Public Information and Announcements
MSAD 54 Superintendent Jonathan Moody met with the State Board of Education on July 14th. The committee unanimously supported approval of the Margaret Chase Smith Site for MSAD 54's building project and approved the process to move forward. For a complete view of the DOE building process visit: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oVXPMm64qdNeQ6_jwRhzD66JM4PrFKTD/view
For agenda and minutes visit: https://www.maine.gov/doe/about/leadership/stateboard/meetings/upcoming…
DOE Exhibit: https://www.maine.gov/doe/sites/maine.gov.doe/files/inline-files/RSU54%…
The next MSAD 54 Building Committee meeting is slated for August 18th, at 6:00 in the SAMS Cafeteria.
MSAD 54 is sharing their federal Funding Plan for the American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds and our effort to complete projects allowing the district to return to full-time in-person instruction for students during the 2021-22 school year. An informational hearing is being held in the Middle School Cafeteria on August 12th, at 6:00 p.m. Additionally, anyone can submit feedback on the plan and the use of federal funds by emailing feedback@msad54.org or calling Superintendent Moody at 474-9508 at any time.
MSAD 54 has used previous federal funds to support the following efforts:
- increasing student access to school (hotspots, staffing, resources, etc.)
- providing food and resources to students who are not in school (bus delivery to homes, remote pickup, equipment, etc.)
- providing safe environments for learning (sanitizer, plexiglass, etc.)
- increasing district air quality (improving air handling systems, improved control systems, etc.)
- increased access to instructional technology for students (purchasing of laptops/tablets K-12, headphones, etc.)
- increased instructional technology for staff (classroom promethean boards, laptops, iPads, headsets, projectors, etc.)
- providing personal protective equipment for staff & students (PPE, masks, shields, gowns, gloves, etc.)
- providing programs and support for learning (LMS - Schoology, See Saw, Zoom, etc.)
- providing staff professional development & collaborative planning for remediation (additional hours for staff PD, intervention planning, etc.).
- hiring additional staff to support students (teachers, duty/support staff, interventionists, counselors, etc.)
- hiring additional staff to support programming and operations (nursing staff, technology staff, etc.)
- upgrade communication tools (signage, software, etc.)
- support for COVID-19 expenses (cleaning, legal fees, etc.)
- purchase additional busses and vans to transport students and deliver food.
- purchase additional classroom supplies to support in-person instruction with social distancing.
- purchase additional storage space and outdoor learning spaces.
Future Federal Funds will support projects including the continued support for most of the projects listed above as well as:
- building improvements to improve air quality (CES ventilation, wiring, windows; BES windows and ventilation, etc.)
- building improvements/addition to support social distancing (NEL Portable - additional Pre-K, SAMS Addition - move all 6th grade to SAMS and add additional Pre-K at CES and MSES, etc.)
- network improvements and digital access (new network infrastructure for all MSAD 54 schools).
- additional after-school programming to support students (CES, MSES)
- additional office support to manage federal projects/federal funds
- additional projects to support student learning, access to food, and other pandemic related student and staff supports.
MSAD 54 Superintendent Jonathan Moody and Support Services Manager David Leavitt were joined by engineer Andy Johnston of Atlantic Resource Consultants, and Architect Pat Carroll of Carroll Associates Landscape Architects in a meeting with the State School Construction Committee. The team presented MSAD 54's project and answered questions from the committee. The Committee unanimously supported the MSAD 54 Project Site Selection of the Margaret Chase Smith School site and commended the district for their work. The next step in the process is to meet with the State Board of Education on July 14th.
For full committee minutes visit: https://www.maine.gov/doe/about/leadership/stateboard/construction
View DOE Exhibit
https://www.maine.gov/doe/sites/maine.gov.doe/files/inline-files/RSU54%…
This will be my last COVID-19 letter for the year, and unfortunately it is to let you know of two additional cases of COVID-19 in the district. This is a reminder that although things are vastly improved, we head into the summer needing to be mindful that the virus still very much exists in our community.
Today we learned that a staff person in the district has tested positive for COVID-19. District nursing staff and administration worked throughout the day to confirm the positive case with Maine CDC and to identify close contacts. All individuals having to quarantine as a result of these positive cases were contacted during the day today. In total, four students were asked to quarantine.
Separately, we were notified of a case on Tuesday of this week at North Elementary School. Our nursing staff worked with Maine CDC to verify that a student tested positive for COVID-19. Four staff and 15 students were identified as close contacts and were asked to quarantine. I made a mistake and failed to report this case on Tuesday evening.
MSAD 54 will again be closing early as a result of the extreme heat index and heat in our buildings today. We will be dismissing at 12:00PM. This is a move we wouldn’t make in a normal year, as our staff can utilize fans and tough it out by moving throughout buildings to cooler areas, going outside, etc. This year that simply isn’t possible. Below I want to highlight how we came to the decision today, and why this year is different (something I’m so very tired of saying, and I’m sure you’re tired of hearing me say…).
What’s Different This Year: So many things… but with heat, it’s the masks and the fans. The DOE has said that we cannot use fans to oscillate air indoors. This means we couldn’t put fans in classrooms and turn off the lights like we have in the past. We’d have kids in the afternoon heat, wearing masks, without fans. To top it off – going outside is not recommended per the state, based on the heat index. Another perfect storm.
I am writing to inform you that MSAD 54 was notified earlier today that a student at SAMS has tested positive for COVID-19. District nursing staff and administration worked over the course of the day to confirm the positive case with Maine CDC and identify close contacts.
All individuals having to quarantine as a result of this positive case were contacted today. In total there were 9 students and 1 staff member who will have to quarantine.
I’m writing to inform you that we confirmed today that a student from Bloomfield Elementary School (BES) tested positive for COVID-19. District nursing and administrative staff contacted Maine CDC and determined that 18 students will need to quarantine as a result of this exposure.
All individuals needing to quarantine were contacted by district nursing staff over the course of the day today. At this time there is no recommendation that we close school or take additional actions beyond those described above.