Many factors were used to organize students into the A and B groups. To efficiently and effectively transport students to school with the goal of students who live in the same household attending school on the same day, bussing routes were used. All students are organized by bussing zones even those who walk or are transported to school. Efforts were made to balance classrooms to avoid that were too large or too small. Established groupings have little to no flexibility once established.
The RSU 39 Remote Learning Task Team, a group of key employees, educators, parents, community members, and health care officials, was charged with reviewing safety guidance from local, state, and federal health and education officials. The district also considered feedback from parent and teacher surveys distributed over the summer. The RSU 39 Administration team developed an Instructional Continuity Plan to ensure that learning will continue throughout the year. This plan provides a robust framework that expands on the current RSU 39 at-home virtual learning platform and provides additional guidance and support for any future extended periods of closure.
Virtual instruction will only be offered at Caribou Community School if and when the school enters into the red model of instruction. High school parents may elect to have their children continue to participate in virtual instruction for a portion of the year or the entire school year. For high school students, this requires applying to Blended Learning through the Alternative Education Program. Interested families should contact the Caribou High School guidance department for assistance with this process.
High School parents choosing the option to learn remotely must sign an agreement committing to virtual learning for the trimester for their student. The trimester in which the decision is made and paperwork is submitted you cannot change and come back to in-person instruction in the middle of a trimester. If you decide to do remote schooling then you must stay remote for the entire trimester we cannot have students decide on any given day whether they want to attend school in person or remotely. THIS IS NOT AN OPTION! At the end of the trimester, a parent can request an extension from the school principal.
The district will remain in close contact with federal, state, and local health and education officials and make necessary adjustments to the target dates for in-person instruction if COVID-19 conditions change.
The first day for RSU 39 high school teachers is August 18. Caribou Community School is September 1st. CHS is in a remote setting until 9/3. Students will return to the classrooms for in-person green learning on 9/7/21. CCS is still scheduled to start on 9/1 in a green learning model but with masks, social distancing, and handwashing required.
Safety protocols will include requiring all RSU 39 employees, students, and visitors to undergo entry screenings, wear face coverings, wash hands regularly, and practice physical distancing. The district will provide enough hand soap, paper towels, tissues, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant to accommodate frequent cleaning.
Schools will limit visitors and will notify the community of the updated visitation procedures when appropriate.
Students who are engaged in daily learning as defined below will be considered “present” and will not be marked absent.
Participation by the student is mandatory when school is in session and their daily participation will be determined by attendance. Teachers have been instructed to take attendance for each class period if a student shows up for class via zoom, meets, or Schoology conferencing then they are marked as "Remote Present" and we are keeping track in our school's student information system electronically. We are also checking log-in statistics of the RSU 39 Learning Management System, and the learner's completion of independent reading and work assignments.
Interaction with the teacher as part of live or small group instruction, and/or submission of assignment(s) via the district's LMS.
Daily attendance procedures will be adhered to, which means teachers will take attendance and our district's automated attendance caller will notify parents and students by absence notifications via Alert Solutions after 6:00 p.m. each day and will be reminded of the opportunity to resolve that day’s absence.
If a student is engaged in remote learning and completes the entire weeks’ worth of learning activities on Monday and does not log in for the remainder of the week, he/she will be marked “present” on Monday only and counted “absent” for Tuesday-Friday. RSU 39 Policy still requires students on virtual days to attend at least 90% of their classes to receive credit and be promoted. Remote attendance will count in the same manner as on-campus (face-to-face) attendance in satisfying this requirement.
A high school student should not be working during the day and just completing assignments work. All students must be present even on remote learning days and participating in daily class activities.
Classrooms will be reconfigured to ensure physical distancing. Student assemblies will be held virtually. The school has established isolation areas for students and adults who are flagged during entry screening.
Transportation Services will enhance cleaning protocols and implement physical distancing for all buses and buildings. The department also will implement contingency plans for responding to student bus riders and bus drivers who develop a presumed or confirmed case of COVID-19.
RSU 39 Facilities, Maintenance, and Operations employees will follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines regarding the cleaning, sanitation, and disinfection of district facilities. The district will provide enough hand soap, paper towels, tissues, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant to accommodate frequent cleaning.
How do parents obtain technology for their child(ren) during virtual learning?
RSU 39 provides 1:1 devices for all students in grades Prek through grade 12. If we go into virtual learning for an extended period of time the district may send home devices with the students. Parents should contact their child's teacher for technology issues and/or instructions for accessing Schoology (district's LMS) or anything else needed for virtual learning to accomplish classroom learning. They may also email the Technology Staff directly at support@rsu39.org.
Once in-person instruction begins, Nutrition Services will provide breakfast, lunch, snacks, and after-school suppers in classrooms for students engaged in in-person learning. Curbside meals will be available for students enrolled in virtual learning. Employees will continue to accommodate student health, medical, and special dietary needs, as well as allergy concerns. Department employees will follow public health hygiene recommendations and enhance custodial cleaning and surface disinfection.
Extracurricular activities will follow the same safety practices employed on school campuses during the school day. School-based extracurricular activities will resume when in-person instruction begins. Face coverings must be made available to and worn by students and teachers during all extracurricular activities. Student sporting events are tentatively scheduled for the fall, but RSU 39 Athletics will adjust plans as needed if COVID-19 conditions change.
Fine Arts will reduce class sizes and maintain guidelines for physical distancing. Students will not be allowed to share personal belongings, equipment, or other items.
RSU 39 has received guidance that field trips to visit non-RSU 39 facilities are safe at this time. Field trips that will enance our students' learning opportunities will be scheduled.
Students enrolled in remote instruction follow the same grading guidelines as in-person instruction. Teachers will receive support and guidance on effective grading practices to ensure that grading guidelines are followed in both instructional models. Teachers will post grades on a weekly basis. Courses taken as Dual Credit or Dual Enrollment will be subject to the grading policies of the Institution of Higher Education issuing the college credit.
Additional information on grades:
Grades will be recorded each trimester for CHS, CCS during the 2021-2022 school year.
All summative grades will be used in the calculation of the final average for any class or course.
Teachers will be recording grades, which will be available for parents and students to access through the Schoology learning management system l (log-in information has already been provided to all parents via email). The learning management systems environment will allow parents to be more involved and informed. This platform makes it easy to monitor their child's RSU 39 educational experience.
A parent mobile app complete with notifications can be downloaded to your smartphone for instant communication with the classroom teacher.