RSU 34 -

Regional School Unit #34, Alton, Bradley & Old Town Special Education Record Destruction: Regional School Unit #34 plans to destroy special education records of former students whose birth dates are between January 1, 1993 and December 31, 1993. Any records prior to 1992 not already posted will also be destroyed. Parents/Guardians and/or former students may obtain their records before October 31, 2020. Records not picked up will be destroyed. Proper identification will be required. For more information please contact: Regional School Unit #34 Special Education Office at (207) 827-3921.

Monday's the big day! Eagle Scout candidate Ryan Kelley is leading a drive to collect working devices and non-working devices with minor issues to rehab them for RSU #34 kids' online learning this year. Please consider donating! Location: Old Town High School. Times: 9-2 on Monday, Sept. 7th.

Two visitors snuck up to Mr. Mayfield's outdoor classroom yesterday!

Clarification regarding "gaiters": RSU #34 relies on the guidance of expert organizations such as the CDC. Masks help stop the spread of COVID-19 to others. Many staff and students ask about the effectiveness and allowability of “gaiters” as an alternative to traditional face masks; gaiters have received quite a bit of attention in the media lately. The curret CDC guidance is to choose masks that: *have two or more layers of washable, breathable fabric *completely cover your nose and mouth *fit snugly against the sides of your face and don’t have gaps *do NOT have exhalation valves or vents which allow virus particles to escape https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/about-face-coverings.html There are many types of gaiters. If a gaiter meets all of the above criteria, it may be used in RSU #34 under the current guidance. If your gaiter does not meet all of the above criteria, please choose a mask that does, or we can provide a disposable mask. With questions, please contact your school nurse or school administrator.

We are excited to launch the 2020-2021 school year, and very much look forward to welcoming our students whether they are participating in-person or remotely! Our schools and community will break new ground this year, navigating the pandemic together, as will schools and communities around the world. Each school is forming a continued input/feedback team of parents and staff, called the “COVID Advisory Council.” (AES and VRS will have one combined council). The school principal will chair the team, which will have these responsibilities: • Receive and share input about what is working as intended, and what can be improved on • Review emerging research • Review public input • Report to the Board with issues discussed, and whether consensus exists on any recommendations The membership of each school’s team includes: • (Ex Officio: Superintendent of Schools, Director of Curric/Instruction/Assessment, Special Education Director, School Nurse) • Chair: Building administrator(s) • Teacher representative • 4 Parent Representatives If you are interested in being a parent representative, please complete the form below by September 8th. On the form, please indicate if you’re comfortable with the current RSU #34 plan, if you think the plan is too cautious, or if you think the plan is too risky. We will seek to have a balance of parent perspectives on the team. https://forms.gle/wX1tH3haStRsZnSZ8 Thank you. With questions, please contact your school principal.

OTHS junior Ryan Kelley is collecting gently used laptops, PCs, keyboards, mice, and webcams to help kids when they need to learn remotely. Ryan's Eagle Scout project will help many kids in our community! Devices can be dropped off at any of our school lobbies, or at OTHS on September 7th from 9-2. For more information please click the link below. https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/community/boy-scout-restores-donated-computers-so-students-in-his-community-have-access-to-remote-learning/97-9ca3ca8f-2525-43ff-8d9f-6186b9ffabb8?fbclid=IwAR19SzolbFOP-9KWEM9fgS81mSgdbsC-upTK7R64YkdaBxJZe2MVe-8q5TQ

RSU #34 Educators will be working hard throughout the year to meet the needs of all students, who are participating remotely or in-person. In order to meet those needs, teachers MAY be “livestreaming” or recording parts of the school day to effectively and efficiently engage students who are present, participating remotely, and absent for the day. There are many factors involved with choices to livestream or record live instruction, including the topic/content at hand, the appropriate instructional method for that content, and the needs/permissions of the students. Even if a camera is focused on the teacher, live-streaming offers no protection against a blurted name. Any school district has a number of students with active custody disputes, protection from abuse orders, etc. Many students have some level of anxiety about being on screen; live-streaming a class may open up participation for some and close it for others. If you have concerns about your child being in a room that is livestreamed or recorded, please contact your school administration in writing before the school year begins.

Our 2020-2021 planning document has been updated with the most recent state requirements/guidance, and addressing frequently asked questions through the afternoon of August 19th. Each of our schools also has a FAQ page with school-specific information. Link to the district-wide information: tinyurl.com/y24veyo4 The slides are searchable; you can use Ctrl F on a PC or Chromebook, or Command F on a Mac to search for keywords such as "screening" or "nutrition" If you have a question that is not addressed in the document, please post it here and we'll make sure it's included on either the district-wide or school-specific FAQs. https://forms.gle/btv1gYqmaYmdhcVi6

RSU 34 is looking to fill 5 Ed Tech positions throughout the district for the 20-21 school year. Please check out https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/240651/Non-teacher_Application_2014.pdf for an application

Please click here (http://rsu34me.apptegy.us/o/rsu-34/page/covid19--2) for an overview of RSU #34's plan for the 2020-2021 school year. This is an update of the document that was shared at Wednesday night's public update / Q&A. This document will be continually updated as conditions shift, as new state requirements/guidance emerge, and as we make sure the community's questions are addressed. This document has been updated to address the topics raised at August 12th's public session, as well as Maine's adjusted requirements / guidance which were also released August 12th. Pro tip: There is a lot of information on the plan; to search within the document and find topics more quickly you can use Ctrl F on Windows machines or Chromebooks, or use Command F on Macs. For example, you could search for keywords like "symptom" or "laptop." Each school is also maintaining a FAQ page for school-specific information. Links to those are available on the same website. If you have questions that we've not yet addressed, please post the question here, and we will include the topics in the next update: https://forms.gle/y6gccYBF5bS7LAmk9 Thank you very much for your support and patience as our community navigates the pandemic together. Please do not hesitate to reach out to school or district staff at any time.

