Parents will have a new route to follow when picking students up after school at Spruce Mountain Elementary School in Jay this year. As seen in this diagram, parents will take the Hyde Road, go past the bus garage to get to the school’s back parking lot and exit onto Route 4. The new route should eliminate backup onto Route 4 which was an issue last year. Submitted photo

JAY — Wednesday, Aug. 31, the first day of school for most students in Regional School Unit 73 will be as normal as possible, Superintendent Scott Albert said at the Board of Directors meeting Thursday evening, Aug. 25.

With the Board’s approval later in the meeting to hire Michael Morrell of Jay – former Board Vice Chair who stepped down last November – as a science teacher at the high school all teaching positions are filled, Albert said. A letter from the school nurses was sent to parents, he noted. It indicated the recommendation for cohorts and distancing has been removed, masking will be optional, and students should still bring water bottles to fill at school fountains.

There still are five education technician positions open – two for special education, two for Title 1, and one for social/emotional learning, one bus driver/custodian and a couple grant funded custodian, Albert noted.

“I think we are in great shape overall,” he said. “I think it says a lot for our district. I think we have done a good job of having good contracts for people, I think they understand that we care about education in these three towns and it looks good for us.”

Interviews have been held for some, there are candidates for other open positions so the district should be in good shape, Albert added.

A change this year at the elementary school came about when the librarian left. The position was filled by the computer instructor but there was no interest shown for the computer one, Principal Pat St. Clair said. He met with Jennifer Stone, the school’s social worker and they decided to instead use that 45 minute frame to focus on healthy living – relationships, eating, and so forth. “It will fill a need for the kids,” he noted. “They won’t be losing academics but will gain so much more.”

When asked if students would still get the computer piece, St. Clair replied that every student has a laptop now, he has talked with the middle school principal to make sure students will be ready when they move up.

“I think [the students] will be all right,” St. Clair said. “I think healthy living is more important right now.”

Homecoming Week at the high school will be the first week of October this year. It will give freshmen a little extra time to learn about the school, Principal TJ Plourde said.

This year high school students will have the opportunity to obtain credit for completing 100 hours of community service which helps towards grade point average, Plourde said. Guidance and main office staff will track student hours and have a list of where volunteers are needed, he noted. There are more opportunities in the summer than winter, he added.

The community service piece hadn’t been done for a while, was started again last year, Plourde noted. Seniors can go back to previous years to get those numbers, he said.

In other business updated student handbooks for the primary, elementary and middle school were approved. One big change at the elementary school is how parents are to pick students up after school. Morning drop off will continue as it was last year by vehicles entering the back parking lot between the tennis courts and the school and making a loop back to Route 4.

A new road has been constructed from that parking lot to School Bus Road. Parents will come down Hyde Road through that new road by the bus garage, pick up their students then exit onto Route 4. “Parents shouldn’t be backed up,” St. Clair said.

Director Joel Pike liked the plan but asked if there had been communication with residents concerning the change. Previously some residents didn’t want as much traffic through there, he noted.

Residents hadn’t been contacted but with pickup to start at 2:08 p.m. and end at 2:20 p.m. at the latest, it is only 12 to 15 minutes tops and shouldn’t be a problem, St. Clair noted. Having all right-hand turns should also help, he added.