The district has developed three scenarios (Red, Yellow, Green) that use a color-coded system designed to inform important decisions and details around reopening in the fall. This color-coded system also allows us to quickly adapt to the ever-changing nature of COVID-19. Each scenario takes into account a wide range of considerations centered around the health, safety and well-being of our entire community. The district’s system is informed by the state’s color-coded health advisory system for each Maine county, which is being updated every two weeks.
Red suggests a high risk and that in-person instruction should not be conducted.
Yellow suggests an elevated risk and that hybrid instruction models should be conducted with heightened health and safety protocols.
Green suggests a relatively low risk and that in-person instruction can be conducted with heightened health and safety protocols.
Due to relatively low transmission rates of COVID-19 in Southern Maine, the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) and Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC) have given Cumberland County a “Green” designation, deeming it safe to proceed with in-person learning in the fall. On August 20th, PPS' Board voted unanimously to accept the reopening plan recommended by the superintendent.
PPS will delay the start of the new school year until September 14th
Despite the green county designation, PPS plans to adopt a hybrid (Yellow) learning model for returning to school in an effort to err on the side of being more conservative about health and safety concerns. A hybrid model limits the time or number of students in person at school depending on grade level, with students and staff following the required state health and safety protocols that include mask wearing, physical distancing, and daily symptom checks.
A remote learning option with consistent schedules and learning experiences also will be available for families who opt not to attend in-person school.
If elementary school students and staff successfully adjust to the required health and safety guidelines in the first month of school, PK - 5 will return full-time on October 13th.
Pushing back the start of school until mid-September will allow us additional time for teacher planning (including for the remote learning option that will be offered at all levels) and for staff to prepare for all the safety precautions that must be in place before students enter buildings. In addition, this gives us time to hold student/family orientation sessions prior to the first day.
PPS Elementary learners will start the Fall 2020 school year in a YELLOW (hybrid) learning scenario:
Hybrid to start the school year (Sept 14-Oct 12)
Students will attend 2 days per week and will be remote 3 days per week (ABxAB = one group of students will attend Monday and Thursday and the other half Tuesday and Friday); 5 hours per day; special considerations for special education (SPED) and intensive English language development (IELD) students (see questions Q.10 and Q.11)
Wednesday is a remote day for all students
School day start- and end-times:
7:45am – 12:30pm: Group 1: EECS, Longfellow, Talbot, OAES
8:45am – 1:30pm: Group 2: Reiche, Presumpscot, Lyseth, Rowe
If all goes as planned, all students return for full-time in-person schooling (Oct 13)
5 days per week, 5 hours per day
Note that Peaks Island School and Cliff Island School will begin the year at five days a week, 5 hours per day
Partner site PreK locations include: St. Elizabeth’s Child Development Center, Catherine Morrill Day Nursery, Youth and Family Outreach (8:30am-3pm)
Key aspects of Elementary reopening plan:
Recognizes science that suggests that COVID-19 transmission is lowest with this age level
Leverages the 3-foot classroom physical distancing option allowed by the state for masked elementary school students (6-foot distancing will be observed during meal times)
Recognizes that students and families depend on schools and that students need peer interaction for social emotional health
Is structured to allow teachers to manage both their in-person student groups and to engage with their remote student groups on a daily basis for feedback and support
Requires extended after-school care programming with community partners
PPS Middle School learners will start the Fall 2020 school year in a YELLOW (hybrid) learning scenario:
Hybrid for first trimester (Sept-Nov)
All students will attend 2 days per week and will be remote 3 days per week (ABxAB = one group of students will attend Monday and Thursday and the other half Tuesday and Friday); 5 hours per day; student groupings remain consistent and teachers rotate; special considerations for SPED and intensive English learning development (IELD) students (see questions Q.10 and Q.11)
School day start starts at 9:45am and ends at 2:30pm
5 days per week, approximately 5 hours per day
Key aspects of Middle School reopening plan:
Recognizes science that suggests that COVID-19 transmission for teens is similar to adults
Recognizes that students and families depend on schools and that students need peer interaction for social emotional health
Leverages teaming structures of middle school to maintain stable cohorts to promote student and staff safety
After the first trimester, the possibility of more in-person learning at the middle school will be reassessed.
PPS High School learners will start the Fall 2020 school year in a YELLOW (hybrid) learning scenario:
9th Grade: Hybrid for first trimester (Sept-Nov)
All ninth-graders attend 2 days per week and will be remote 3 days per week (ABxAB = one group of students will attend Monday and Thursday and the other half Tuesday and Friday); schedule is 6 hours per day (3 hours in- person instruction, 3 hours of Learning Center -- see Q.7 for more details); special considerations for SPED and intensive English learning development (IELD) students.
Wednesday is a remote day for all students
10th-12th Grades: Learning Center for first trimester (Sept-Nov) or semester (Sept-Dec)
All tenth- through twelfth-graders attend remotely and may access in-person Learning Center supports up to 4 days per week; schedule is 6 hours per day (3 hours remote instruction, 3 hours of learning center); special considerations for SPED and IELD students.
