October 20 Post

As I am writing this blog post, parent/teacher conferences are ongoing across all of our schools.  I hope you have each had a chance to meaningfully connect with one another with our incredible students at the center of these discussions.  Whether it be from the perspective of our teachers, or from the perspective of our families - conferences are an important part of building relationships and partnerships that strengthen student's abilities to succeed in their learning.  Although we want to be clear that this is definitely NOT the only time we expect these important conversations to take place between school and home, it certainly is an important component that I hope everyone has found value in!

It has been a busy two weeks since my last post.  Check out the photos below to get a sense of the cool stuff happening across our schools!

Now on to the updates!

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO CELEBRATED GMS's 

20th BIRTHDAY!

Just wanted to send a quick "shout out" to everyone who came out to celebrate GMS's 20th birthday!  It was a great celebration!  Happy Birthday GMS!

CODE OF CONDUCT STEERING COMMITTEE 

WORK UPDATE

If you recall this committee was set up to revitalize and refresh the Gorham Schools Code of Conduct (Gorham School Committee Policy JICDA) originally developed 20+ years ago.  The existing document continues to provide a strong foundation for School Community Expectations and Core Values that is utilized daily in the Gorham Schools. The Steering Committee will facilitate a community-wide review of the Code of Conduct to ensure the document reflects today’s contexts while reinforcing our Core Values for another 20+ years.

The Committee met for the first time earlier this week to begin this important work. One of the things they did was to review the initial data collected from a survey seeking to understand various stakeholders awareness levels were of the school's Code of Conduct. Over 1,700 individuals participated in the survey including students, staff, families and community members. Here's what they said:

The group then reviewed some of the narrative responses and did a brief activity that asked them to respond to the following prompts:

I See... (what did they see in the data)

I Think... (what do you think that means)

I Wonder...(what do you think are the larger implications for our work).

As you can imagine some great discussions emerged that will help drive the work moving forward. The group then spent some time helping to finalize the Thought Exchange Survey that will be used to get the "next level deeper" in our understandings of the work needed. That Thought Exchange is below!

***NEW*** CODE OF CONDUCT THOUGHT EXCHANGE SURVEY - PLEASE PARTICIPATE!

If you read the piece above, you know that the first survey that was put out regarding the Code of Conduct was really intended to be just an initial "snapshot" survey. This was a typical google forms survey that really didn't offer up much of an opportunity for folks to deeply engage in helping the Code of Conduct Committee figure out what adjustments may need to be made to "refresh" our Code of Conduct and make sure it is reflective of the needs of our present and future community.

One tool we use in Gorham to get at these deeper conversations is our Thought Exchange Survey Tool. Many of you have participated in these before for lots of other topics, but for those of you who are new to our school community - the Thought Exchange Survey is like your average survey on steroids! The survey is a digital open discussion driven by a leading question. Participants are asked to share responses to the leading question and then (here's the fun part) go back and rate the thoughts of others. Participants are encouraged to go back into the survey periodically as more responses are shared and rate those responses too. This iterative process allows LOTS of different people to share their ideas and to weigh in on the ideas of others. It creates a virtual conversation. The software is then able to use this data to identify key themes, priority areas, and "sticky" topics that the steering committee can use to then better focus its work.

We are now ready to launch our Code of Conduct Thought Exchange! The exchange is open NOW through November 17, 2023. Data collected will be reviewed by the COC steering committee to determine what the priority areas may be to strengthen our existing Code of Conduct and ensure it remains rock solid for another 20 years in our community!

The leading question is this:

Schools should be safe, caring, respectful, and welcoming. As we refresh our current Code of Conduct to address the unique conditions within our schools and community today, what are some important areas that we need to consider and why?

You can view our CURRENT Code of Conduct by CLICKING HERE.

You can enter the Thought Exchange Survey using the link below. Staff, families, students and community members are encouraged to participate!

Remember, first share your answers to the leading question and then go in and rate the thoughts of others. Then don't forget to wait a little bit and log back in to rate more thoughts as we go! The Exchange will remain open until Nov. 17, 2023.

Survey Link: https://tejoin.com/scroll/577970716

or you can use the QR code below to access the survey...

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THIS IMPORTANT CONVERSATION!

P.S. - Feel free to share with others in Gorham and encourage them to participate too!

REMINDER ABOUT COVID 19 RETURN TO SCHOOL PROTOCOLS...

