TENANTS HARBOR — The following letter was distributed by St. George MSU Superintendent Mike Felton on March 15, announcing a school closure for at least two weeks. 

Please find below key points from a somewhat lengthy email.  I encourage everyone to read this entire message and reach out if you have any questions or concerns:

The St. George School building will be closed for at least 2 weeks beginning tomorrow, Monday, 3/16.

Families can stop by tomorrow, Monday, 3/16, to pick up devices, books, and other student items.

Instructional and social work services will be delivered remotely beginning on Tuesday, 3/17.

Food service will continue.  Families can sign up 1 week at a time to have breakfast/lunch meals delivered to their homes.  Delivery will begin tomorrow.  Sign up for meals here:  https://foodorder.stgeorgemsu.  The cost of meals for students will remain the same.  Students who qualify for Free and Reduced Meals will continue to receive meals at no cost.

Dear Families,

Let me say first that I have never been so grateful to live in St. George and work at St. George MSU.  Last night, at 5:45 p.m., representatives from the School Board, St. George Education Association, Select Board, Town Office, Emergency Medical Services, and St. George Community Development Corporation met with school administrators, teachers, and staff to discuss the possibility, ramifications, and plans for an extended school closure to stem the spread of COVID-19 and protect not only our students, but our entire community.  The meeting was called with less than an hour’s notice and about 15 people showed up.  School staff has been planning for this eventuality for about two weeks now – with preparations intensifying last week.  I was able to hear from everyone and share my thoughts.  This followed day-long communications and conversations with local-area superintendents and a video conference with the Commissioner of Education and superintendents from across the state.  State leaders have consistently told superintendents that this is a local decision and we all have to make decisions based on factors unique to our community.  While I have concerns with this approach, that is our reality. 

Based on the communications I’ve had with state and public health and emergency management officials over the past several weeks, conversations with other superintendents in our region, reviewing the latest information about the virus and its impact on communities, and the preparations our school-community has taken to deliver services to our students and families during an extended closure, I am announcing that St. George School will be closed for at least 2 weeks (Monday, 3/16 – Friday, 3/27).  We will reassess the situation during the second week.   

I recognize the disruption that this will cause to our working parents, families, and community.  However, because there are still so many unanswered questions about the virus, I feel that the risks of contributing to the spread of the virus by continuing school are too great.   I have reviewed and discussed with educators, health professionals, and state officials the guidance provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Maine Center for Disease Control.  The takeaway message from this review and these discussions is that much about this virus remains unknown.  I’ve also read several articles discussing research about the possible advantages of quick, decisive actions to prevent the spread of the virus before it takes hold in your community.  

Delivering Services to Students & Families During the School Closure

Let me also stress this: school staff and community partners will be here for our students and families throughout the school closure.  Some staff will be in the school building during the closure while others may work remotely.  If you have questions or concerns about anything – be it food services, social work services, food security – please call the school (372.6312). We are working closely with the St. George Community Development Corporation to help ensure that we can meet families’ needs over the extended school closure.  You can contact the Community Development Corporation by calling 372.2193 or emailing info@stgeorgecommunity.org.

High School Students: All high school bus runs are cancelled while St. George School is closed.  Oceanside High School, Camden Hills Regional High School and Lincoln Academy have announced extended school closures beginning on Monday, 3/16.

Student Devices, Books, and Other Items at School: The school will be open tomorrow (Monday, 3/16) for families to stop by the school and pick up necessary items such as laptops, books, and coats and boots in cubbies and lockers.  We can also deliver these items to your house.  If you need items delivered to your home, please call the school (372.6312) or email your child’s teacher or Instructional Administrator Adam Bullard (a.bullard@stgeorgemsuorg).  Please do NOT come to school if you have recently traveled out of state or if you are experiencing any flu-like symptoms.  While in the school – and at all times and places over the coming weeks –  please practice social distancing and other preventative measures, i.e., avoiding close contact with other people, washing hands frequently with soap and water, covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue, and staying home if you are sick. 

Daily Food Delivery:  You can sign up your St. George School student for breakfast and lunch 1 week at a time by using this online survey or by calling the school at 372.6312.  Breakfast and lunch are available to all St. George School students.  You will need to submit 1 form per student. Once you have submitted the form, you will have the opportunity to submit another response for additional St. George students.  You will need to specify the location that the food should be dropped off for the entire week.  Meals – including breakfast and lunch – will be loaded on school buses and vans around 9 a.m. and then delivered.  We don’t have delivery times yet but should get a sense for that as we move forward.  School staff will leave the meals on a house’s walkway for the family to pick up; school staff will not enter the household.  For this week (3/16-3/20), please submit your online survey today (Sunday) or tomorrow morning.  You can also call the school tomorrow morning to sign up for breakfast/lunch this week.  For next week (3/23-3/27), please submit the online form or call the school by Friday (3/20) at 3 p.m.  The cost of meals for students will remain the same.  Students who qualify for Free and Reduced Meals will continue to receive meals at no cost.

Additional Food Support:  Families that need additional food support during the school closure should contact the St. George Community Development Corporation (372.2193 or info@stgeorgecommmunity.org) or complete an online ordering form at stgeorgecommunity.org/cupboardorder.

Instruction.  Instructional services will begin for students on Tuesday, 3/17.  Individual teachers will reach out to students and families with more information.  An overview of our Pandemic Instructional Response Plan can be found here.  K-5 teachers will be primarily utilizing an app called Seesaw and Middle Level (6^th-8^th) will be focusing on Google Classroom, Google Docs, and the Middle Level Homework Log.  Teachers will have the option to send work packets home to students as well.  Work packets and instructional items will be delivered to students’ homes using school buses and vans. 

IMPORTANT: Every student, grades K-8, will have the option to take a school device home.  Any families that do not have reliable internet access should contact Technology Director Paul Meinersmann through email (p.meinersmann@stgeorgemsu.org) or by calling the school (372.6312).  We have access to some mobile internet devices and can also send work packets home.

Special Education Services and Title I Services: Special Education and Title I teachers, collaborating closely with classroom teachers, will reach out to students and families this week to determine the best way to deliver specialized instruction and services.  This may be in the form of remote learning though Seesaw or Google Classroom, work packets sent home, phone conversations with students and parents, etc. 

Social Work Services. Stephanie Simmons, the School Social Worker, and Amy Hufnagel, the School-wide Behavior Interventionist, will continue to provide services to students.  This may include phone calls, emails, or a video conference through an online platform such as Zoom.  We will continue to help connect families to community resources such as the St. George Community Development Corporation.  

We are all in this together.  Our greatest resource is – and always has been – our community.  It is in times like these that you learn the true character of an individual, a community, and a people.  Our school-community will rise to this challenge, take care of one another, and - above all else - care for our children.  That is our mission and that’s what makes us Dragons. 

Sincerely,
Mike Felton, St. George MSU
m.felton@stgeorgemsu.org
207.372.6312 (school)
207.542.6394 (cell)