The Gorham Schools extended school closures until Monday, April 27. As conditions continue to change we will constantly re-assess this decision and make adjustments as conditions may warrant it. During this time all schools and school facilities will be closed to the public. Our teachers will continue to work with care, thoughtfulness and skill to provide learning opportunities for ALL students.
We are proud of the work that the staff and community have done together. At the same time we know that this is not a sprint, but a marathon. We will look forward to partnering with our community to keep learning happening while keeping our community safe.
The School Committee approved the Distance Learning Plan on March 25 during its first zoom meeting. The document can be reviewed on the Gorham Schools website. Please know that this document is intentionally vague and broad in order to offer our schools and staff the most flexibility possible as we continue to learn how to navigate this brave new world together. Each grade span, K-5, 6-8 and 9-12 will be completing what I call “companion documents” that align to this overarching plan and provide much more detailed expectations. These documents will be shared with all of you by building principals moving forward.
Special Education and other support programs started actual instructional programming earlier this week. Similar to our regular education classroom “roll out,” the first few weeks of programming will be focused first on establishing communication with families and methods that work for each family to provide the much needed supports that we know exist.
If you are a special education parent or a parent of a child receiving other supports (such as RTI, 504, ELL, G&T) and you have not had direct contact from a teacher or case manager by the end of this week, please reach out to your building principal to let them know.
Daily attendance is now being taken based on participation in homework and assigned activities. The information will be used to help staff understand the barriers that may exist for students and whether further support is needed.
Social distancing is still an important aspect of what the schools and the community are trying to achieve, and we encourage families to continue to practice social distancing as the data suggests that the worst is still to come.
The School Committee decided to keep moving forward with meeting on their regular schedule. Regular meetings will take place on the 2nd Wednesday of each month beginning at 7:00 p.m. (unless otherwise noted on the agenda). Workshop meetings occur on the 4th Wednesday of each month also at 7:00 p.m. (unless otherwise noted). All agendas will be posted on the Gorham website. At the top of each agenda will be the URL and/or phone number for how to access each zoom meeting.
If anyone has questions about how to access this information, please reach out to me via email at heather.perry@gorhamschools.org.