I've had a few questions recently about what protocols we are following as a school when a student or staff member has COVID 19 and how they can return to school afterwards. Our nurses and I thought it would be good to simply remind everyone that we follow all CDC guidelines regarding isolation, masking, and return to school/work.  The CDC's "isolation calculator" is a great tool to help understand what to do and for how long if you test positive for COVID 19.  You can find the full protocol by CLICKING HERE, but basically the "cliff notes" version is this:

*. If you test positive, you should stay home for at least 5 days.

*. If after five days your symptoms are improving and you are fever free, you can end isolation but should wear a mask through day 10.

*. If after five days your symptoms are not improving, and/or you are not fever free, you should continue your isolation until that is the case.

*. Wear your mask through day10 regardless.

Again, that is a little simplistic but it covers the key points.  If you want more detail for the nuances that can always occur, click on the link to the CDC site above and it gives you all the scenarios to work from!

As always,  if you have questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to your school's nurse and they can help!  Thank you!

IMPORTANCE OF SCHOOL ATTENDANCE

A necessary step to make sure that all students benefit from all that our schools have to offer is to support student's consistent presence in the classroom.

It really does come down to the old adage:  The first step to success is being there!  More studies than I can name find very clear evidence that school attendance is closely linked to student success.  School absences take a toll on student grades.  It is a key predictor for student drop outs, diminished health, and exposure to the criminal justice system.  Poor school attendance has even been linked via research to poor labor market prospects for adults.

Did you know that since the Pandemic, chronic absenteeism in our nation's public schools has nearly doubled? Chronic absenteeism is the % of students in a school that have missed 10% or more of the total school year for any reason.  For Maine students that is a student who has missed 18 or more days of school during the course of the school year. 

Sometimes it is easy to dismiss national data - but let's put this in very local terms... 

*. In the 2018-2019 school year we had 7.79% of our students that were chronically absent.  This means that approximately 217 Gorham students were absent for 18 or more days of school.

*. In the 2022-2023 school year we had 15.8% of our students that were chronically absent.  This means that approximately 430 Gorham students were absent for 18 or more days of school. 

This is right in line with the larger national concerns regarding school attendance.  

There is no question that school success and attendance go hand in hand.  As a school system we will continue to remain focused on helping students know we want them to come to school regularly.  We will continue to message the importance of attending school and we will continue to work hard to make sure our schools are places where students WANT to be.  We will continue to focus on building positive relationships and working together with families to remove barriers to student attendance. 

We need your help in this important message to our students as well.  What can you do?  Resources from CountME In say these are some of the best things families can do to help:

-  Set regular bedtime and morning routines

-  Lay out clothes and backpack the night before

-  Introduce yourself to your child's teacher and be as involved as you can be in supporting and attending school functions

-  Avoid family trips when school is in session

-  Schedule medical appointments outside the school day if possible

-  Come up with backup plans with family, neighbors or other parents to get children to school

-  If you see a pattern of your child avoiding school, contact their teacher, principal or school counselor so we can all work together to make learning a positive experience.

-  Make conversations about attendance strength based.  Celebrate what is going well.

Interested in resources for families about Attendance?  CountME In has some good resources.  CLICK HERE to view.

Thank you all in advance for helping us to send consistent messages to students about the importance of attending school! 

FREEDOM OF ACCESS ACT (FOAA) - HOW DOES IT WORK AND WHAT IS PUBLIC VS. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION WHEN IT COMES TO STUDENTS?

With a recent uptick in FOAA requests once again this year, I've had several families ask me to explain FOAA, what it is, how it works, and what happens when FOAA interacts with the confidentiality rights associated with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act commonly referred to as FERPA?

Maine's Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) grants the people of this state a broad right of access to public records.  The act is intended to ensure the accountability of the government to the citizens of the state by requiring public access to the meetings of public bodies, and by granting access to existing public documents that may be held by the public body.  Public schools are public bodies and therefore, meetings of our school committee must be open to the public for example.  Digital and written documents that are held by public schools are also subject to FOAA requests to include materials in email and on google classroom for example.

It is important to note, however, that FERPA laws regarding the confidentiality of student records is also a law that schools must adhere to.  In cases where FOAA and FERPA may conflict, it is the responsibility of the school department to protect legitimate governmental interests and the privacy rights of our students and families.  

The best way to explain how this works is to first explain how FOAA requests are made and what we do as a school system to process these requests and then point out how we handle circumstances where the two laws may be in conflict with one another...

