CARIBOU, Maine — Caribou Community School announced plans to reopen under a yellow, or hybrid learning, model on Nov. 30 after switching to remote learning earlier this week when a positive COVID-19 case was diagnosed in the building.
In a letter to parents and guardians, RSU 39 (Caribou and Stockholm) Superintendent Tim Doak wrote that the decision to continue face to face instruction was made after initial contact tracing, and that the school itself had limited student exposure due to their established “pod” system. That system separates students within the building into groups based on grade level.
According to an earlier community letter from RSU 39, the individual who tested positive is in isolation at home and will only return once the Maine CDC provides clearance.
The decision also comes after the Maine Department of Education recently issued new guidelines and restrictions for masks and group sizes. Doak said the only way to realistically meet these requirements would be to adopt hybrid learning.
New requirements include ensuring that the number of people in any one indoor setting does not exceed 50, and that schools can only offer limited “mask breaks” during the day. These breaks need to be limited to up to five minutes each, 15 minutes throughout the school day, and under strict supervision.
“Caribou Community School has approximately 700 students that make it very challenging to adhere to Governor [Janet] Mills’ executive order,” he wrote. “Along with the 700 students, Caribou Community School has over 100 teachers and support staff. The number of students and staff will prove to be the issue for the new restriction set out by Governor Mills’ executive order.”
The yellow model will break students up into two groups, with Group A attending classes on Monday and Tuesday and learning remotely from Wednesday to Friday; and Group B attending on Thursday and Friday and learning remotely from Monday to Wednesday.
The school will undergo a deep clean on Wednesdays to ensure no cross-contamination occurs.
Doak said the PreK program is small enough that they do not need to be separated into two groups. They will be able to attend on all weekdays except Wednesday.
The Superintendent said the yellow model will only be in place while the governor’s executive order is in effect, and that Caribou Community School will return to a green or all in-school model if the group size mandate increases beyond 50 people occupying a single space.
