April 16 Blog Update

We've completed week #30 of instruction in the 2020-21 pandemic year of learning here in Gorham.  This week was definitely NOT as fun as previous weeks because all of our students were learning remotely.  We certainly all made the best of it and as you can tell from the picture below - although our teachers were working hard - they certainly missed having their students in the classroom with them...

So much so that perhaps a few of them might have allowed their students (and themselves) to be just a little more SILLY during their online classes - like this elementary teacher and her kindergarten students....

I am thinking that when Webster's Dictionary adds some of our new pandemic language in there like "Zoom Fatigue"...pictures like this might be used to assist in describing it! ☺

All in all...week #30 was challenging but as we always do here in Gorham, we made the best of it and focused on making sure the needs of our students were met - even though they weren't right there in front of us.  We are all so very much looking forward to their full return to 4 day per week instruction after the April break!  More on that later.

Before I get into my regular informational update, I wanted to share a special message from Assistant Superintendent Dr. Chris Record...

Dear Gorham parents & community,

Just last evening I was named the new Superintendent of Cape Elizabeth Schools beginning in July. While very excited for this next chapter of my professional journey, I am also struck with a deep sadness for leaving Gorham after 13 wonderful years with students, staff, and all of you kind and committed parents. Gorham is a special place because of the people that live here and work here. I recognized this way back in 2008 when I was lucky enough to become principal of GHS. What drew me to Gorham was the very real sense that parents, staff, and the community at large  truly cared about students and about each other. This has been proven time and time again through many triumphs by students and staff alike, as well as a few tragedies.  Gorham is an amazing community.

As I moved to the assistant superintendent role, I learned so much more about this wonderful district. One of the true blessings of my role is that it runs the gamut from stopping into a vibrant kindergarten classroom to standing on the stage congratulating seniors as they take those last few steps as our students. In fact, it struck me recently that the class of 2021 were in kindergarten when I began in Gorham. I guess we are both graduating in a way.

I have so many memories of my time here and so many people to thank.  I have been truly blessed to be surrounded by exceptional talent and kind-hearted people. I have been amazed by the commitment to excellence that is shared across our school system and by all of you wonderful parents and community members.

In closing, I know I am leaving Gorham in wonderful hands, from kindergarten all the way through Adult Ed. The District Leadership Team and Heather are truly outstanding and they really do care so deeply for all of the students and all of the staff. Thanks again for your commitment to education and for supporting our schools. I know this year has been extremely challenging for all of us and especially parents. I see brighter days ahead. I will never forget my time here. Go Rams!!!

With great affection and appreciation,

Chris

Now onto the updates...

APRIL BREAK IS UPON US...ONE MORE IMPORTANT REMINDER ABOUT TRAVEL!

I know many families are traveling this coming week.  I want to reemphasize the importance of following travel safety protocols in order to ensure you don't bring back "unwanted COVID-related baggage" upon your return.  You can refer to my April 6 blog for a more narrative version, but I thought I'd offer up a quick travel guide chart from the Maine Department of Education for a quicker overview and a more condensed version of the requirements.  CLICK HERE to review the travel guide chart.  

Bottom line, PLEASE BE SAFE OVER THE BREAK!  We want everyone to be able to return to school safely after the break!  We don't get enough time with all of you as it is, and we definitely DO NOT want to see our students less as a result of having to quarantine if it can at all be avoided!  So, over the break, please, please, please do what you can to continue to follow best practice safety protocols: (1) wear a mask, (2) wash/sanitize your hands frequently and (3) keep your physical distance!  THANK YOU for all that you have done, for all you are doing, and all you will continue to do to remain focused COVID 19 safety as a community!   

