Return to School Committee launched, consisting of Steve Nolan, Beth Ahlholm, Nancy Stover, Tamra Philbrook, Kate Race, Matt Carlson, Sue Hoxie, Casey Lufkin, Linda Trenholm, Matt Lash, Linda Pease, Kayla Sikora, Justin Kangas, Karen Pike, Christina Wotton, Christina Labbe, Julia Levensaler, Karen Brackett, Gabrielle LaPerriere and Jamie White.

Roles and responsibilities of Return to School Committee defined and assigned through the formation of subcommittees created to address Governance, Instruction, Wellness, Technology, Post Secondary, Facilities, School Operations and Technology based on the Return to School Map.

Vision statement in line with local values and community need articulated: Inspiring students to achieve life-long success by creating a plan that accounts for the health and safety of students and staff.

Regular meeting schedule instituted for Return to School Committee.

Additional capacity and support being assessed through each subcommittee.

District-level Pandemic Response Committee established to include Return to School Committee members, as well as representative stakeholders, such as teachers, community partners and parents as appropriate, including survey feedback from staff and families, to address operations, planning, logistics, and finance/administration.

District Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan amended to include annex for Infectious Diseases.

Meetings with key stakeholders to understand their expectations continue to take place.

Communication protocols and tools for information sharing between local and state public health agencies and policy leaders as well as district stakeholders relative to return to school being refined and updated.

The District Return to School Committee and District Pandemic Response Committees will collaborate to facilitate communication and shared understanding.

Scenario plan with Pandemic Response Committee and Return to School Committee by developing a three-tiered approach to returning to school.

Do When Schools are Open and Operating...

• Continue District Pandemic Response Committee workflows based on community pandemic-response alert level.

• Provide consistent updates on return to school work and pandemic response planning with district stakeholders.

• Conduct a post-mortem of the Return to School Committee’s work and codify recommendations for future improvement.

• Update the Return to School Committee’s procedures and processes based on post-mortem conclusions and recommendations.

Instruction

RSU 40 Return to Instruction and Wellness working group- Christina Wotton, Karen Brackett, Casey Lufkin, Christina Labbe, Nancy Stover, Kayla Sikora, Tamra Philbrook, Beth Ahlholm, Jamie White, Gabrielle LaPerriere, Audrey Ennamorati, and Torry Verrill.

Goal - Every RSU 40 student will be on track for success academically, socially, and emotionally by the end of the 2022 school year. This will include developing a process for schools to create and implement plans for students based on their needs.

Plan for assessing students’ social-emotional and academic levels that includes multiple forms of assessment (e.g., diagnostics, formative assessments, student work, conferences, advisories, parent feedback).

• • • Family Pathways - choices about communication and learning preferences

    • Academic - teacher and team created assessments

    • System for frequently checking in with kids and families

Intervention programs and services:

• • • Prescott Memorial School - Interventionists (1.5), Ed-tech support (1), "What I Need" (WIN) time

    • Miller School - Reading Recovery (1), Reading Interventionist (1), PBIS Tier 1 and Advanced Tier Team, Instructional Coach (1), Ed Tech support (2)

    • Warren Community School - Interventionists (2), Reading Recovery (1), Ed-tech support (2)

    • Union Elementary School - Interventionists (1.5), Ed-tech support (1)

    • Friendship Village School - Interventionists (1.5), Ed-tech support (1)

    • Medomak Middle School - Math Interventionist (1), Reading Interventionist (1), PBIS Tier 1 and Advanced Tier Team, Rivers Alternative Middle School

    • Medomak Valley High School - Recover/Excel Period (REP) daily, English and math Labs, Adult and Community Education, Plato, Current Google Sheets lists of students who need to make up work and still earn credit, as well as lists of students needing to retake classes (not passing before school closure)

    • District-Wide- School Counselors, Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Team, School-Wide Social and Emotional Learning (SWSEL) Team, Student Assistance Team (SAT), Health Center, School Social Workers, School Nurses, Administrators, School Resource Officer, Jobs for Maine Graduates Program Instructor, Sweetser Counselors, Mental Health Coordinator, Gifted and Talented Teachers, English Language Learners Teacher, Homeless and Foster Care Liaison, Rivers Alternative Middle School, Accipiter

Most vulnerable students

• • • Special Education Students (LEAD, Composite, Day Treatment, STEP, Resource, Speech, and Language)- Highest need are those who were not able to access learning after the COVID-19 shutdown

    • Homeless Students

    • English Language Learners

    • Students who cannot access remote learning

    • Students at risk for dropping out

    • Migrant Students

    • Students who live in poverty

    • Students directly affected by COVID-19 due to a death or job loss in their family

Connect with Maine Department of Education and RSU 40 School Board about changes to testing, grading, report cards, and promotion policies, and outline decision points.

