Starting this fall, Gorham students will stay in school up to 20 minutes longer each day. At its February 13 meeting, the School Committee (SC) voted unanimously to add 20 minutes to the K-5 school day and 10 minutes for grades 6 through 12.
Members of the Committee stressed that their intent is not to necessarily increase “math class by five minutes,” but rather make it easier for students to get through their busy school days. School administrators will have the flexibility to use these minutes as they see fit, perhaps by providing more time for 10th graders to get to their next class or extending playground time for 3rd graders.
These added minutes will also keep Gorham more in line with the length of school days at neighboring districts. The SC meeting started with well-received civic lessons from three middle school students who wrote the top essays entered in the James Madison Excellence in Writing Award, an annual competition sponsored by the Gorham Republican Party.
Two students, Grace Johnson and Grady Smith, read their essays explaining whether they would have voted in favor of ratifying the U.S. Constitution back in 1787. The winning essay by Trent Stevens was read by Principal Bob Riley, since Stevens wasn’t able to be there. All three would have voted to ratify, although Johnson would have voted no if it didn’t include the first 10 amendments, also known as the Bill of Rights.
The meeting concluded with an overview of the Adult Education Program, now in the second year of its partnership with Westbrook. Kate Rotroff, who will soon be retiring as director of the program, noted that while Gorham and Westbrook have unique strengths and serve different populations, the collaboration makes both programs stronger.
She also introduced Jeremy Kendall, who was recently hired in September as the Career Technical Education Coordinator. Kendall noted that he has “hit the ground running” and has been flooded with requests from area businesses to start training programs that address the “trades crises.”
He’s already working with Genesis Healthcare to grow a CNA program, and will soon be offering a medical technician training programs in collaboration with Intermed P.A. Trucking and auto mechanic certification programs are coming soon as well.