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RSU 9 board discusses return of school

8 mins read

FARMINGTON – Administrators with Regional School Unit 9 provided school board directors with a proposed Return to School proposal that included in-person and remote learning options Tuesday evening, discussing safety requirements, academic expectations and federal funding in advance of a public forum scheduled for Thursday. The board is expected to sign off on the district’s final plan on Aug. 11.

School administrators and staff have been working throughout the summer on three models: a full return to school for participating students; a remote learning program; and a hybrid program in which schools reopen on a partial schedule, with students also utilizing remote instruction.

The intent for the start of the school year, as of now, is to reopen grades pre-K through 8 for a full return, with grades 9 through 12 participating in the hybrid model. All parents will also be offered a remote instruction option for their children, on a quarter by quarter basis. As described by Superintendent Tina Meserve, parents will need to opt in to either the in-person or remote option at the beginning of the school year.

The models adhere to guidelines developed by the Maine Department of Education and the Center for Disease Control for in-school students: mandatory face coverings, hand-washing during transitions throughout the building and 3-feet social distancing buffers for students, 6 feet for teachers. On the bus, students will sit one to a seat, unless they’re from the same family. Buses will also arrive 30 minutes later to allow for time to manage student arrivals while maintaining social distancing.

As presented Tuesday, the schedule calls for school to start Aug. 31, with pre-K through grade 5 students being in school from 9:30 a.m. to 3:12 p.m. Middle school students would be in school from 8:15 a.m. to 2:02 p.m.

Use of the “full return” model is dependent upon securing adequate space for students in the buildings and on buses. A survey has been sent to parents of all RSU 9 students, asking specifically what their plans are, with responses due back by Aug. 8. Administrators need that information to determine the number of students to plan for and to make transportation arrangements. While staff intend to contact all parents that don’t fill out a survey by Aug. 8, administrators hope to limit that effort by encouraging parents to fill out the survey, located here.

The full return model would include requirements that parents screen for symptoms prior to their students going to school and provisions in case a student became sick at school. The district does not anticipate having access to COVID testing material – such tests would be provided at the direction of the student’s primary care provider.

The remote program will make use of specific learning platforms – Seesaw for grades pre-K through 5 and Google Classroom for grades 6 through 12 – rather than a mix of platforms. This year’s model will include the recording of student attendance, the grading of student work and incorporates the same educational expectations for remote learning students as it does for the in-person students.

Internet access remains a challenge for many families within the district. RSU 9 will be purchasing and providing hotspots – equipment that utilizes cellphone access to provide Internet service – but that won’t address people that may live in areas without cellphone reception. Superintendent Tina Meserve said that the district would work with students and parents whenever possible; one option would be accessing the Internet outside schools or other locations, such as libraries.

The district is anticipating $2.8 million in additional federal funding relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of that – roughly $2.2 million – will have to be expended before Dec. 30, with the remaining balance spent by September 2021. Among other uses, that money will fund new cleaning equipment, masks, other personal protective gear and additional positions – remote teachers, substitutes and health professionals. Meserve said that she’s still finalizing that budget, but that there would be money available for some board priorities, such as the alcohol/drug counselor brought up during the budget process.

If the state’s monitoring of the pandemic indicates a potential issue within the region or if schools cannot bring all students back and meet the DOE/CDC guidelines, a hybrid plan will be employed. As presented Tuesday evening, the high school would start the year as a hybrid program. The biggest issue, Meserve said, was the social distancing requirement. There wasn’t enough space to meet that requirement, particularly at bottlenecks such as hallways.

The hybrid plan consists of having most students participate in two days of in-person learning and three days of remote learning. Students would be divided into cohorts by last name, in order to try and keep siblings together, and would go two of the four weekdays, Monday through Thursday, with Friday being a universal remote learning day.

As currently proposed for the first quarter, the first day of high school would be Aug. 31. In-school hours would be 8:15 a.m. until 2:02 p.m. As of now, there is no intention to run any after school programs at the start of the school year – sports seasons have already been postponed – or run a shuttle bus. There will also be no late-arrival Wednesdays.

Students in programs that require significant support, such as some Special Education students, will be fully returning. Foster Tech will be working to provide students with enough in person hours to qualify for whatever credentials the student may be working toward, but the program may look different.

There will be changes within specific elements of the school day, even for in-person students. Teaching some music classes in their usual format will be difficult, for example, so alternative programs may be offered.

“Right now,” Meserve said, “we can’t have kids singing.”

