Dear Parents and Guardians,
As I visited the buildings over the last week, it was wonderful to see the smiling eyes and feel the excitement from our students who haven’t been all together in a year and a half! At the School Committee meeting this week, our principals provided a first-week return update and reported the enthusiasm throughout their schools--from both their students and teachers--was palpable.
I am very impressed by the sheer volume of work completed by our custodial and maintenance staff, food services and transportation staff, front office assistants and support staff, teachers, educational technicians, and administrators to provide the best possible return for our students. We recognize there are still some logistical challenges--especially transportation--that we need to alter and improve. As we work to improve, I thank you for your patience and understanding and applaud our staff for their continued professionalism, care, flexibility, creativity, and positive attitude as we address each situation.
As we head into this school year, surrounding districts have already had to deal with multiple positive cases and close contact quarantines. Although the positive cases and close contacts within our district have been minimal, we know we are not immune.
Reduced Impact: I’d like to thank parents for their diligence in keeping their child(ren) home when exhibiting any symptoms (linked here) as that undoubtedly limited close contacts and the impact on families to navigate a quarantine situation.
Pooled Testing: I encourage parents to utilize the prevention measures we have available and consent to have their child(ren) participate in pooled testing. Individuals who participate in pooled testing are exempt from quarantine in the classroom, bus, sports, or other school-related activities should they be identified as a close contact (see sign-up information below). Once consents are received, specific pools will be established by our nursing staff based on numbers per classroom/advisory and Pooled Testing will begin on October 4th.
COVID Vaccine Clinic: We have added an additional community-wide COVID Vaccine Clinic on Tuesday, September 21st from 3-6 PM at Biddeford High School’s Tiger Gym for those interested in getting vaccinated (sign-up details below).
Remote Learning: Principals are working directly with their teachers and Curriculum Director/Assistant Superintendent to develop a Plan B of remote learning if/when students are required to quarantine or if an outbreak occurs. Teachers will reach out should this occur utilizing the technology platforms in place (Seesaw/Google Classroom), and the district is developing a plan for devices to be sent home regularly for unforeseen emergencies. In addition, we will ensure there is access to free breakfast and lunch during a remote situation. At this time, the option of full remote learning is not available to our students.
In more exciting news, the Biddeford School Committee, which oversees the Biddeford Regional Center of Technology (COT), voted unanimously to move forward with establishing a Culinary Arts and Hospitality Program. Director Paulette Bonneau noted a proposed plan would need to be submitted to the State by October 1st in order to implement a program by September 2022 (with the ability to delay commencement up to two years, if needed). Although there has been some speculation of utilizing the previous Smitty’s space, we continue to have conversations with the developer and no final decisions have been made at this time. We will keep you informed of the progress of the expanded programming at COT.
I encourage families to review the additional information and complete consent and sign-up links as noted below. If you have any questions, please seek out our official communications avenues or ask for clarification. We are all looking forward to a safe and healthy school year ahead.
Stay Well,
Jeremy Ray
Superintendent of Schools
