Dear Families of Portland Middle School,

I hope that this message finds you well, and that you have been finding opportunities to enjoy some of the many pleasures this time of year has to offer that are still available to you. This has been quite an interesting summer to say the least. I have been overwhelmed by all of the incredible individuals that I have had the opportunity to meet over my first few days in Portland. I have no doubt that even despite the barriers that COVID-19 has placed before us, we will make this a fantastic year for the students of Portland Middle School. New years always come with feelings of both anticipation and anxiety for what the new year will bring, and the unique circumstances of opening schools this fall only amplify those. My hope is that the the information provided on this site will provide a bit of clarity that will help to lessen that anxiety and have students and families looking forward to that first day of school.

District and school administrators, teachers and members of the community have spent the last few weeks using the Connecticut State Department of Education requirements and guidelines to create our own plans for re-opening our schools for all students. Having worked through a myriad of details related to health and safety, we are now turning our attention to planning around three models of re-entry. These are a full time return to school for all students (Option A), a hybrid approach that will have students spending part of the week in school and part of the week in distance learning (Option B), and return to distance learning with a greater emphasis on synchronous instruction (Option C). Along with these models, we are also preparing for students who will be unable to return to the building in the fall, should we follow either option A or B. The details around these plans will continue to develop as we start a school based re-opening Task Force in August, and new information and resources from the state become available.

This website will continue to be updated as these plans evolve, so check back often. Dr. Britton and I will be holding a town forum on Thursday, August 6th at 6 pm. Here is a link to that Zoom meeting. The Meeting ID is 607 189 5486, and the Password is Portland. This will be an opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback, as it is important that your voices be heard in order to have the best plans in place. I will also continue to hold weekly meet and greets throughout the summer. I look forward to seeing and hearing from you.

I hope you continue to enjoy the long summer days, be safe and stay well!

Sincerely,

Chuck