School board directors asked a wide variety of questions, ranging from the 3-foot distance requirement to whether students could choose between face shields or masks to traffic patterns accommodating increases in parental transportation to installing temperature scanning equipment at school entryways. Administrators intend to hear from staff directly on Thursday – currently only staff can attend that meeting. A separate “Family and Community Feedback Forum” has been scheduled for Aug. 6 at 6 p.m., conducted via Zoom. That meeting will be accessible through the district’s website, located here.

It is anticipated that the board will make its decision on the district’s Return to School plan at its Aug. 11 meeting.

 

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78 Comments

  1. An impossible task! Thank you to everyone involved as we sort out what back to school looks like. We know you are doing your best!

  2. You are all appreciated more than you know! Thank you for options to try and make everyone happy and safe!

  3. Sounds like a prison camp. Imagine trying to force children as young as 5 not to have any contact with their friends — neither to sit next to them on the bus, play together on the playground, work together in the classroom, or even to be allowed to see their smiles. The quote that “we can’t have kids singing” really makes clear the attitude of these administrators.

    My question is: So, what happens a week later, when you take stock and realize that the kids won’t keep their masks on and won’t keep 3′ distance from their friends?

    My second question is: Or is this nonsense only meant to go on until November 3rd, when it has served its political purpose, and then we can go back to normal?

  4. Joe, singing is a known super spreading activity.
    No one knows how this will go. They’re trying to do the best they can. Lots of school districts around the country are not opening at all.

  5. As a board member I believe transparency is key (although it may not seem like it) as a parent of two kids in RSU9 and also paying taxes for the district, I find it quite disingenuous that the teachers union won’t allow the same transparency in meetings. If this is not the case then I hope the union will at least set the record straight. This effects every single person around us and we should have full clarity to any discussion that occurs because of it. I am glad a few other board members spoke about this last night and I hope the Union reps listen and realize the same.
    I would also like to take this time to tell everyone that I have spoken with again that if you want your voice heard you need to speak up during the public comment portion of our meetings.
    Hopefully we can get a safe and realistic solution for this school year and our kids can get the education they deserve without further issues.

  6. How convenient that ‘suddenly’ 3 feet of ‘social distancing’ and ‘gatherings’ of >100 humans will ‘make everyone happy and safe’.

    And certainly every one will wash their hands before putting on their non-standardized and daily sanitized face covering. And wash their hands again before removing that covering or touching their face, etc.

    You kiddos stop your singing and making a joyful sound, that will change your brain and make less space for indoctrinating fear and misery into your little souls.

    Does Janet know about this hypocrisy?

  7. Joe, you’re exhausting. The singing comment pertains to the super spreader events and research in regards to choral singing. Spoiler alert: it was really bad! Signing is one of the last things you want to do in close proximity to others. In regards to the election comment…you mean like the “immigrant caravan” that Trump fear-mongered during the handful of months before the 2018 election and then it ceased to be important as soon as the election was over? Kind of like that? The idea that you think that the pandemic was ginned up to make Trump lose (um…most politicians that aren’t completely dropping the ball during this are getting a bump in their approval) makes me not want to send my kids back lest they have to share time in a classroom with your children or grandchildren who will have a hard time adhering to the rules that you’re telling them are baseless. The misinformation in the community is absolutely a contributing factor in our decision making.

  8. I want to be perfectly clear. My first comment is mine and mine alone I am not speaking as a board member but as a Parent and Taxpayer in the district.

  9. The administration has to implement what the Maine CDC and Maine DOE requires if they want students in buildings. Distancing, masks, and restricting activities that encourage droplet spread have to happen and are not at the discretion of administrators. Other districts have made announcements that they then had to walk back because they ran counter to the above.

  10. Thank you for working on a plan to get our children back in the classroom. Teaching can be a thankless job I commend you All for your efforts….

  11. To the person who insinuates this will all end November 3rd. This is a global pandemic. It’s impacting Europe, Africa, Asia and the entire planet. It’s idiocy to think this exists only to use against Trump. If the President had early on acknowledged the crisis like, say, Chancellor Merkel of Germany, we’d have had a national response and would be in a much better situation. Europe may still get a second wave, but they locked down, masks were NOT political (they followed science over politics) and got the virus under control. The only reason it’s a big problem in the US – the reason why Americans aren’t welcome in most of the rest of the world due to the fact the virus is out of control – is we have a President who has refused to acknowledge reality, and has played politics with this, happy talking the pandemic even as it gets worse. The states that opened early were hit hardest – luckily Maine is one of the best states in the country balancing safety and economics, we’re sort of a model. But you can’t see this only in terms of politics, this is REAL. It’s global. And the US is in a bad situation because we’ve not had as effective a response as most of the rest of the world.