UPCOMING CHANGE IN DAILY HEALTH SCREENING PROTOCOLS AFTER APRIL BREAK

This past week I met with members of our district leadership team and our school nurses to discuss the effectiveness of our daily health screening protocols as they currently exist and to consider whether or not we wanted to make adjustments and changes to these protocols in order to improve overall safety for our students and staff.  What we found is that although these daily screeners were very beneficial as we opened the school year in educating families about what to look for and how to communicate with the schools when certain symptoms occurred, they have (to put it delicately) lost their effectiveness.  We are finding that the number of parents who are not completing these forms daily is increasing, which is significantly increasing the time that is spent each morning by our nurses and clinic aids in calling these families to verify no symptoms before allowing students into classrooms.  Unfortunately, we are also finding that the honest responses to this daily survey is also beginning to wane, which results in more possibly symptomatic students being allowed into classrooms because nurses and other staff are having to focus on simply following up with parents who didn't complete the survey to begin with.

The Maine Department of Education COVID safety protocols require that a daily screener be provided to all families, but they DO NOT require that the school collect the information daily. We did some research to see what other neighboring systems are now doing and found that most of our neighbors have abandoned the requirement to send the data to the school daily and instead they are sending the daily screener out and then asking parents to only report if there are symptoms.  This practice allows their nurses and clinic aids to focus in on working with families who indicate symptoms exist, to follow up more quickly with families whose students are absent, and to be more available to assist teachers with identifying students who may be in school with symptoms.

Therefore, beginning on Monday, April 26, 2021 we are adjusting our daily screening requirements to the following expectations:

1.  Daily screening questions will still be emailed to each family each morning as a reminder to conduct screening at home before students are sent to school daily.

2.  Parents DO NOT need to send survey results to the school UNLESS symptoms are detected.

3.  If symptoms are detected, parents are asked to submit the survey, keep their child home and to call the school immediately to report symptoms.  

We hope this change in protocols will continue to provide a daily reminder to families to complete the daily health screener and check their children for symptoms each and every day.  This remains a very important part of our safety practices.  We also hope this change will allow our school nurses to follow up more quickly with parents who have questions about symptoms and what to do to ensure their child's safety and the safety of others.  If you have questions, please reach out to your child's Principal for more information.  THANK YOU!

GORHAM SCHOOL COMMITTEE APPROVES PROPOSED FY 22 BUDGET

On Wednesday night (April 14) the Gorham School Committee voted unanimously to approve of the proposed FY 22 School Budget.  You can view the meeting by CLICKING HERE (budget conversation begins at the 1 hr. 21 minute mark).   But for the "cliff notes" version...I've provided highlights of the proposed FY 22 budget below.  Please know much more information will be coming as we get closer to the Town Council Vote and to the Public Referendum.

It is important to know that the proposed budget was built to bring us SAFELY back to 5 full days per week of instruction beginning in the fall of 2021, as well as to meet the following FOUR budget priorities:

1. Ensuring we are PREPARED for the already identified, and possibly yet unknown impacts of COVID 19 upon our schools.

2. Maintaining and strengthening our TECHNOLOGY infrastructure and  providing ongoing professional development for staff.

3. Maintaining and strengthening our CURRICULUM and SUPPORT programming for students across grades K-12. and

4. Addressing our overall FACILITIES needs. 

The budget that was approved last night by the school committee proposes a total budget amount of $44,568,143.00.  This is an overall increase over FY 21 of $1,853,688.00 or 4.34%.  The projected impact to the local mil rate (based upon a property tax base increase estimated at $15,000,000.00) is an increase of $0.59 on the mil which is an increase of 4.68% over last year's mil impact.

It is important to note that with contractual obligations and increases to health insurance rates projected for the coming year, maintaining the "status quo" for staffing alone would have increased our FY 21 budget by $1.3 million dollars.  This budget is also impacted by increased costs to support our Capital Improvement and Facilities Investments, and increased costs associated with meeting needs in the area of Special Education Programming.  

As mentioned earlier, much more specific information will be forthcoming as we prepare for next steps in the budget approval process.  Those next steps include the following:

*. Joint Budget meeting with the Town Council - May 11, 6:30 p.m.

*. Town Council Vote on Proposed FY 22 Budget - June 1, 6:30 p.m.

*. Public Referendum Vote on Proposed FY 22 Budget - June 8

As a reminder, folks can view all of our budget workshop meetings that led to the development of this budget by CLICKING HERE (scroll to bottom of page to see listing of meetings).  

We are working on putting together the Town Council Budget Booklet now and once that is completed we will post it to our website for public viewing.  Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions you may have.  