Ensure that schools and teachers are engaging in intentional curriculum planning using the Understanding by Design framework to ensure continuity of instruction.

• • • Professional Learning Time on Wednesday

    • Eduplanet21

Secure resources and plan restorative supports and professional learning offerings for teachers around COVID-19 and trauma, equity and implicit bias, Social-Emotional Learning, inclusion and appropriate use of digital and online learning tools and systems, and community support.

• • • Second Step Curriculum (PK-8)

    • School-Wide Social Emotional Learning Team/School Counselors

    • Social-Emotional Team

    • Restorative Practices

Communicate an overall plan for assessment for when students return to school that includes timelines for giving assessments, analyzing data, and making adjustments to curriculum and academic goals based on the data.

• • • District Assessment Calendar

Assess the capacity of structures outside of the regular school day, such as summer learning options, extended day, and after-school programming, to potentially be leveraged to support students in need of learning recovery.

Communicate decisions and guidance around grading, report cards, attendance, and promotion policies with school leaders, teachers, and parents.

• • • Elementary

    • Middle School

    • High School

Align expectations around school communities, including students, teachers, school leaders, and parents, that prioritize the whole child, and emphasize a tone of safety, togetherness, and empathy.

Continue to meet with leadership teams around curriculum pacing and ongoing monitoring of student progress, specifically honing in on the progress of the most vulnerable students or student populations.

Gather feedback on the effectiveness of any remote learning experiences by surveying school leaders, teachers, and parents.

Continue planning procedures for In-Person (Green), Hybrid (Yellow), and Remote Learning (Red)

• • • RSU 40 School Reopening Scenarios for Families

    • RSU 40 School Reopening Scenarios for Staff

Wellness

Utilize our district-wide Social and Emotional Learning Team to focus on student and staff mental health and wellness.

Continue to access and assess resources (school-based health center at MVHS, School Nurses, Mental Health Coordinator, school-based counselors, and social workers) to determine needs for external supports.

Use completed staff and family survey data to assess mental health readiness and direct outreach as needed.

Provide resources for staff self-care.

Collaborate with the Maine Department of Education to understand and access newly available resources for student and staff mental health and wellness support.

Provide a way for district stakeholders to address concerns resulting from COVID-19.

Communicate with parents the return to school transition information including:

• • • Understanding normal behavioral response to crises

    • General best practices of talking through trauma with children

Offer school-level outreach and/or resources to students in need.

Continue adding mental health assessment services including crisis management support as needed.

Set district-wide health guidelines.

• • • At a minimum, any child who develops symptoms related to COVID-19 will be provided a mask, isolated with staff on campus in a designated area, and then sent home.

    • School nurses and other healthcare providers should use Standard and Transmission-Based Precautions when caring for sick people.

    • At a minimum, any school staff who develops symptoms related to COVID-19 should be provided a mask if necessary, sent home, and/or isolated on campus in a designated area.

    • Sick staff members and students must use home isolation until they meet the criteria for returning to school. (Maine DOE).

Provide guidance to schools for changes to school-based health screening (hearing, vision, etc.).

Encourage schools to implement a check-in (i.e. options for family connections) for all students.

Do When Schools are Open and Operating...

• Review assessment data gathered by schools to identify overall trends and specific gaps in student learning to design targeted supports and match appropriate interventions (potentially maintain the Return to Instruction working group to do this work).

• Conduct checkpoints with school leaders around curriculum pacing and ongoing monitoring of student progress, specifically honing in on the progress of the most vulnerable students or student populations.

• Develop targeted intervention plans to stopgap learning loss for the most vulnerable students.