  12. Jesse, please know that I and every teacher I have spoken to WANT the board members present at tomorrow’s meeting. We want you to hear our thoughts and concerns. I completely agree that we all need to be transparent with each other. This is not a time to for the board to receive our thoughts after as the “cliffnotes” version.

  13. Just suggestion. If you want elementary children to be picked up and dropped off why not switch times with older kids. More parents would be able to drop off in morning if school started at 8 instead of 930. The older children sleep in later and the high school student could drive to school with less traffic at 930. Thanks Working Mom.

  14. I’m a member of the school board from Farmington. It was made clear later in yesterday’s meeting that staff and teachers (including the union members) want us to be at their meeting. There are a few sticking points to that can be cleared up, and I hope they can be.

    I am very interested in what staff and teachers have to say tomorrow. They work in the buildings, and with the children of our district. Their advice is important to me and other members of the board.

    Later that day, there will be a forum for parents and other constituents who live in the district. Regardless of the situation with the staff/teacher meeting, I will be attending the parent/constituent forum and am very eager to hear their advice.

    We are in a very difficult situation, and listening to the people who are affected by it is the right thing to do.

  15. If the hybrid model goes through what are teachers and staff suppose to do with their own children on the days their own kids are in remote learning? Just a thought.

  16. RSU TEACHER I under the board is welcome that was made clear last night although we aren’t allowed to do business in private so unless the public is also welcome we can not attend either. Evidently the public isn’t welcome so I guess I will attend with the rest and see how it all goes. Thank you for reaching out.

  17. You liberal sheep make sure you figure out how to spend all the federal money before time runs out! After all federal money is free right?

  18. Some people seem to struggle with ‘effects’ vs ‘affects’. Try to set a good example for our students you represent…
    Back in the day Lillian Winter taught this stuff!

  19. Keep wearing your mask and cowing down to the globalist who want to control you through health and education. If we don’t stand up to the medical tyranny now we will never be free of it. By today’s standards we should have been wearing masks and locked down ever since 1918. Why are you not asking questions of your authorities when they constantly get it wrong, lie about it and continue to let you down.

    Things the are making me sick:

    -Covid Rules
    -CCP Google
    -Scaring children
    -Trust in the media
    -Glorifying Marxist teachers and professors
    -Public schools

    Not CCP Virus.

  20. Captain Planet,
    ‘After all federal money is free right?’
    Since you’ve turned a declarative into a question by adding a tag, you really should have that comma in front of ‘right’ (…federal money is free, right?)
    Miss Caliendo taught those things too.

  21. Thanks for pointing out my error Caption. I didn’t have Lillian for a teacher and english was my least favorite subject. I preferred hands on learning myself. Hence why I didn’t go to college but by all means feel free to grammar check me when ever you like.

  22. No substantive argument but I’ll attack spelling errors to distract. That moves the discussion forward effectively.

  23. So I have so many questions. We have the green light to start school from the government and we have the guidance of the DOE. They all say we can open with the appropriate procedures in place. I know that the plans being discussed fall under these guidelines. Why in a community with little to no spread are we not putting our kids future first and getting them back to school at school?
    For most families this is more than just the difficulty of teaching there kids it also can be a huge financial impact. If we go to the hybrid model, most people like my wife will have to quit their job and stay home to ensure that the children receive an education. We also have to think about the social aspects of the children and families, child abuse will go undetected, and food insecurity issue.
    I also understand that some of this is being done to prove that we need the $2.8 million in funding due to this p.m. Demic I just hope that we are not doing all this to make sure that we get money. Seems like this budget has constantly gone round and round and I would not be surprised if somehow we end up with a superintendence assistant due to all the work that COVID-19 has caused in this position will now be vital.
    Also as a healthcare worker I very much understand away droplets work. 3 feet is always been our standards in healthcare with a patient on Droplet Precautions. The fact is over the years school system so continue to cut janitorial staff as an easy way to get by and try to fix the budget. This is now going to come back to bite them. what we are doing now for cleaning is what we should’ve been doing all along. I just hope the people of this town and the board truly think about what really matters when it comes to our kids, our families and our community and do not let the pandemic hype shape our community.