Typical Process for FOAA Requests:

We use a pretty formulaic set of procedures to process any FOAA request because state statute is pretty clear what must be done.  Below is an overview:

Step 1: A FOAA request is made. This can be done in writing or via phone and then transcribed into a written document by our designated public access officer. 

Step 2: The School Department acknowledges receipt of the request within 5 days.

Step 3: The School Department may reach out with clarifying questions to better understand the request before fully processing and moving forward with the request.

Step 4: The School Department will communicate a sense of how long it will take to complete the request and let the individual making the request know if there may be any fees associated with the request. By law, the school may charge reasonable fees to cover the costs of copying and/or may charge $25.00/hour after the first two hours for time spent searching for, retrieving, compiling, or redacting confidential information from the requested records. If the cost is more than $30.00 the School Department will notify the individual making the request. If the cost is more than $100.00 the School Department may require payment in full for services prior to completing the request.

Step 5:  The FOAA officer works with appropriate admin. To fulfill the request.  This often involves working with our technology team to search emails.  It may also require our FOAA officer to work with Principals and individual teachers or other staff to gather curriculum information, lesson plans, assessments, etc.  

Step 6:  Once the information is collected by our FOAA officer, they then review each and every piece of information to determine what information may need to be redacted due to FERPA or other confidentiality laws.

Step 7: Once the request is completed, the School Department will notify the individual that the information is ready to be reviewed.  This may involve simply sending the individual the information digitally, or it may require that the individual come into the office to literally view the materials being requested.

Step 8: Once the information is shared, it becomes public information and will be posted on our website so that others may also view the information requested.

If you would like to learn more about Maine’s FOAA laws, you can CLICK HERE. 

What is CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION When It Comes to FOAA?

As mentioned above, as a school we are required to follow all laws related to FERPA when it comes to sharing student information.  Therefore, any student records, or identifiable information regarding students is always redacted or removed before sharing information via FOAA.  This would include parent emails to staff asking questions about grades, or emails between staff and parents that might discuss student placements, or student disciplinary matters, etc. This would also include emails that are sent between staff dealing with student information.  For example:  information contained within an email where one teacher is corresponding with another teacher about strategies to improve an individual student’s performance.

What is likely NOT confidential information would be an email between staff members talking about schedules, or making sharing information regarding working conditions, or an email from a parent to a staff member asking how their weekend was or trying to set up a meeting when/if a student is not being discussed.  A general rule of thumb is that if the email is not about a student, or about a confidential employee related issue, or to school legal counsel, it is likely subject to FOAA.

Bottom line - when it comes to potential conflicts between FOAA and FERPA.  FERPA "wins"!

I hope this helps better understand how these two important laws may intersect.  Please reach out if you have further questions.

INTERNATIONAL PERFORMER ALEX BOYE TO PROVIDE A FREE COMMUNITY CONCERT IN GORHAM ON TUESDAY NIGHT! 

The Gorham Schools have partnered with the Biddeford School Department to bring world renowned performer Alex Boye to Maine on October 24 & 25 to visit our two communities to deliver his inspirational message of hope and confidence.  

Alex will be working with GHS students in the afternoon of Tuesday, Oct. 24 and then he will provide our GMS and GHS staff with a training before coming to hang out with our community for a FREE evening workshop!  

Alex's community performance will be at GHS in the MPAC at 6:30 p.m. on the night of Oct. 24.  Please come to hear Alex's inspiring performance focused on reducing stigma around mental health, hope and helping our young people understand that "You are a 10!"

Families and community members are welcome to attend! 

FALL ATHLETIC PLAYOFFS BEGIN NEXT WEEK!

Well thanks to the hard work and dedication of our GHS fall student athletes, we are going to have a VERY BUSY week next week!  All of our teams have have made the playoffs and most of our teams will be hosting home games as a result!  Volleyball, Field Hockey, Boys & Girls Soccer, Football...oh my!  

Our campus will be very busy for sure!  Check out the athletics website to get updated game schedule information.  Be sure to wish all of our fall athletes the best of luck going into the playoffs!  GO RAMS!

NOVEMBER 7 VOTING DAY IS COMING RIGHT UP!  REMEMBER - NO SCHOOL ON NOV. 7

Just a quick reminder that November 7 election day is coming right up.  Because two of our schools are used as polling locations, we have adjusted our school calendar this year to utilize Nov. 7 as a teacher workshop day instead of a student day.  Therefore, there will be no school for students on Nov.7.