• Assess the efficacy of all academic and social-emotional interventions against the goal of ensuring that every student is on track by the end of the 2022 school year, and report out the results on a quarterly basis.

• Evaluate the effectiveness of any remote learning experiences by surveying school leaders, teachers, and parents to gather their feedback and input, to make improvements in case of any additional disruptions to school time.

• Encourage schools to implement a mental health screening for all students.

• Establish ongoing reporting protocols for school staff to evaluate physical and mental health status. At this time, there is no guidance indicating that students would submit to a physical examination before entering the school building.

• Devices and applications needed to support remote/home learning will be provided for students and teachers in alignment with instructional technology planning and objectives.

• The instructional technology team will continue to work to improve inventory, access to, and evaluation of technology services and equipment.

• Tools and procedures for tracking and responding to issues, repairs, and other support have been planned for both in-person and remote learning for students and staff.

• School administrators or their identified staff will act as school-family technology liaisons to support communication regarding the use of technology.

• Online resources and communications for staff and families will be centralized using GoogleWorkspace, ParentSquare and Infinite Campus.

• Registration of new students and updating of contact information is now online using Infinite Campus.

• Improved monitoring and instruction delivery (remote and classroom) is being implemented through the use of GoGuardian.

• Improved information for the community will be provided through an update district website during school year 2021/2022.

Our goal maintains the percentage of Medomak Valley High School students (50-60%) that typically enroll in and attend postsecondary training, recognizing the severe financial impact of COVID-19 on students and their families. To track this percentage, the number of students that actually enroll in a postsecondary pathway in the fall is divided by the number of graduating seniors.

The clear priority for our twelfth graders, will be articulated to faculty and district school leaders by our school leaders, including our school counseling department.

Postsecondary Response Team assigned, consisting of Linda Pease, Principal, single point accountability; Tamra Philbrook, Assistant Principal; Kayla Sikora, Adult Education Director; Matthew Lash, Athletic Director; Maida Cordero, Academic Coordinator of MVHS School Counseling Department; Leanne Benner, School Counselor; and Ryan Rice, Jobs for Maine's Graduates Instructor.

Case managers are identified as school counselors with other members of school staff assisting with the goal as needed, as identified in regular meetings. These additional staff people include but are not limited to:

• Principal and Assistant Principals

• Adult Education Director

• Medomak Alternative Program (MAP) Instructor

• Jobs for Maine's Graduates Instructor

• MCST School to Career Coordinator

• Endeavor (Day Treatment) Instructor

• Student Assistance Team Members

• Social Workers

• Special Education Teachers

• 504 Coordinators

• Regular Faculty

Next Steps...

Case Managers (School Counselors) will take the following actions:

• connect on a personal level with twelfth grade students and articulate clear expectations and intentions for the new relationship

• build trust and meeting students where they are emotionally in order to foster the kind of partnership that will lead to healthy and effective advising/counseling

• conduct a first wave of student outreach in the fall of 2021 with a google form survey

• communicate numerous and varied postsecondary learning opportunities including college representative visits, military recruiting opportunities, Outward and Upward Bound recruitment, employment opportunities

• close the gap between what is offered for opportunities and what is actually accessed by students and families

• monitor progress with the post secondary plan by holding frequent check-ins

• identify barriers for individual students (health, computer access, internet, food) and seeking to mitigate the barriers with students and families

• continue outreach to invite institutions of higher education, military, and workforce organizations to attract student knowledge and interest

• plan and refine strategies to meet the postsecondary goal for all students

• collect data from post graduates entering post secondary education this fall.

• conduct one on one senior interviews with school counselors and each senior interview to identify the following:

• phone number, social media accounts, and preferred method of communication

• career goal(s) for the student

• intended post secondary pathway

• post secondary plan or goal pre COVID-19 and now

• risks or barriers (i.e., what are the top three concerns she/he has that might stand in the way of achieving that goal)

• whether a student completed his/her FAFSA (as-self reported by student)

• whether the student would be first in his/her family to enroll in a postsecondary pathway

Data collection will take place throughout throughout the year to determine if a student is on track, within reach, or off track regarding their stated postsecondary goal.