  24. When the school district requires mask use on our children, they sure better hope it does not harm the children long term. Where is the study that says it is perfectly safe for children to wear a mask for several hours a day? I truly believe there will be more harm done by mask use than what it is trying to prevent. I also can see lawsuits coming. Get ready board members and administrators across the country.

  25. Let’s try this again. I am not sure why I was censored for asking questions and stating possible concerns for our children and district? What medical study is Rsu 9 going by to say that it is safe for children to wear mask for several hours a day? I would not want possible litigation to come against schools across the country because of poor decisions made today.

  26. I find it uplifting that so many commenters are offering thoughtful, constructive input in concerning our community’s quest for the best possible solution for educating our children in as safe a manner as possible, rather than spewing negative political propaganda and name calling.
    Thank you fellow citizens.

  27. Oh the hypocrisy, Captain Planet! God forbid we spend money to help prop up the economy and give direct aid to workers RATHER than a corporate tax cut like the one that Donnie had to have in the beginning of his presidency despite the fact that the economy was buzzing along and we should have been putting money aside for that rainy day (i.e. today). But he wanted to be a hero to his cronies and a Republican congress rubber stamped it. Seriously, if you think that Democrats are spendy and Republicans are not then you’re not paying attention. They’re both spendy and the difference is where they choose to direct it.

  28. Tim Storer,

    Thanks for providing a spelling binding example of how ignorance makes a person a part of the problem instead of the solution. Your comment is a perfect example of why this country has been unable to get this virus under control and instead looks incompetent compared to many other country’s around the planet dealing with the exact same virus, who have handled it so much better. Loosen your tinfoil hat and join the rest of us in the real world!

  29. To those referring to mask wearers as sheep or sheeple. Please respect the fact that many of us are wearing masks to work as a mandatory requirement from our employers. I guess we could refuse in which case we would be laid off and then have to go on unemployment and lose our benefits. But I have a family to support and would rather work, so I’ll comply and wear my mask even if I don’t want too. Baa baa.

  30. Scott Erb, I have noticed for some time your fixation with Merkle and how things are done in Germany. Isn’t she from East Germany and a product of Russian mentality and philosophy? Are you suggesting we should model after what they do? One more question,as a school board member do you stand by your vote on every issue that has come before you? Both yes and no votes.

  31. Bob, Angela Merkel was in East Germany, but never a believer in Communism. When change started to come, she joined the conservative Christian Democratic party, reflecting her faith and her opposition to the Communist system. She was a quantum chemist – a scientist with a Ph.D. – but felt she wanted to contribute to building a Democratic Germany. Chancellor Helmut Kohl saw she was smart and had solid principles, so he brought her into her cabinet. No one has ever doubted her commitment to ethical politics and democracy. Her anti-Communism is pretty clear. She was more influenced by western philosophy and her Christian (Lutheran protestant) beliefs.

    To your last question – if I vote on anything ever, at the time I am making the best judgment I can. However, over time if I get new information or more experience, I might decide an earlier position was wrong. That’s life.

  32. Angela Dorothea Merkel was born in Hamburg which was part of the British Zone of Occupation and became a state in the western part of Germany in the Federal Republic of Germany (Since 1949)

  33. Wilton Mom,
    Yup both parties spend a lot of money.
    The Dems buy a lot of the kool-aid you are drunk on.
    I’m not even taking a political side or defending the Reps.
    Not a “member” there either ,,sorry.

    Its just noteworthy when someone is lopsided blind partisan.
    Angry and inebriated.
    Didn’t you read the warning label on that stuff,,
    “impairs your judgment?
    No solutions over there.

    Good Luck with School.
    Tough situation all the way around.
    The kids will handle it much better than us “adults”..
    We can do this.

    Everything Is Beautiful.

  34. The full on confusion in everything involved with these schools, only goes to support defunding or redirecting Taxpayer supplied school pupil dollars.

    Control the money and you end the confusion. Sideshows such as we are seeing now only make the case for education bank accounts, charter type schools and or private schools. The private schools have a plan and they execute it without much drama. If the teachers feel unsafe, or want to virtue signal, they can quit and work elsewhere. In the private Ed sector, there’s no months on end of staying home and collecting EZ money while your (clients) the kids stare at computer screens and fall further behind. Accountability and quantifiable results still, do matter.

    Taxpayers, it’s your money and your choice. Don’t fund the circus if you don’t like the show.