All tenth-through twelfth-graders have one day per week in person during learning center time for advisory and other supports.
School day starts at 9:30am and ends at 3:30pm
Instructional Blocks run from 9:30am – 12:30pm
Learning Center available from 1:15pm – 3:30pm
Key aspects of High School reopening plan:
Recognizes the science that suggests that COVID-19 transmission for teens is similar to adults
Recognizes that comprehensive high schools are only able to meet best practices for stable cohorts at the 9th grade
Students would attend Learning Center as needed/required for academic and social-emotional support and peer-interaction activities
If the high school plan is going well, with protocols being followed and Cumberland County still in the state’s green category, the district hopes to try to maximize in-person learning time for students in grades 10-12 starting in October.
Under the hybrid high school model, students in grades 10-12 would take their courses remotely but would participate in the Learning Center in the afternoons. The Learning Center is designed to be a responsive structure that students will access if they need in-person help with their classes, have other staff needs (i.e., counseling, therapy) and for structured activities such as assemblies (which would be small, structured and consistent with health and safety protocols) and clubs, etc. Students can attend by choice and by appointment only (for the purpose of contact tracing) or will be scheduled by the school.
The rationale for coursework for this grade range being remote is tied to several factors:
Data suggests that there is a higher risk for teenagers who contract COVID-19 of becoming ill and having serious negative outcomes similar to those of adults up to age 50.
The way that high school courses are usually structured, students mix constantly. A student's classmates for each class may be an entirely new cohort of students. If a student became sick under those. circumstances, the circle of possible contacts is very large. With the possibility of having to quarantine and disinfect any time that happens, we would likely need to close the school entirely rather than have a small group of students quarantine/get sick if a classmate becomes ill.
With 9th graders, we will offer more limited curriculum/course options so students will largely remain in a small cohort.
Yes. For families who are not comfortable sending their child(ren) to school in the green or yellow scenarios, they will have the option to access fully remote learning.
Elementary and middle school students will be assigned to appropriate staff in our district-wide remote teaching pool; peers will be other remote-only students and teachers may not be from the student’s neighborhood school. We will prioritize matching students with teachers in their neighborhood school to the greatest extent possible, but that will depend on the number of teachers from a particular school in the remote teaching pool instead of teaching in person.
High school students will be assigned to appropriate courses taught by appropriately licensed personnel who may or may not be teaching remote-only within their home school.
Based on feedback received from families, students and educators, students and families can expect the following:
Learning Experience:
For Students:
Every student has a designated Portland Promise Point Person
Every student experiences a regular advisory/morning meeting
Every student experiences a set of consistent learning experiences
For Educators:
Educators prioritize essential standards to focus learning in remote and hybrid scenarios
All schools follow a common schedule arc to ensure a more consistent experience for all students
All students will receive regular, meaningful feedback, in person and remote
Support Systems:
Prioritize students’ social emotional learning
Streamlined use of technology platforms to simplify and strengthen effectiveness for staff and families
Each grade span has a consistent approach to taking attendance
Consistent School Kick-Off aligned to scenario and mindful of student needs coming off the spring
All students will have access to developmentally appropriate physical materials for remote learning
*If your student is not receiving the consistencies listed above, please notify your school principal directly.
Yellow and Green Scenarios:
In-person instruction up to 4 days per week
Students temporarily assigned to a cohort led by an EL teacher as a “sheltered English class”
Prioritized for receiving a 1:1 learning device and hotspot in order to access remote learning and supplemental online materials
Parents/Families will receive ongoing and multilingual technical support with technology and remote learning
Physical and health safety training provided in home language
Red Scenario:
IELD students will be eligible to receive physically distanced in-person support from teachers and ed techs as appropriate. Specific learning centers will be designated in key schools across the city
Increased health and safety precautions will be closely followed including spacing and Personal Protective Equipment requirements for students and staff
Cognitive Academic Language Support (CALS) students can access designated learning centers along with IELD students during periods of remote learning
Students with disabilities will continue to receive services across all continuum of Special Education to meet their Individualized needs:
Special education and gifted services and programs will be aligned with District-wide Consistencies across each scenario
Every member of the Special Education and Chapter 104 staff will serve as a Portland Promise Point Person
Services will be delivered in consistent, small-group cohorts, and whenever possible, in the students’ general education cohort
Related services (Speech/Language, OT, PT, Social Work) will be delivered in person to the greatest extent possible and through remote teletherapy if necessary
If remote learning is in place (Yellow or Red), most students will receive some/all services remotely (specially designed instruction and/or teletherapy)
In a Red scenario, district programs (Bridge, Beach, Breathe) will be prioritized for some level of in-person instruction. Increased health and safety precautions will be closely followed including spacing and Personal Protective Equipment requirements for students and staff
Individual plans will be made for students who are unable to participate in school through the IEP process.