Fall Update 6 – August 10, 2020

Good Afternoon,

We have made great progress on our opening of school plans for the 2020-2021 school year. Principals and guidance counselors are currently working on class lists, schedules, and staffing plans based on parents’ choices of in person instruction 5 days a week, hybrid instruction where students attend 2-3 days a week in person and the other days are remote, and full remote learning all 5 days of the week. We are using the responses parents entered in the surveys to make these plans. It is critically important that if parents wish to make a change in your option, you must communicate your child’s plan to the school by Thursday, August 13th at 8 a.m., in order for us to develop the final details of the plans. We also need to know which children need bus transportation. The CDC shares the safest plan for transportation is for the parents to transport children to and from school.

I have attached the CDC Back to School Decision Making Tool to assist parents in your decision and the following link also has helpful information for parents.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/parent-checklist.html

Once your choice is made, due to the availability of resources, spacing, and staffing, changes will need to be considered on a one-by-one basis before approval to change will be determined.  Currently, 70% of our families are opting for in person instruction 5 days a week. After the first quarter, all three options will be reviewed. We hope to get schedules and class lists out to students and families next week.

Parent meetings are being held this week by the principals to share school specific plans and to answer questions. Student orientation information, virtual open houses, and training videos will also be shared in the near future. Attached you will find the student handbook addendum which outlines the details regarding expectations and steps put into place. If you have questions, please contact your school principal.

I have also attached a helpful document to assist you when checking for symptoms each day.

We know these are challenging times with many details to be sorted through. The important things are making sure safety precautions are in place and students have a positive school experience. The Bangor School Department stands ready to provide a high quality experience for students and to follow the guidance from the Maine CDC and Maine Department of Education.

Be well,

Betsy M. Webb, Ed.D.