Want to learn more about what is on the November 7 ballot?  Check out this great resource from the Gorham Times explaining the referendum questions.   You can also learn about the candidates for the Gorham School Committee by CLICKING HERE and you can learn about the candidates for the Gorham Town Council by CLICKING HERE.  

Absentee voting is available now.  Want to learn more about absentee voting in Gorham?  CLICK HERE.  

GHS THEATER PRESENTS A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM...

GHS Theater students are working hard right now practicing scenes and creating sets in order to prepare for their upcoming performance of a classic Shakespeare play!  Performances will be held on November 10, 11, and 12.  Check out the flyer below for more details!

INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT SPACE?  CHECK OUT THIS UPCOMING EVENT...

This interesting event is being sponsored by SEED (Students Empowered to End Dependency)...

UPCOMING COMMUNITY DINNER...

Just sharing this community dinner opportunity for those that might be interested.  

That's it for this week!  As I close I did want to give one more "shout out" to our INCREDIBLE BUS DRIVERS from across the district.  I thought perhaps sharing this cute poem might remind us how important it is to appreciate our drivers every day...not just during bus driver appreciation week!  Enjoy!

October 6 Blog Post

Funny how it seems we didn't have much of a summer during the actual summer months, but it now wants to make appearances this fall!  Oh well!  I know our students have certainly enjoyed the warmer (but not too warm) weather.  Our teachers have also taken advantage of the additional time for outdoor learning opportunities along with their usual fun lessons!  Check out the images below to get a glimpse into the past two weeks across our schools!

Now - On to the information!

SUPERINTENDENT'S UPCOMING COMMUNITY LISTENING TOUR ANNOUNCED!

Gorham is an incredible community!  We have an incredible public school system.  We have an awesome university right in our back yard.  We have active churches.  We have strong businesses.  We have an energized downtown area.  We have beautiful farms and rural lands.  We have strong services for our community like police, fire, and recreation. There is no question that Gorham is a vibrant and continually growing community.   People want to live and thrive here.  But with continued growth, comes the need to continually learn, and adapt to changing conditions while holding on to the core tenants of who we are as a community.

As a Superintendent of Schools, I know that our public schools play a key role in the continued vibrance of our great community.  People want to move to communities with good public schools, buy houses, work, and buy their gas and groceries there.  People want to stay in communities with good public schools where children are supported by the whole community, where there are low crime rates, and active volunteerism by our youth who positively contribute to the whole.  Good public schools have a positive impact on workforce development and the ability to attract and retain business to an area, which in turn supports more jobs and continued economic development.  

As a school system we cannot control the growth of our community.  We cannot control what is being asked of our public schools at the state and federal levels of our government.  We can't control inflation.  We can't control childhood hunger, or mental health needs or special education needs or any other of the large societal challenges facing our schools.  However, what we can do is work to be as efficient as possible in the provision of our services and seek to understand more fully the conditions within which our community is working to support our schools.  We can also work to help our community better understand what is being asked of today's public schools.  We can then use this information collectively as a community to better plan for our future in ways that ensure we are able to remain a vibrant and growing community where people continue to want to move to, live in, and thrive in over the short and longer term.

This is the purpose behind my setting up FOUR evening community listening events.  Each event will begin with a short informational presentation about our schools and then I will simply make myself available to do exactly what the title of these events suggests - I will sit and listen while community members present talk and share your thoughts and ideas.

I will use THREE leading questions to spur conversation among those in attendance...but we can wander in whatever directly those present wish to in terms of sharing information with me.  I will take copious notes and I will then collect the information gathered and share the key themes that I hear with our school committee, and with our larger community (including Town Manager and Town Council) for use in future planning.  The three leading questions will be:

* What are the top TWO  things you value most about living in our community?

* What are the top TWO things you find challenging  about living in our community?

* If you had a magic wand and unlimited funds - what ONE thing would you do in our community in order to maintain our vibrancy over the next 3-5 years?

I hope folks are interested in participating.  Here are the logistics for these FOUR listening meetings.  I'll get flyers and other materials out via social media as we get closer...

Dates  

-  November 13, 2023

-  January 22, 2024

-  March 26, 2024

-  May 20, 2024

Times

-  All meetings will begin at 6:00 p.m. and last no longer than 1 hour.