RECENT K-12 PARENT OPEN FORUM VIDEO

Thank you to the 60+ parents who participated in Tuesday's open forum!  It was extremely informative with lots of great TIMELY questions and answers.  For those of you who were unable to attend - good news!  You can watch the recording!  The meeting was 1.5 hours long, but at 1.5 speed...you can still get all the good stuff in 30-40 minutes!  Worth the time!  Check it out if you haven't already by clicking on the link below:

Parent Forum Video Link

SPECTATORS NOW ALLOWED AT GHS OUTDOOR ATHLETIC EVENTS!

Just wanted to make sure folks knew we were now allowing spectators as GHS outdoor athletic events.  Of course there are still some limits and definitely some safety rules in place that individuals must follow in order to allow this to occur.  We ask individuals who come to watch these events respect these rules so that we are able to continue to allow spectators!  CLICK HERE to view our new COVID 19 Spectator protocols for spring, 2021.  We hope folks SAFELY enjoy watching our incredible students do what they love to do!  Represent our schools proudly and compete!  GO RAMS!

GORHAM MIDDLE SCHOOL TRANSITION PLANS

As I have for the past several blogs, I'm continuing to share transition planning for each of our schools as we work hard to end the year positively and ensure our students are ready for the coming year of learning.

I am going to focus first on plans at GMS to assist 5th graders who will be transitioning to 6th grade next year.  Those activities include:

1. Vertical Conversations 5th and 6th Grade Teachers-Friday, April 9

Groups will talk about curriculum gaps and get recommendations on the most essential 

skills to teach for the remainder of the year

Math (60 min.) 12:00-1:00 (The team will need to refer to the REVEAL curriculum)

ELA (45 min.)  1:15-2:00

 

Prework

• 5th Grade Teachers should record which curriculum topics / standards have been taught and which ones have not yet been taught.

• 6th Grade Teachers should identify which curriculum topics / standards are the most important prerequisite skills for 6th grade success

2. 5th Grade Classroom Visits-Month of May

Mr. Smith will set up times with classroom teachers. Admin and student supports will attend as available. 

3. Parent Slide Show and Virtual Building Tour: On May 10th, GMS will be sending information to 5th grade parents through the use of a presentation. Additionally, a virtual GMS building tour will be shared with students and parents.

4. Teacher Team Video and/or Slideshow: By May 28 teams will provide a short slideshow or video or BOTH with introductions of each staff member that will be shared by the student’s advisor. Presentation will include information that would normally be shared during step up day such as materials lists, links to webpages or any other information you’d like to pass on. 

5. Virtual Q & A for Parents: On May 13th at 6:00 pm with Mr. Donahue and Mr. Smith https://networkmaine.zoom.us/j/87064718993

6. End of Year Celebrations: During the first 2 weeks of June, elementary schools will provide 5th graders a virtual end of year celebration.  

7. Student Schedules: Advisors will have student schedules by June 4th. This will give them time to input emails and create Google Classrooms.

8. Placement Email to Parents: On June 7th, a placement email will be sent home to the parents notifying them of their child’s classroom placement for the 2021-2022 school year. 

9. Advisory Google Classroom: Advisors will create a Google Classroom, with codes to join, to be shared with students and parents on June 7th when notifying parents of placement and advisory. Teacher team videos and/or slideshows will be shared for students to access in the google classroom.

10. Virtual Step Up with Advisor: Tuesday June 8th at 9 am will be a virtual step up experience for all GMS students including 5th graders transitioning to 6th. This will consist of advisors meeting their advisees through Google Meets and sharing team information with them. Step up day draft.

