Public Information and Announcements

I’m writing you this evening to let you know that we have had three additional cases of COVID-19 in the district. One case was at Mill Stream Elementary School, and two cases were at Skowhegan Area High School.

Today district nurses worked with administration and Maine CDC to verify contacts on these cases. All individuals identified as needing to quarantine from school as a result of these most recent cases have been contacted; a total of 27 individuals were asked to quarantine.

To date, the district has had 45 students quarantine as a result of 10 positive cases. All of the cases we’ve reported thus far have been in unvaccinated individuals. Although quarantine numbers have been substantially reduced by the measures we have in place, there has been a significant impact as a result of close-contacts outside of school, including extracurricular activities.

I’m writing you this evening to let you know that today we identified four additional cases of COVID-19 in the district. One case was at the Mill Stream Elementary School, and three cases were at the Skowhegan Area High School.

District nursing staff are currently reviewing quarantine numbers and will again be following up with Maine CDC for confirmation tomorrow, but at this time it appears that 12 students were close contacts and will have to quarantine.

I’m writing you this evening to let you know that we have had our first positive case in school, at Mill Stream Elementary School. Our nursing staff worked to follow updated quarantine protocols and communicated with Maine CDC. Because of the early nature of the case and the protocols in place, only one individual was required to quarantine as a result of this school exposure.

Link: https://bit.ly/3y2DGtN 

This year school is going to look much similar to pre-pandemic school than it did last year as MSAD 54 moves to return to many of the best practices we've used in the past. The linked letter includes many details including the requirement of masking for everyone in school to start the year. Below are a few of the practices we'll be returning to that are highlighted in the letter:

• All Students will be back in school every day this year PreK through grade 12. 
• We’ll be returning to more traditional schedules for students in each of our schools.  
• Masks will not be required outdoors, including no masks at recess, lessons outside, etc.  
• Co-Curricular groups will begin from day one. (clubs, activities, etc.) 
• Athletics and extra-curriculars will begin from day one. (Sports, Band, Chorus, etc.) 
• Spectators will be allowed at our events this fall. 
• Kids will move in school as they did before, transitioning between classrooms, at recess, etc.  
• Teaching will shift back to best practices that include small groups instruction, etc.  Kids will have more freedom to move throughout the classrooms and their grade levels. 
• Schools will again provide open houses and parent nights for students and parents.   
• Approved volunteers will again be allowed back in schools.  
• Title I programming and student interventions across grade-spans will return. 
• We will continue our trauma informed approach in schools including supports Pre K – 12.   
• We’ll be focusing even more on the social and emotional welfare of our students in all our schools/classrooms from day one, with expanded supports outside the classroom as well.

As part of our return to school we’ll continue to take steps to ensure the safety and well-being of our students. These measures include increased hygiene practices in all schools including:  

• The continued use of hand washing and hand sanitizers 
• The continued use of bottle-filling stations, touchless paper towel dispensers, etc.  
• Continued training on proper hygiene especially for our youngest learners 
• Providing three feet of distance when it is practical to do so (spacing when it makes sense) 
• Requiring masks for any visitor/volunteer in our schools regardless of their vaccination status 
• Limiting outside groups in our schools during the day whenever possible 
• In addition to an in-person option, allowing parents to participate in meetings remotely when it makes sense (parent teacher conferences, etc.) and when they choose to do so.   

Finally, we’ve made some significant advancements over the past year including using federal funds to purchase equipment and programs to benefit our students and our schools. Some of these things include:  

• Hiring additional staff to work with our students 
• Improving technology hardware (tablets and laptops) Pre-K through grade 12 
• Contracting with area social workers and clinical supports for those students who need them 
• Adding support staff including technology support and additional nursing staff in buildings 
• Implementing instructional Programs to support student learning (expanded library resources, student materials, See Saw, IXL, Zoom, etc.) 
• Utilizing trauma based practices and supports for students, families and staff in need 
• Offering interventions, after-school programming and child-care, tutoring, and summer programming 
• Improving classroom instructional tools including interactive boards and other resources 
• And providing additional professional development and support for our teachers.

For further information please review the full letter at: https://bit.ly/3y2DGtN

If your child is unable to attend in-person learning and would like a remote option, you should complete this form: https://forms.gle/XxYdV2nvPkdo2FpT8

Please also take a moment to share your thoughts in the following survey: https://forms.gle/XxYdV2nvPkdo2FpT8

Should you have any other questions don't hesitate to give us a call at school.

Thank you,
MSAD 54

On September 1st of 2021 we will be opening school, and for the first time in two years, we’ll be welcoming ALL of our nearly 2400 students back into our schools together at one time.

Since the beginning, our focus and priority has been to get our kids back in school safely, to keep them in school and moving forward in their learning. For this reason, based on all of the guidance and evidence I have reviewed and the unanimous agreement of our building administrators, I am going to recommend we begin school having everyone mask, even those individuals who have been fully vaccinated. We view this as a temporary necessary move based on the Delta variant and its potential impact to schools.

I would recommend reviewing this decision beginning the second Board meeting of October, and continuing monthly through the year. I’m in hopes that as was the case last year, things will change and improve, and we’ll ultimately be able to move away from universal masking later this year.

Respectfully,

Jon Moody Superintendent of Schools

Dear MSAD 54 Parents, Guardians, Students, and Community,

I hope that you have had the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful Maine summer and hopefully some rejuvenating time with family and friends. Here at school we’ve been hard at work preparing for the upcoming school year and what we hope will be a return to school that looks far more like it did in the past. The goal of this letter is to provide you with a brief update of where things stand nationally, and with our state, and how MSAD 54 is going to approach returning to school on September 1st.

Every year, MSAD 54 invites the public to review the Title I program. This year we are inviting the public to review and comment on MSAD 54’s ESEA application for the school year 2021-2022 at the Mill Stream Elementary School from 1pm–2pm on Thursday, July 22nd. MSAD 54 accepts funding through the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA) of 1965. As part of ESEA, MSAD 54 is required to provide opportunities for public comment on the ESEA application prior to submission. If you have any questions feel free to contact Erin Madore, Title I Director at 474-9508 or emadore@msad54.org.