Data systems will be utilized to hold information including google form results, google docs and spreadsheets, and Infinite Campus modules for the specific purpose of articulating postsecondary goals.

Audit necessary materials and supply chain for cleaning, disinfecting, and preventing spread of disease: The district has O2Prime in all buildings in addition to updated cleaning chemicals that cleans and disinfects. Procured alcohol-based sanitizer that can be refilled easily (in spray bottles) and be used on hands and surfaces.

Provide guidance for cleaning and disinfecting all core assets, including school buildings and playgrounds commensurate with the alert level when school resumes: The custodial staff has been fully trained on new products and floor equipment. Supplies: enough cleaning supplies on hand for first half of the year including Micro-fiber cloths, paper towels, toilet paper, hand soap have been purchased. Have on hand 3,500 masks and 5,000 rubber gloves. Teachers will help with sanitizing during the day in their classrooms. Custodians will be spending the majority of their time disinfecting when students are gone; however, bathrooms will need constant disinfecting during the days as well as common touch-points. The custodians schedules will be adjusted according to need.

Alert school-based janitorial and infection control staff of any changes in recommended cleaning guidelines issued by OSHA and CDC. It is expected that this guidance will be updated in real-time based on circulating levels of the virus in local geographies.

Establish procedures for the first day of school based on alert level: Guidance for return to school procedures must be based on recommendations by the CDC and local health officials. These recommendations will be based on community risk.

• • Limit access to a small number of fixed entrances to ensure that persons entering are required to be present. One way in, one way out protocol. Foot traffic control plan are being developed for each school including student drop off/ pick up.

  • There will be signage that hand sanitizer must be applied before entrance to building. Students' hands will be sanitized upon entering the buildings and throughout the day.

  • Developing vehicle traffic pattern plans and drop off procedure. No parents out of the car.

  • A plan must be created to limit the number of outside visitors to each building. Visitors and vendors by appointment only. Mask and proper hand sanitizing required Protocols to be created and followed which includes entering and exiting the building.

  • Any person with a cough or a respiratory issue cannot attend school. If this occurs during the school day, the student or staff member should immediately report to the nurse for additional screening and possible isolation.

Do When Schools are Open and Operating...

• Issue updated guidance to schools on infection control relative to alert level for Maine Department of Education (MDOE) of green, yellow and red.

Student enrollment and attendance policies assessed.

Collaboration with the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) to understand and access new resources is ongoing.

Collaboration with the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) to understand the ability to amend school schedules is ongoing.

Guidance and best-practices to school leaders for recruiting, interviewing, and hiring staff remotely is ongoing.

Staffing guidance provided to schools.

Legal counsel consulted to preemptively address liability questions, related concerns, or vendor issues relative to COVID-19 and socialize with school leaders.

School leaders engaged in a budgeting exercise to help them plan for changing enrollment patterns, new staffing needs, and resource constraints or additional dollars.

Policies and procedures for extracurriculars and athletics including the allowance of spectators, close-contact sports, and equipment sterilization based on CDC and MPA guidance established and ongoing. A working document, the Medomak Valley High School Summer Sports Covid-19 Protocols, has been created for the procedures of extracurricular activities and athletics for Phase I and Phase II with Phases III and IV being added as available for all sports including close-contact sports. This document will become the district's 7-12 procedures. Our middle school's Bus Line League follows most Maine Principal's Association guidance and rules for practice and competition.

• Allowance of spectators will follow Maine Department of Education, Maine Principal's Association and CDC guidelines as they are released.

• Equipment sterilization procedures and other safety protocols are outlined in the Medomak Valley High School Athletic Emergency Action Plan, following guidance from above agencies. This document will be updated to include the middle school and will then become the RSU 40 Athletic Emergency Action Plan.

Collaborate with transportation vendors to implement a bussing plan that meets social distancing requirements, if necessary (including pick-up, in-transit, and drop off) and cleaning and disinfection protocols. We are engaging local bussing companies as well as procuring more vehicles.

Evaluate whether new food vendors need to be sourced if there is a change in requirements (e.g., individually packaged items) based on CDC guidance in order to feed students both who are in school and those doing remote learning.

Do When Schools are Open and Operating...

• Continue to update athletic and extracurricular policies and procedures as information becomes available from relevant agencies.