Good morning everyone! I hope your respective November days are going well thus far! Lots to talk about, so I'll just get right to the pictures from the past few weeks, then on to the information.
November is Native American Heritage Month—a time to recognize the histories, traditions, and ongoing contributions of Indigenous peoples. Here in Maine, this month holds special meaning as we honor the Wabanaki peoples—the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Mi’kmaq, Maliseet, and Abenaki—who have lived on this land for more than 12,000 years. Their cultures, languages, and innovations continue to shape our state today.
In the Gorham Schools, we teach about Wabanaki history throughout the year, but November offers a dedicated moment to uplift Native voices through literature, art, and classroom conversations. Families can play an important role in extending these learning opportunities at home by exploring books about Wabanaki culture, learning about key moments, or engaging with videos and exhibits created by Wabanaki educators and artists.
To support families, here are a few recommended resources:
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Wabanaki Alliance — Educational materials and videos
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Maine Wabanaki REACH — Educational materials and learning resources
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Native Knowledge 360° (Smithsonian) — Classroom and family learning tools
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Maine Department Of Education - geared towards teachers, but lots of great resources for parents too
By celebrating Native American Heritage Month—and especially by centering our own local Wabanaki history—we strengthen our commitment to representation, respect, and community understanding. Thank you for taking the time to learn alongside your children this month and throughout the year!
LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE RECENT GAS LEAK AT NARRAGANSETT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
First and foremost, thank you to our families for your extraordinary patience, flexibility, and care during last week’s gas leak at Narragansett Elementary School. With short notice, families were able to get home to meet buses or pick up their children at St. Anne’s. Only three students out of more than 450 needed to return to St. Anne’s for later pickup—an incredible testament to your responsiveness. Families followed directions on scene, allowed buses to depart first, and calmly picked up students in an orderly process. Your cooperation made a challenging situation safer and smoother for everyone. THANK YOU!
I also want to offer our heartfelt thanks to first responders. The Gorham Fire Department arrived within minutes, quickly identified the leak, and ensured repairs were completed so students could return to school the very next day. Our Police Department helped students cross Route 25 safely and supported the dismissal process. And a special thank you to St. Anne’s Church for graciously opening their space and caring for our students in the midst of their own activities on that day.
As with any emergency, we immediately debriefed with school and public safety leaders to identify lessons learned. While many next steps involve small improvements, there are two key clarifications we want families to understand moving forward:
1. Dismissal Procedures During Off-Site Evacuations
If we must dismiss students from an alternate location, we will follow the dismissal plan already in place for that day—bus riders to buses, parent pickup to parent pickup, etc. This prevents hundreds of last-minute transportation changes that are not possible to manage safely during an emergency. If a child arrives home and no one is there, the bus driver will keep the student on board and contact school staff so we can problem-solve with you. Students will always be with well trained school staff until we can safely transition them home. No student will ever be left unattended or cared for.
2. Who to Call During an Off-Site Emergency
When staff and students evacuate, no one remains at the school to answer phones. If you have questions during an event like this, please call the Superintendent’s Office, where staff are available to support families and share any information we have.
We will continue refining our practices, and we welcome your feedback. If you have suggestions that could help strengthen our emergency protocols, please reach out to Principal Eppler (erin.eppler@gorhamschools.org) or to me (heather.perry@gorhamschools.org).
Most importantly, THANK YOU for being such strong partners. Emergencies remind us that safety is a shared responsibility—and last week, our community showed exactly what it means to pull together. Your calm, your care, and your trust allowed us to keep every student safe. We are grateful for you, and we remain committed to learning, improving, and ensuring our schools are ready for whatever comes our way. Together, we help make Gorham a community where our children feel protected, cared for, and supported every single day.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE KICKS OFF FY 27 BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS WITH ANNUAL "DESSERT & DISCUSS" MEETING
The Gorham School Committee met last night with members of the district leadership team (DLT) to hold our annual Dessert & Discuss meeting. This meeting is a time where our DLT members are able to share with School Committee members what their current challenges are and where they see needs for our schools in the next 2-3 years. This information helps to provide the backdrop for our upcoming budget development processes. There are more needs than funding each and every year, but this process allows us to wholistically understand all needs and prioritize them to identify what will go into our FY 27 budget proposals and what may need to wait a little while longer.
You can view the recording of the meeting below using the following two links.
You can also view all the attachments and information provided to School Committee members last night by CLICKING HERE. If you run into any links that are not "open", just request access and we'll be sure to open them up for your viewing.
The videos are long, but they follow the same order on the agenda so you can skip around on the video to particular sections you might be most interested in.
Next steps will be for the School Committee to create a Q&A document for questions stemming from these presentations. This Q&A document will be completed and shared with the public and School Committee at their November 25 workshop meeting. We will also post all of these items on our FY 27 budget development page on our district website. We are working to update that page now so please stay tuned.
Thank you to all of our DLT members for putting together this important information and sharing it with our School Committee.