Location

-  Summit Community Church, Gorham ME. (26 Cressey Road, Gorham ME)

Food

-  Light munchies, coffee, tea and water will be provided

Please mark your calendars and feel free to spread the word!  It would be hard for me to listen just to myself!  Even I get tired of that! ☺

GORHAM SCHOOLS REAP CLEAR REWARDS FROM SOLAR ENERGY PROJECTS! 

The Gorham Schools made agreements with CEP (Competitive Energy Solutions) back in 2021 to support three large scale solar projects.  One of these projects is now fully up and online, a second project should be completed later this spring and a third project is scheduled to be completed by the Fall of 2024.  The three solar projects (all in Maine) are:

1.  Littlefield Solar

2.  USS Togus Solar 

3.  Rensola Solar

With just one of these projects up and fully operational for 10 months now, we have already saved just over $17,000.00 in energy costs for our schools.  In addition to saving these costs we have also used these projects to creatively increase revenues for our schools.  We have accomplished this task by selling REC's (Renewable Energy Credits) that we own as a result of being partners in these three projects.  Thus far with just the one project online for 10 months we have added $15,000.00 in revenue by selling 500 REC's.  

Therefore, with just one project online for 10 months we have already "saved" $17,000.00 AND added $15,000.00 move to our revenue streams - having a total impact of reduced costs to taxpayers of $32,000.00.

When all three projects are fully online, we anticipate a total of $60,000.00 in reduced costs and a total of $90,000.00 in annual REC sales revenue.  Combined, investments in these projects will save the taxpayers of Gorham approximately $150,000.00 annually.

Individuals can view our first year's report for the Littlefield Solar project by CLICKING HERE.  Once we get the other projects online, we'll share that information as well!

CONTINUED LONG TERM CAPITAL PLANNING FOR THE GORHAM SCHOOLS

In February of 2022 the Gorham Schools, in collaboration with the Town of Gorham completed a long range facilities planning study with a company called CHA.  You can view the results of that study by CLICKING HERE.  The Gorham Schools then once again worked collaboratively with the Town of Gorham to create a ten year capital needs plan for the schools. You can CLICK HERE to view that.  

The cliff notes version of our overall plan was/is this:

1.  Complete expansion of Narragansett modulars as a TEMPORARY space solution to address elementary classroom space needs for next 5 -6 years (note since 2017 we have added 22 classroom spaces via modular expansion at Narragansett in alignment with this long term plan).

2.  Seek to fund via bonds as many "immediate" needs possible as listed in the CHA facilities study over the next 5-10 years.  (For example, addressing GMS and GHS HVAC needs and lighting upgrades).  

3.  Seek to create temporary classroom spaces at GHS in a three phase, mostly modular, expansion project that would address needs for cafeteria space, add space to re-locate adult education offices to the GHS site, and add up to 10 classroom spaces.

4.  Apply for TWO capital building projects when the MDOE application cycle re-opens in spring of 2024.  The two projects would be for a new high school project and a new elementary school project that would combine Narr. and Village schools and build in continued growth capabilities for both.

The overall idea being to add temporary space at Narragansett and GHS to address immediate growth needs while seeking capital funding from the state to fund the construction of at least one school, possibly two to address long term needs.  We are working now to make sure we are prepared to put these applications in as soon as the process opens this spring.  Of course, even in the best case scenario of the state approving TWO school construction projects in Gorham - the absolute earliest we would see a new school being opened would be fall of 2029.

While we are continuing to focus on our long term capital plans, we also continue to explore possible reconfigurations and other efficiencies to try and do the most with what we have.  This work will be shared with the School Committee in November, 2023.

We are due to complete Phase III of the Narragansett Modular expansion this spring/summer.  We just completed GMS HVAC upgrades this past summer.  We completed Phase I of II of planned HVAC upgrades at GHS this past summer and will complete Phase II by Fall of 2024.  As I hope you can tell - we are making continued progress on our long term capital planning, but that progress is slow and while it is ongoing other needs continue to compound.  

All of this is good progress - however - when a plan seeks $14M in funding and we only get $10M, we need to re-work the plan.  When student populations continue to drastically change, placing greater stress on our specialized programs for students and when our overall classroom space needs increase, we need to re-work the plan.  When development in our community is set to continue with possible large scale implications for our schools, we need to re-work the plan.  

