CARIBOU, Maine — The RSU 39 Board of Education voted Wednesday night to proceed with remote learning in Caribou schools for the duration of the 2019-20 school year, with the last day of instruction on May 27 and the last day of school on June 10.
RSU 39 Superintendent Tim Doak said the time between these two dates will be used to allow students to catch up with work, adding that the school is considering a student peer program which would allow classmates to help one another.
“I don’t believe the board felt we would be able to come back to school this year,” said Doak, “and that’s why they voted to continue remote learning. There was some hope that students could return to school for the last week or two, but I don’t think that can happen now.”
As of April 16, school officials are working to maintain June 7 as a graduation date, but a decision has not yet been made as to how the ceremony will be held.
Doak commended Caribou High School Principal Travis Barnes for his work with students in terms of preparing them for their graduation.
Barnes has been meeting with CHS seniors via Zoom for several weeks to discuss their ideas for a ceremony with social distancing.
“It’s been very beneficial to me,” Barnes said. “There’s a core group that really wants to continue meeting and we’re going to meet again next week and continue to work from that. I did tell them to share with their friends that we will have a graduation.”
Through recent meetings with other principals, Barnes said high schools across the state are all working to make sure their seniors are able to have a graduation ceremony.
Doak said, during the board meeting, that one method of graduating could just include a cap and gown and pictures with parents, and possibly focus more on students’ future aspirations.
Board member Jan Tompkins emphasized that it’s important to hold a ceremony recognizing seniors, as parents wait 13 years for the date, and that the class of 2020 has already “missed out on so much this year.”
In a public letter issued on Wednesday morning, Doak cited Maine Department of Commissioner Pender Makin’s April 7 recommendation to discontinue in-person instruction for the rest of the year, as well as Maine Gov. Janet Mills’ April 14 extension of Maine’s civil state of emergency until May 15 as reasons for the decision.
Doak said the RSU 39 Board of Education will place COVID-19 on the agenda for each meeting until the end of the school year. Members of the public can view these meetings via YouTube through links provided on the RSU 39 website.
The superintendent said that if there is an extraordinary change in COVID-19’s community impact, school officials may consider a safe, in-person event to mark the closure of the school year.
But for the time being, he said he and school officials need to follow the current guidelines set forth by state officials in order to ensure the safety of staff, students and members of the greater community.
In his letter, he also encouraged families to adhere to social distancing standards, which means staying at least 6 feet apart, not gathering in crowds larger than 10 people, limiting any unnecessary travel and watching out for anyone in the community who may be in need of help.
By following these standards, he said hospitals will ultimately deal with fewer individual cases of the virus.
“I want everyone to know just how much we miss our students and families of Eastern Aroostook RSU 39,” Doak wrote. “I hope everyone is staying safe and staying healthy during these times with our efforts to combat COVID-19 as the health and well-being of students and families is a top priority for me, our staff and the RSU 39 Board of Education.”