ELECTION/REFERENDUM RESULTS AND NEXT STEPS
Thank you to everyone who turned out to vote in our recent elections. Turnout was strong—especially for an off-year election—and it was wonderful to see so many community members engaged in local decision-making.
Congratulations to our newly elected School Committee members:
• Jeffrey Ballard – 3-year term
• Lowansa Tompkins – 3-year term
• Paulette Tatishi – 1-year term
All three have already been sworn in and have attended multiple meetings, jumping right into their new roles.
Voters also approved the referendum to reallocate a little over $2.5 million from the previously approved November 2024 bond to support three projects: (1) Track and Field replacement; (2) ADA and sprinkler system upgrades at Narragansett School; and (3) the Village access road, paving, and Great Falls fire lane repaving. The measure passed with 4,357 “yes” votes to 2,058 “no.”
Next steps include completing design and engineering work for the track and Narragansett projects and preparing bid documents. For the Village and Great Falls work, we will partner closely with Gorham Public Works on planning and design. We anticipate construction on the track, field, and Narragansett upgrades will begin right after school ends in June and wrap up before students return in August. Village and Great Falls work will likely begin this summer as well and may extend into the fall, but will not affect our ability to reopen schools on time.
While these projects move us forward, they are just one part of our broader facilities needs. With no state school construction funding expected for at least the next decade, we will be revisiting our ten-year capital plan and determining how best to prioritize and responsibly invest in our growing community’s needs. These conversations will be central to the work of the School Committee and the Town of Gorham in the year ahead.
Looking ahead, I remain incredibly hopeful. Gorham has always risen to meet challenges with collaboration, creativity, and a deep commitment to our students. As we plan for the next decade of growth, we have a real opportunity to shape learning environments that reflect our values—safe, welcoming, innovative spaces where every child can thrive. Thank you for your ongoing partnership. Together, we will continue building a future that our children and our community can be proud of.
A.I. PARENT/COMMUNITY SURVEY - PLEASE PARTICIPATE!
The Gorham Schools has created an A.I. Handbook Committee whose major role will be to develop a clear, practical, and future-focused Student/Family and Staff Handbook for the use of Artificial Intelligence in Gorham Public Schools.
The handbook will establish guidelines that promote ethical, safe, and responsible use of AI while supporting innovation, teaching, learning, and equity for all members of our school community. The handbook will also contain specific resources for student/family and staff.
A stakeholder committee has been created that includes Admin., Teachers, Students, Parents, and Community Members. The group had their first meeting just last week.
Part of their work is to gather data to help inform the development of these handbooks. We want to know your thoughts about A.I. and its use in schools! We would LOVE to make sure that families and community members participate in a recent survey for this purpose. Data collected will be shared with the handbook committee and used to help inform decision making moving forward.
If you are a parent or community member - we want to hear from you on this important topic! Please use the link or QR code provided below and participate TODAY! Survey will remain open until November 30th. We've already had about 230 folks participate - but we'd really like to have more! Survey takes between 5-10 minutes to complete! Thank you in advance!
Survey Link: https://tejoin.com/scroll/564061576
QR Code:
Yesterday, the Maine Department of Education shared a communication with schools across the state to address recent questions from families about the future of special education services—questions rooted in national conversations about potential federal funding and oversight changes.
I want to reassure our community that this information was clear and helpful, and worth sharing widely. Bottom line: Special Education services in the Gorham Schools will continue without interruption. Funding for the current fiscal year is fully secure, and any potential federal organizational changes—such as relocating oversight to the Department of Health and Human Services—would be structural in nature and not impact the services your child receives, at least not at this time.
Please know that the Gorham Schools holds a deep commitment to our special education students, our highly skilled staff, and the high-quality programs that support them. These services will continue, and we will remain transparent and proactive in communicating any future developments.
As we look ahead, I want families to feel both reassured and hopeful. While the national landscape may shift, our commitment does not. We will continue to advocate fiercely for the resources our students deserve, invest in strong and inclusive programming, and partner closely with families every step of the way. No matter what changes may come at the state or federal level, our promise remains the same: every Gorham student will receive the services, support, and opportunities they need to learn, grow, and thrive.
You can view the MDOE message by CLICKING HERE.
UPCOMING HOLIDAY FUN FOR FAMILIES EFFECTED BY DISABILITIES
AUTHOR VISIT TO ALL FIVE GORHAM SCHOOLS NEXT WEEK!
Thank you to Zachary Glanville, Store Manager at Hannaford in Gorham for being willing to work with Christine Karcanes, a Kindergarten Teacher at Narragansett Elementary School to create a letter hunt for families to do with their young children while shopping at Hannaford in Gorham. The sheets are found at the dietitian’s station in the front of the store. When students fill in the sheet, they can bring it to the customer service area for a sticker! What a fun, educational activity that promotes literacy skills for our little learners while they shop at Hannaford! I hope our families enjoy!