Current 6th and 7th grade students will also be participating in the planned "Step up Day" events on June 8. Additionally, GHS has worked closely with GMS to provide the following transition activities (some of which have already occurred):

- March 2, 2021 at 6:00 - 8th to 9th Grade Parent Night

- March 26, 2021 - 8th Grade Transition Activity

- March 26, 2021 - GHS Course Registration Info to 8th Grade Parents

- May 12, 2021 at 2:45 - PLC- 8th Grade Teacher Conversations w/ 9th Grade Teachers

- June 9, 2021 at 5:00 - 8th Grade Celebration

Finally, Mrs. McCloghry (our 8th - 9th grade transition specialist) has also created the following resource sheet for families of students in the 8th grade who are transitioning to GHS this fall:

Class of 2025 Transition Activities Summary Sheet

AS ALWAYS - if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to GMS Principal Quinton Donahue (quinton.donahue@gorhamschools.org) or GHS Principal Brian Jandreau (brian.jandreau@gorhamschools.org).  They will be more than happy to assist you!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO ASSIST WITH LUNCH DUTIES

The Gorham Schools are a small yet powerful cadre of volunteers who are willing to help out at our K-8 schools during lunch periods.  We are looking for 2-4 folks per school who would be willing to commit to a day or two per week to come in and help sanitize desks and table tops in between our lunch sessions.  If this sounds like something you'd be willing to do...please reach out to Assistant Superintendent Dr. Chris Record at chris.record@gorhamschools.org with your contact information and school preference.  We will need all volunteers to participate in a quick training program prior to being eligible to enter the buildings for this specific purpose.

We will be seeking to open up volunteers more broadly in our schools for the fall of 2021...so if you are interested in those opportunities...please stay tuned and we'll reach out to do some recruitment closer to the end of this school year!

A SHOUT OUT TO OUR INCREDIBLE PARTNERS AT GORHAM RECREATION!

I received the following message from a Gorham parent the other day...

Hello,
I know you are inundated with issues right now but I am wondering if there are any plans to honor the Gorham Rec staff who have so wonderfully helped keep the kids who are  enrolled there up to speed with completing homework and learning?  I have been amazed at their steadfastness, flexibility, and ability to keep homework fun, provide access to computer class meets, work with special ed needs and keep smiling all year.
I think it would be important to give them a round of applause the same way we do for the bus drivers, lunch staff, etc.  

I could not agree more!  Please consider this a "shout out" from the Gorham Schools to our incredible partners in the Gorham Recreation Department.  This year they have helped us so much!  They've helped to fill a void in child care programming, they have continued to provide after school programs, they have helped get the Gorham Outdoors Club up and off the ground, they are helping us provide summer programming to students and they have even given up space in the Shaw gym to allow our GHS students to come to school in our hybrid model this year!  THANK YOU GORHAM REC!

Its just one more example of how this community works to support each other!  It truly takes a village...and we have an AWESOME ONE here in Gorham!  GO Gorham Rec! GO RAMS!

IN CLOSING...

I first want to say CONGRATULATIONS to my work partner of the past five years.  

Chris, we have been through so much together - you and I - and we will all be sad to see you leave Gorham at the end of this school year.  But we know that Cape Elizabeth is getting an incredible leader and that you will be an incredible Superintendent of Schools!  Best of wishes in your new and exciting leadership endeavors!

Parents of students in grades K-8 should be receiving letters from your building principals today outlining what to expect upon return from the April break as we begin implementation of our 4 day per week model of learning.  Students in grades K-8 will return to school from the break on Thursday, April 29.  GHS students, I look forward to seeing you when you return to our hybrid model of learning on Monday, April 26.  

As we enter the April break...I just want to say one more time how PROUD I AM to continue to serve this incredible community!  Gorham is indeed a special place!  We have accomplished so much this year...with more work to do!  

I know I speak for myself and for the staff across all our schools when I say that I am very much looking forward to our return from the break, to getting our students back into our classrooms and to seeing our K-8 students more frequently in our new 4 day per week model!  This new model won't be perfect, and I'm sure there will be "kinks" to work out as we go...but please know we are 150% dedicated to making sure this school year ends positively for our students, that our students are well prepared for success in the coming year and that our schools remain the incredible positive learning environments they have come to be known by our community!  

As we take a moment to rest before preparing for the final positive "sprint" to the 2020-21 school year "finish line"... I want to end by sharing some quotes that help me to understand the importance of perseverance and hope as we continue to navigate the COVID 19 Global Pandemic together.  Proud to be a GORHAM RAM!  HAVE A GREAT BREAK EVERYONE!  SEE YOU WHEN WE RETURN!