Here's a resource about internet connectivity options from the state: maine.gov/doe/covid-19/InternetConnectivity

Here's a link to the slides for this evening's RSU #34 back-to-school presentation and Q&A: tinyurl.com/y5fmhqcf The link to the Zoom session, which begins at 6:30, is https://networkmaine.zoom.us/j/81748182042

Important Reminder: RSU #34 will be finalizing in-person enrollments based on family preferences we have received and enrollments through August 14th. New enrollments or family preferences for remote or in-person learning expressed after that point will be processed as they come in. At minimum new enrollees will be supported in remote learning, and will be offered in-person learning as space allows. That space will not necessarily be in the school the child would normally attend based on address, in which case families may need to provide transportation. In grade K-12 families that prefer for their student to learn remote-only may continue to do so. Enrollments are processed at the Superintendent's Office, 156 Oak Street in Old Town. (207) 827-7171.

Dear RSU #34 community, as the calendar turns to August and we still navigate a pandemic together, we know you have many questions, worries, and wonders about the 2020-2021 school year. Our team has been working toward a safe and effective 2020-2021 school year since April. We are working hard to bring students back in-person as often as possible within state and federal requirements and reasonable precautions for the safety of all involved. We continually update and revise our plans as the scientific and medical community learn more about the novel coronavirus, and as we learn from nations and states with earlier school start dates. Please let us know your questions here; we will use this information to update a FAQ that will become publicly available late on Wednesday, August 12th. https://forms.gle/FaeejQT2ERDAWyEr7 Please joining us in washing hands, wearing masks, and keeping distance to keep the community spread of COVID-19 slow! Our community and state have worked very hard and sacrificed to keep the spread slow since March; thank you and let's keep it up!

RSU #34 community, we're working to prepare for everything that may come our way this year, and know access to devices at both home and school is important. Our older students will be able to take devices back and forth as normal, but if you've seen how many mittens a little kid loses each week, you know they need a different plan! If you do any weekend cleaning, please keep an eye out for older laptops & chargers that may not be of use at home anymore. We anticipate a community-wide effort in the next few weeks in collaboration with an awesome partner to help collect, rehab, and redistribute older computers to kids in our schools that will use them at home. There's a well-regarded program called CloudReady/NeverWare that can turn some really old machines into devices similar to ChromeBooks. If you have any contacts in the business community that may have access to a number of decommissioned computers, we'd appreciate that outreach as well! Thank you - we have an awesome community! https://guide.neverware.com/supported-devices/

RSU #34 will be finalizing in-person enrollments based on survey form feedback and enrollments through August 14th. New enrollments or family preferences for remote or in-person learning expressed after that point will be processed as they come in. At minimum new enrollees will be supported in remote learning, and will be offered in-person learning as space allows. That space will not necessarily be in the school the child would normally attend based on address, in which case families may need to provide transportation.

Check out https://www.rsu34.org/employment-applications-and-vacancies for Job Openings at RSU 34 for the 20-21 school year!

Required parent form for RSU #34 students - Fall 2020 Dear Parents/Guardians of RSU #34 Children, Our district has put together a form through which parents/guardians will inform the schools of their family’s plans and needs for the upcoming start to the school year. Please submit one form per RSU #34 student in order for us to coordinate family plans PreK-12. We estimate this form will take no more than 5 minutes per student to complete. Please submit this form as soon as possible and no later than Friday, July 31st. You can watch the presentation of our planning to the School Board here: https://www.rsu34.org/article/272060?org=rsu-34 RSU #34 anticipates needing to move flexibly between three “lanes” in 2020-2021, depending on things such as community transmission rates of the novel coronavirus and the rates of student and staff illnesses with symptoms similar to COVID-19. These lanes are: fully remote learning, a combination of in-person and remote learning, and in-person learning five days per week. Families that wish to participate remotely all year long may do so. More details and background about the district’s plan can be found here (tinyurl.com/y9o23gmk). Here is the link to the form: https://forms.gle/qzbHRsjgZQuNAkuNA Any questions should be directed to the building principal of your student. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. We thank you for your hard work, patience, and community spirit supporting our children throughout the pandemic. Sincerely, RSU #34 Planning Team

RSU #34's 2020-2021 application for federal program funding is in the "public comment" phase. This application, under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), covers services we provide to students through Title IA, Title IIA, and Title IVA. Services provided under these funds include Reading Recovery, Supplemental Instruction for Literacy and Mathematics, professional development for teachers, and Title IV programming under Safe & Healthy Schools, Well-Rounded Education, and the Effective Use of Technology. For more information on the applications and/or to provide comment, please email Dr. Doty at jon.doty@rsu34.org . Thank you for your support of RSU #34 schools!

VOTE! School Budget Validation Referendum Vote tomorrow July 14, 2020. Please support the budget as adopted at the annual school budget meeting held on June 24, 2020