JAY — Thursday, August 13, following a lengthy discussion about school reopening possibilities Regional School Unit 73 directors voted to use hybrid model A. Joel Pike was the only director opposed.

“We’re still getting significant information about bus runs, etc. I feel a lot more details still need to be worked out. Some parents may have more questions now,” Pike said.

The vote followed a Zoom videoconferencing meeting that at one point had almost 170 parents, directors, staff and community members attending digitally.

Last week, directors approved the reopening school plan but tabled a decision on which model to use until after the public had a chance to learn more about the proposals. It was announced then that parents may choose to have their children use full remote instruction regardless of which model was chosen for the district.

Thursday Rob Taylor and Cherie Parker first gave a presentation on the district’s return to school plan, also found on the district’s website.

“The big goal is to open safely. We want every kid to reach their potential,” Taylor said.

Taylor shared the following information on the guidelines and protocols put forth by the Maine Department of Education and Center for Disease Control the district must follow:

Symptom screening before coming to school: 

• Students: Parents will be provided with daily screening questions

• Staff: school provided screening daily

Social distancing:

• 3 feet of distance is acceptable between and among students when combined
with the other measures outlined in this list of safety requirements.

• 6 feet of physical distancing is required for students while eating breakfast and
lunch, as students will be unable to wear masks at that time.

• Adults must maintain 6 feet of distance from others to the extent possible

• A “medical isolation room” will be designated for students/staff who exhibit
COVID-19 symptoms during the school day.

Masks/face coverings: 

• Adults, including educators and staff, are required to wear a mask/face covering.

• Students age five and above are required to wear a mask/face covering that
covers their nose and mouth.

• Masks are recommended for children ages two to four, when developmentally
appropriate.

• Masks/face coverings must be worn by all students on the bus.

Hand hygiene: 

• Students and staff in a school must receive training in proper hand hygiene

• Students and staff must wash hands or use sanitizing gel upon entering the
school, before and after eating, before and after donning or removing a face
mask, after using the restroom, before and after use of playgrounds and shared
equipment, and upon entering and exiting a school bus.

PPE (Personal protective equipment): 

• Additional safety precautions are required for school nurses and/or any staff
supporting students in close proximity, when distance is not possible, or when
student require physical assistance.

• Mask, eye protection (goggles or shield), gloves, gown, etc.

• Classrooms and/or areas that have been used by an individual diagnosed with
Covid-19 must be closed off until thorough cleaning and sanitation takes place.

Return to school after illness:

• Staff and students must stay home until they meet the criteria set to return to
school.

• RSU 73 will work within the Maine CDC guidelines for notification, cleaning and
return to in-person instruction.

“Our schools are very full. We don’t have a lot of space. We’ll need to run a model with half of our kids. We feel fortunate we can offer that,” Taylor said.

Students would be broken into two groups or cohorts. Cohort A on Monday and Tuesday would have full in-person instruction while Cohort B would learn remotely on those days. The cohorts would switch on Wednesday and Thursday. There would be no new learning on Friday, unless students couldn’t attend earlier in the week.

Students who attend the life skills program and behavioral program would attend Monday through Thursday.

Students would be broken up by last name, with Cohort A likely being for those A through J and Cohort B for K through Z, Superintendent Scott Albert said. Efforts will be made to keep family members with different last names in the same cohort, he added.

“There will be 2 bus runs, with 1 student per seat, with family members sitting together. We will have to double the bus runs to transport half the kids,” Taylor said.

Another change is that each student will have one designated pickup and drop off location.

That will be the biggest change for parents, no bus passes, Parker said.

“Students are assigned a room and desk, now they will be assigned a seat on the bus,” she said.

Parent pick up and drop off locations will be different for each school, Parker said.

Students will have to wait to enter school until the doors are opened in the morning and no parents will be allowed in the buildings, she added.

Each building now has 3 water bottle fillers and each school will have some reusable, refillable water bottles, Parker said. Parents are encouraged to send water bottles with their students. The bottles can’t be shared, she added.

During the Q & A, Dr. Steve Bien asked about class size.

“Right now, class size is 21-22. It will be 9-11 if cut in half,” Albert said. About 20% of students will be learning by full remote, he added.

Albert shared the results of the latest school reopening survey. The survey return was 73%, covering 1,003 out of 1,389 students:

• What form of instruction was preferred for the first quarter of the school year found 77.4% favored attending in-person, 19.8% remotely and 2.5% homeschooled or sent to a virtual academy.

• Just over 600 students would need transportation with about 400 not needing it.

• When asked if there was adequate internet access at home, 92.5% said yes and 7.5% no.

• If 5 days a week in-person instruction were possible for the first quarter, more than 750 were in favor of sending students while about 250 said no.

• When asked about education choices, 55.9% favored full return to class, 14.9% supported completely remote learning, 22.6% favored a hybrid, with 0.3% not sure.

In other business, directors unanimously agreed to a calendar change that would make the first day of school September 8, change late arrival days to Friday to give teachers time for training, and eliminate the early release on September 23.

“We didn’t waive any student days, there are still 175 student days. The time Friday will give an opportunity for staff to work together, connect with students. Farmington Fair isn’t being held this year, didn’t want to mess the students’ schedule up,” Albert said.