Therefore, I wanted you to all be aware that we are indeed working to revise our 10 Year Capital plan this fall.  That updated ten year plan will be be shared with the Gorham School Committee and the Gorham Town Council in November, 2023.  Once it is completed I will be sure to share it with all of you!

Please stay tuned!

OCTOBER IS BULLYING PREVENTION MONTH

The month of October is bullying prevention month across our country. I thought this would be a great opportunity to remind folks about our bullying policies and prevention practices as well as to share some great resources families can use to have conversations about bullying at home.

Our Policies:

* Policy JICK defines what bullying is in our schools.

* Procedure. JICK-R outlines the processes that our schools use to address reports of bullying.

* Procedure JICK-E1 is the actual reporting form we use for students/staff/families to report bullying.  Please know we accept all forms of reporting, so it doesn't have to be on this form for us to take action!

*. Policy JICDA is our Code of Conduct.  This policy outlines what are our expectations for student conduct across all of our schools so our students have a clear goal of what those behaviors should be rather than just a list of "what not to do".

Our Prevention Practices:

We do a lot in our schools for prevention practices.  I'll list some but know that all of this work begins both at home and in the regular classrooms of our schools.  The specific things listed are all part of creating a larger culture that simply does not tolerate bullying.  

* PreK - Gr. 2 - Classroom Guidance allied arts rotation using Second Step Curriculum.

*. Gr 3-5 - B.A.R.R. (Building Assets and Reducing Risks) program with built in U-times.

*  Gr. 6-8 Advisory program using Second Step Curriculum.

*. Gr. 9-12 Advisory program

*. Pre K - Gr. 12 Guidance Support programs.

*. Pre K - Gr. 12 Social Worker Support programs.

*. Elementary School Student Leadership Teams

*. GMS Student Leadership teams (ie. student council, civil rights teams, etc.)

*. GHS Student leadership organizations (i.e. Key Club, Interact Club, Civil Rights team, etc.)

*. School Resource Officers

*. Adopt a Classroom Program

*. Book buddy programs

In addition to all of this, our classroom teachers work closely with students across all grades to create classroom rules and expectations that honor our Code of Conduct and make clear that bullying is not acceptable behavior in our schools.  

Some Resources for Families:

Below are some links to various resources that families might find helpful in talking with their children about bullying.  Feel free to use those you may find valuable and trash the rest!

*  PACER National Bullying Prevention Center.

*  Parent Guidance from Cook Center on Bullying

*  Center for Parent Information and Resources

*  Stomp Out Bullying

*  Maine Department of Education Bullying Prevention Resources Page

Our schools work hard to try and make our learning environments free of bullying.  Have we removed bullying entirely from our schools?  No, of course not.  But do we continually strive to achieve that goal in collaboration with our families, students and staff?  Yes, we do and we will continue to do so.  

Please reach out to your child's classroom teachers, or building leaders if you have any concerns regarding bullying or if you are interested in learning more about how you can perhaps do more to help.  Thank you for all you are already doing as families!  This issue is not just a school issue and can only be tackled together and in partnership with our incredible families.

REMINDER - MENTAL HEALTH EVENTS COMING UP!

A reminder of some incredible programs coming up aimed to help support families in supporting children with mental health concerns!  Check them out below:

*. FREE VIDEO LESSON SERIES (OPEN NOW) found on parentguidance.org.  These are FREE videos specifically geared towards parents and teenagers that help provide common language and real experiences for families to talk about.  Topics ranging from suicide prevention to de-cycling cycles of conflict with your child, to how to help instill confidence in children and lots in between.  

*. FREE Virtual Family Mental Health Night – Talk to a Therapist - Gorham School District is partnering with The Cook Center for Human Connection to host a free virtual Family Mental Health night on October 11, 2023 from 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm. Participants will hear from a leading clinical psychologist, be able to ask questions, and learn about free resources available.

Register now by going to : https://events.parentguidance.org/FMHNOct11 

If you miss this event or can’t make it live, check out https://ParentGuidance.org where you can

access on-demand virtual courses, professional support, and a safe community for parents to

learn how to support their children and get answers to mental health questions. There are

courses on anxiety, depression, self-worth, grief and loss, suicidal ideation and other mental

health concerns. All courses are created by therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists and other

certified mental health practitioners. There is even a portal where you can “Ask a Therapist”

your tough questions, as well as see questions and answers from other parents.