  35. Jiminy crickets, I waded into this cesspool of comments a little late it seems. Looks like all the regulars are following the standard protocol – name calling in lieu of having an intelligent argument, fear mongering, presidential bootlicking, mask doubting, etc. My personal favorite would have to be “Keep wearing your mask and cowing down to the globalist who want to control you through health and education” Ironically it actually makes a fantastic argument for both increased education and better access to mental health resources. Timmy, you warn us about the globalist control, express your fear of Google (but not the virus), yet you seem to have total trust in Facebook. You spend an awful lot of time on there for a man in his 60’s – aren’t you worried about handing over so much of your personal and emotional information over to Mark Zuckerberg, possibly the greatest globalist alive? Seems odd.

  36. Tim Storer – I have never met you but given your comments I am really glad that I haven’t.
    Things that are making me sick:
    People with such a distorted view of the world that they aren’t even willing to wear a mask to protect others from a potentially serious virus that has proven to be REAL
    People who badmouth public schools without knowing anything about what goes on there day to day
    People who think teachers and professors are marxists! What are you even talking about?!!
    Crazy thinking like this is why the country is such a mess.

  37. Chuck, you’re right that Angela Merkel was born in Hamburg. But her dad was a Lutheran minister, and he was sent to Perleberg in Brandenburg in former East Germany. She got her degree in East Germany and worked as a research scientist before the “Wende” – the transition to democracy – took place starting in 1989. She went into politics at that time. Stasi – the East German secret police – once tried to recruit her, but she refused. She was first active with “Democratic Awakening” after the wall fell, which later worked with the conservative Christian Democratic Union. She rose in the CDU to become Chancellor in 2005, and has practiced a pragmatic conservatism based on her belief in core values and human rights.

  38. I agree with Tim Storer. Who wore masks before March. There were many diseases before COVID. Just another example of politics… after November 3rd this will all be history

  39. There are a lot of great teachers still working hard, but there is also a large amount of school staff complaining about returning to school. As a healthcare worker, I have worked through the entire pandemic. Exposed to hundreds of people and continue to do so safely. I am not seeing staff or patients getting diagnosed with covid. Minimum wage retail workers are doing the same. With less than 4000 cases for 3 million people, Maine is safe. Wear masks, social distance when possible, daily symptom screenings, wash hands, don’t touch face, and disinfect surfaces.
    Look forward to all the nasty comments from people who hide behind fake screen names.

  40. Zooey, you are a perfect example of the tolerant far left. I don’t necessarily agree with Tim’s point of view, but remember Trump won the majority of most of the states. Do you also wish you never met the silent majority? People need to accept and tolerate differences in opinions. I am a conservative and disagree with a lot of liberal point of views, but understand people have different view points. The problem is the far left and the far right. Differences of opinions help find a happy medium.

  41. Bill,

    Are you referring to the trouncing Trump received with the popular vote, when the American people soundly rejected him? The electoral collage elected him not the people. Yes I understand how the system works, but to claim that he won the majority is pretty far fetched when he lost by millions and that it was some supposed silent majority that elected him is even more ridiculous.

  42. Bill – Once again the labels only serve to divide us. I am not “far left.” I have always considered myself a moderate, willing to listen to both sides, and make decisions one issue at a time. I strongly believe in a “happy medium.” I am, however, sick and tired of being called a marxist, a communist, a sheep, etc. because my view doesn’t match someone else’s. I will agree to stop labeling people if Tim does! I have tolerated more than I ever imagined since Trump became President. I wish more than anything we could get back to civil discourse and compromise. Such sad times.

  43. Bill – good points, I think the way we get through this pandemic, figure out schools, deal with the economic fallout of this crisis, and ultimately get the US back on track is to focus on our common values rather than our differences. Demonizing each other only divides and weakens us. Conservatives and liberals need each other because countries led by only one party, left or right, are doomed to fail, lacking the kind of debate and compromise needed to navigate a complex reality. I think we can do it, despite the partisan noise. Figuring out how to make schools work is a good practical starting point.

  44. QUESTION FOR OUR BOARD: would it be a violation of a student’s health rights to do a temperature scan at the door in front of other peers? I mean medically speaking with the HIPAA laws and all of that, because what if in fact the student is sick – will that create others to point fingers if other people get sick, will that create the said student being picked on, will it create a panic/hostile environment? But yes, I am curious on a student’s health rights being scanned in front of others with possible showing symptoms.

  45. Laughable… The difference in the national popular vote was 1.3 million not millions. Not really a trouncing when you consider the US population. Trump won the popular vote in 32 states whether people like it or not. If we go with the nations popular vote, there is no point in voting if you don’t live in California, New York, or Florida. Those 3 states would decide every election.

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