode: 569614
Tuesday August 11, 2020
6-8 Staff Q&A Meeting (10:00 a.m.)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://networkmaine.zoom.us/j/88378534269?pwd=d0Y5ZDdJdUhPUC8vYjdJV1IzcFFzUT09
Meeting ID: 883 7853 4269
Passcode: 521974
6-8 Parent Q&A Meeting (6:30 p.m.)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://networkmaine.zoom.us/j/87975054787?pwd=MUovRDlQL2I4dmZhRmVvNnh0RlpjUT09
Meeting ID: 879 7505 4787
Passcode: 406969
Thursday, August 13, 2020
9-12 Staff Q&A Meeting (10:00 a.m.)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://networkmaine.zoom.us/j/82520409379?pwd=a3FJVTdrdDlCekV1K3NiUHVRVjdRZz09
Meeting ID: 825 2040 9379
Passcode: 976452
9-12 Parent Q&A Meeting (6:30 p.m.)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://networkmaine.zoom.us/j/89559208459?pwd=cno4VmRWUTBhQVp6V2xLdUoycko2QT09
Meeting ID: 895 5920 8459
Passcode: 010518
In addition to these VERY IMPORTANT MEETINGS that I would STRONGLY ENCOURAGE ALL STAFF AND PARENTS TO ATTEND, parents should also be aware that we will be sending a Student Handbook out during the week of August 10-14 and will be asking parents and students to review this handbook between then and the opening of school and to return the signature page to school administration when schools re-open on Sept. 8, 2020.
Finally, I would like parents to be aware that we will be creating "Re-Opening Videos" for each school that outline what to expect for students upon return to school. These videos will outline "a day in the life" of students attending school in a Yellow re-opening model. These videos will be released to parents during the week of August 24, 2020.
As always - I appreciate everyone's continued patience, understanding and willingness to pitch in to problem solve and work together in a way that will ensure our schools are able to re-open in a positive manner on September 8, 2020.
THANK YOU
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.