* Student, Staff, and Community SPECIAL EVENT - Guest Speaker & Performer - Alex Boye - The Gorham Schools have partnered with the Biddeford School Department to bring world renowned performer Alex Boye to MAINE on October 24 & 25 to visit our two communities to deliver his inspirational message of hope and confidence.  Alex will be working with GHS students in the afternoon of Oct. 24 and then he will provide our GMS and GHS staff with a training before coming out to hang out with our community for a FREE workshop and performance at GHS in the MPAC at 6:30 p.m. on the night of Oct. 24.  More details will be coming on this - but in the meantime - Mark your calendars for an important evening event on Oct. 24 at 6:30!   

WE NEED SUBSTITUTES !!!

-  Do you want to make a positive difference in the lives of children?

-  Do you want to make a positive difference in our community?

-  Are you looking for ways to support our schools?

-  Would you be interested in making a little money while doing all the things listed above?

Well then, perhaps being a substitute in our schools is for you!  We are in desperate need of substitutes in our schools, all grade levels, and all programs!  Even if you can do just one day per week you can help!  

What does it take to be a substitute in Gorham?

-  HS diploma or equivalent.

-  Completion of online application

-  Approved CHRC fingerprinting through MDOE (we'll reimburse costs).

What is the pay?

-  If teaching certified - $120.00/day

-  If not teaching certified, but have completed our training course - $115.00/day

-  If HS diploma or greater but have not completed training and are not certified - $105.00/day.

When are upcoming substitute training classes being offered?

-  First course will be four nights on 10/16, 10/17, 10/23 and 10/30.  

-  We're also offering a second course over the nights of 11/27, 11/28, 12/4 and 12/5.

Interested?  Reach out to lori.frederick@gorhamschools.org to learn more!

What are the steps to becoming a Sub in Gorham:

1.  Complete online application.  Link:  https://www.applitrack.com/gorham/onlineapp/default.aspx?Category=Substitute

2.  Complete online CHRC application (save receipt, we'll reimburse these costs later).  Link:  https://www.maine.gov/doe/cert/fingerprinting

3.  Complete onboarding and hiring processes with our business office (Sue Huff will reach out to you once #1 is completed).

4.  Login to AESOP (training will be provided during onboarding).

Off you go!

PLEASE CONSIDER BEING A SUBSTITUTE IN OUR SCHOOLS!  FEEL FREE TO SHARE WITH FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS AS WELL!  THANK YOU!

IMPORTANT DATES COMING RIGHT UP...

Remember you can catch district wide events by going to our website and looking on the right hand side of the home page...but here's a few things coming right up that should be on your "radar"...

-  No School on Monday, Oct. 9 in order to celebrate Indigenous People's Day.

-  Week of Oct. 16 is Bus Driver Appreciation Week!  Be sure to say "thank you" to our incredible drivers!

-  Week of Oct. 16 will also be our Parent/Teacher Conference times.  Please reach out to your school for details on sign ups and remember there is NO SCHOOL for students on Friday, Oct. 20!

-  Oct. 18 will be our second Early Release Day.  Students will be dismissed early on this day.

ASPIRE GORHAM FIRST MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF 2023-2024 AVAILABLE TO READ!

Aspire Gorham is going strong in the Gorham Schools!  Each month a newsletter is published to help folks keep up to date with the great things happening in our schools as a result of this incredible program that serves our youth ages birth to adult!  Check out the link below to learn more about Aspire Gorham and to read the September newsletter (once on the page just scroll down to view the newsletter)!

Newsletter Link:  https://www.gorhamschools.org/apps/pages/aspire-gorham

OCTOBER IS COMMUNITY PLANNING MONTH!

Tom, Carol and Damon from the Gorham Town Planning Office wanted to remind folks that the month of October is Community Planning Month!  They wanted to share the following information with folks that may be interested:

Gorham Planning Staff are excited to celebrate Community Planning Month this October. We hope you will participate, and help us spread the word! The attached flyer includes details on how you can participate. This includes:

●      Ask The Planners Day – Please join us for sweet treats on October 12, 2023 between 9:00 and 3:00, to ask the planners about the plans Gorham has in place.

 

●      Submit games and puzzles with name, email and phone number to the Planning Office to enter to win one of two gift bags worth $150. For puzzles and to find out more check out the town’s website.

o   Scavenger Hunt

o   BINGO

o   Crossword Puzzle

o   Word Search

●      Stop by the Baxter Memorial Library for planning must reads and great suggestions for your book club!

That's enough information for this blog!  Next one will be on October 20!