Letter to Families from Superintendent Charette

June 8, 2020

Dear Parents and Community members,

What an interesting school year it has turned out to be! Even though the school year has come to an end the next several days will be spent picking up and returning materials, saying goodbye for the summer while physically distanced, and celebrating the milestone of completing a grade level, transitioning to another school, and graduating high school for our students.  It continues to be a very busy time for schools even as they wind-down from the 2019 - 2020 school year!  

The question that seems to be on everyone's mind is what will the fall bring?  The short answer is: it is unclear.  Here at RSU 38 we have begun the process of planning by organizing teams to do the work of evaluating various scenarios and the needs created by these scenarios as there is no one prescribed solution that has yet been identified within the ever changing nature of the current Covid-19 health crisis. We will be working over the summer months to prepare for various “Return to Learn” academic plans but will also have significant work to do in terms of planning for the health and safety of students and staff while in our school buildings, and a major focus as we return will be the supports and resources that our district will offer around social and emotional wellbeing.  We will also be looking at our remote learning plan and looking to make significant changes to strengthen it across all grade levels.  

As we begin this work, we put together a short survey to gather information.  I am kindly asking for your feedback to help guide us in the work we will be doing over the summer by participating in the appropriate surveys that are linked here:

Elementary

Middle School

High School

The survey will be open through Friday June 19 to allow for ample time for families to respond - please feel free to pass the survey along to others who may not receive this letter.

I am including information about graduation.  We are hoping as many people as possible will join us virtually to celebrate the Maranacook Community High School Class of 2020.

Graduations will be live streaming on YouTube, Saturday June 13th and Sunday, June 14th.  Search YouTube using: Maranacook Athletics to access the livestream.

Each advisor group will be live streamed separately and plans are to upload the ceremony later for additional viewings.

Live Streaming Schedule:

By Advisor Group

Sat 6/13 

10:00 am DeAngelis

12:00 pm DeMillo

2:00 pm Kelley

4:00 pm Magnusson

6:00 pm Nicola

Sun 6/14 

10:00 am O’Clair

12:00 pm O’Donoghue

2:00 pm Ray/Tamborini

4:00 pm St. Clair/Ferraro

6:00 pm Twiss

Join us virtually if you are able!

I would like you to know that we read and follow guidance from Governor Mills as well as the Maine Department of Education concerning all that has been happening in our world over the past several months.  I am including several links to public documents that are available on their web site which I encourage you to review.

The School Budget process: 

https://mainedoenews.net/2020/06/05/governors-executive-order-56-school-budget-process/

Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten screening:

https://mainedoenews.net/2020/06/04/maine-department-of-educations-guidance-for-pre-kindergarten-kindergarten-child-find-screening/

Resources to combat Racism:

https://mainedoenews.net/2020/06/06/department-of-education-our-commitment-and-shared-resources-to-combat-racism/

Graduation Ceremony Guidelines:

https://mainedoenews.net/2020/05/06/media-release-maine-doe-issues-guidance-on-high-school-graduation-ceremonies/

You can find additional information at https://www.maine.gov/doe/home by clicking on the Maine DOE Newsroom banner.

Finally, I would like to say thank you to the parents, extended families, and community members that have given so much of themselves in this unprecedented time.  Schools moving to remote learning lead to dramatic changes in our daily lives.  We acknowledge that it wasn’t perfect and want to also acknowledge the strain this may have placed on your household.  Your trust, patience, and support were not lost on us here in RSU #38. We look forward to the opportunities the Covid-19 crisis has given us to improve education for all of our students not just remotely but when we return to in person instruction.  

As we plan for the fall in the Maranacook Area Schools, please be on the lookout for communications from myself, building principals, and teachers about returning to learn.  I encourage you to reach out with questions, concerns, ideas and suggestions to whomever you feel most comfortable communicating.  The future is full of opportunity.  I know we will pull through this together to come out stronger and more dedicated to our vision of a Caring School Community Dedicated to Excellence.  I hope you have a wonderful summer!

Sincerely,

James Charette

Superintendent