At the regular January 13, 2021 meeting of the Gorham School Committee (SC), Superintendent Heather Perry announced that the district will be receiving about $750,000 from new government stimulus funding. Uses permitted for the new allocation will be more flexible, but the monies cannot be used to back-fill lost revenue. She also reported that 15 students from Gorham Middle School (GMS) and Gorham High School (GHS) are returning from remote learning to hybrid classes.
Maine will no longer be using SAT testing in Maine high schools, she said, and there is a change in the test the state uses that should produce the same data, but more quickly than before.
School Committee members thanked teachers and staff for their work this fall under difficult conditions. They appreciated the opportunity to get parent feedback at the Partners in Education (PIE) meetings at the elementary schools. James Brockman thanked Perry for the message she circulated about the events of January 6, 2020 in Washington D.C. Phil Gagnon announced that the new Narragansett Elementary School kitchen will be completed by February.
Assistant Superintendent Chris Record presented an overview of results from the recent Thought Exchange that focused on feedback from students, parents, and teachers after 14 weeks of hybrid learning. Although there were only 614 participants, Record said, “The feedback will be valuable in making decisions.”
Themes that emerged from student responses included concerns about heavy workloads, communication with teachers, and a desire for more personalized videos. One student’s comment, “I don’t like COVID. It is ruining everything,” echoed many students’ thoughts. However, students are happy with flexible Fridays.
Most parent responses included appreciation for the dedicated efforts of Gorham teachers. They too liked Friday flex days, but also wanted students to be in school more. Some felt there was too little work on remote learning days and wanted more communication with teachers.
The thoughts expressed by teachers reflected feeling stressed and exhausted. They appreciated the smaller class sizes and having Fridays for planning and communication. Although they feel more comfortable with hybrid teaching, they want more conversation with administrators.
Record said that the District Leadership Team would give immediate attention to many of the concerns, which include reducing stress and providing emotional and social support by increasing communication with staff, students, and parents. Improving remote instruction will be ongoing with an emphasis on helping students collaborate with their peers. A detailed summary of the Thought Exchange results will be posted on Perry’s blog, accessible from gorhamsuperintendent.blogspot.com.
In other business, the SC approved (7-0) the purchase of Phase 3 modulars for Narragansett.