[0:00:00] [silence]
[0:05:07] All right,
[0:05:08] let's call the meeting to order. First thing on the agenda is the Pledge of Allegiance.
[0:05:13] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
[0:05:32] We need to make a roll call. Nathan?
[0:05:36] Present.
[0:05:37] Randy?
[0:05:38] Present.
[0:05:38] Lisa?
[0:05:40] Present.
[0:05:40] Rebecca?
[0:05:41] Present.
[0:05:42] Michelle?
[0:05:43] Present.
[0:05:44] [inaudible]?
[0:05:45] Present.
[0:05:46] And Marty, I'm here. All right, we have a quorum. Next thing is to approve the minutes of the regular meeting
[0:05:54] from October 14th, 2020. I make a motion to approve the minutes as presented.
[0:05:59] Is there a second?
[0:06:00] Second.
[0:06:01] Thank you, Rebecca. Nathan, are we going down the line again? Okay.
[0:06:06] I don't know who does the voting for roll call.
[0:06:12] Oh, it's uh, yes, I'm sorry, I'm just reading here.
[0:06:16] That's fine.
[0:06:17] Randy?
[0:06:18] Yes.
[0:06:19] Lisa?
[0:06:20] Yes.
[0:06:22] Rebecca?
[0:06:23] Yes.
[0:06:24] Michelle?
[0:06:25] Yes.
[0:06:26] Nathan?
[0:06:27] Yes.
[0:06:27] [inaudible]?
[0:06:29] Yes.
[0:06:29] And myself, yes, that's seven. Next is public participation.
[0:06:36] Do we have any public participation? [inaudible]?
[0:06:39] No public participation.
[0:06:40] No. All right, thank you.
[0:06:44] Next thing is the superintendent's report. Jeremy, you're up.
[0:06:48] All right. Good evening, members of the board and the viewers at home. Tonight, we have a couple items I wanted to talk to you about. First off, last week was national bus driver and school bus safety week. So, as this is our first opportunity to recognize our bus drivers, we just wanted to let them know that we are deeply appreciative of all of their work throughout the pandemic and in previous years. But especially this year with all the changes in logistics, having two runs, and the extensive cleaning protocols, we really appreciate everything that our bus drivers are doing. It's been an enormous effort on their part to bring about 1,000 students to and from school safely, so our deep appreciation to all of them.
[0:07:31] Second item is around food service. Food service began curbside distribution of meals yesterday, providing five-day bulk meal distribution kits for any remote learners or students who are not attending in-person instruction. That happens weekly on Tuesday afternoons, and there's 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Biddeford Middle School and 5:30 to 6:30 at Dayton Consolidated School. And on the same evening, we also have mobile distribution along several bus routes for remote learners, and that schedule can be found on our website. As a reminder to everyone, all children age 18 and under can receive these free breakfast and lunch kits, and there are no residency, school, or income requirements for those food distributions. If families would like to receive bulk meals each week, we're asking that they sign up on our website at biddefordschools.me, and they can search food service, and there will be a simple Google form for them to fill out.
[0:08:35] The third item I'd like to talk about this evening is related to internet. So starting this week, the city began allowing anyone without home internet or those with slow connections to come to the Biddeford community center on May Street during regular business hours to access free high speed internet in a quiet space for up to two hours per person per day. Anyone wanting to take advantage of this should come with their fully charged device and earbuds, check in with the front desk, and will be assigned a desk and a chair in an open room where internet connectivity will be provided. The city also offers hot spots for rent, so they can check out up to two weeks per person. We also offer those through the school department, and those are for a longer duration for any of our students who are lacking internet access.
[0:09:28] In addition to that, this afternoon, the mayor and I and members of the city council met with Consolidated Communications. Consolidated has reached out to Biddeford and asked if Biddeford would be willing to be the first city in the state of Maine where they would do a 100% build-out of high-speed fiber internet for the entire city. So that would be for every home and every business in the city. There's no cost to the city to do that. They're investing their own funds to do that. And in addition to that, they're looking to provide to our students and other, you know, lower-income students, up to about 50 megabits of service for free to their homes. So this is great news. I know it's a frustration of our families and a frustration of us here at the school department. But if Consolidated can begin rolling that out this winter, it will provide incredible connectivity to, not only the Biddeford school department and our students, but the entire city. So we're really, really excited to be working with them on that.
[0:10:41] The last item I wanted to mention tonight is the Department of Education this afternoon sent out a notification, which they do every week, about whether or not counties are moving between green, yellow, and red. They're not anticipating any county will move this Friday, but we are keeping an eye on the numbers, particularly in York County. Over the last four days, there's been 54 cases, on average, a day throughout the state of Maine. We're on target to possibly hit the highest number in a day statewide. So, that has started to elevate some concerns about York County's numbers. But we are continuing to work closely with the Maine CDC, and our contact with the state and we'll keep you posted if we hear anything about our county changing status. And with that, I'm open to any questions.
[0:11:39] Do we have any questions for Jeremy?
[0:11:42] I have a quick question.
[0:11:43] Yes, Randy.
[0:11:44] Do you happen to know the speed that they're considering high speed, the fiber?
[0:11:51] It's up to gigabit service.
[0:11:53] Beautiful, thank you.
[0:11:54] Yep, you're welcome.
[0:11:56] Any other questions?
[0:11:59] Jeremy, this is Michelle. I just wanted to ask you, is that with Consolidated Communications, is that the free service up to 50 Mbps? Is that for this school year or is that on an ongoing basis?
[0:12:12] It will be on an ongoing basis, as they anticipate it, and it will be available to all of our families who qualify for the free and reduced lunch program. So it's based on that income eligibility. So about 50% of the city would have access to that.
[0:12:28] That's great, thank you.
[0:12:29] Yep, you're welcome.
[0:12:31] Any other questions for Jeremy?
[0:12:33] All right. Hearing none, do we have, we have unfinished business? We have consideration of resignation. I will make a motion to, motion to accept the resignation of Rachel Davis, [inaudible] pre-K assistant at JFK. Do I have a second?
[0:12:51] Second, Rebecca.
[0:12:52] Thank you, Rebecca. Any discussion?
[0:12:57] All right, seeing none, let's have a vote, Nathan.
[0:13:01] Randy?
[0:13:02] Yes.
[0:13:04] Lisa?
[0:13:05] Yes.
[0:13:06] Rebecca?
[0:13:07] Yes.
[0:13:08] Michelle?
[0:13:09] Yes.
[0:13:10] Nathan?
[0:13:11] Yes.
[0:13:12] [inaudible]?
[0:13:13] Yes.
[0:13:14] And myself, yes, that is seven.
[0:13:17] Thank you. Next is consideration of nominations. I will make a motion to accept the nomination of [inaudible] as a day-to-day permanent sub at the Biddeford Primary School. Do I have a second?
[0:13:28] Nathan, second.
[0:13:29] Thank you, Nathan. Any discussion?
[0:13:34] All right, let's take a vote.
[0:13:37] Randy?
[0:13:38] Yes.
[0:13:39] Lisa?
[0:13:40] Yes.
[0:13:41] Rebecca?
[0:13:42] Yes.
[0:13:43] Michelle?
[0:13:44] Yes.
[0:13:45] Nathan?
[0:13:46] Yes.
[0:13:47] [inaudible]?
[0:13:48] Yes.
[0:13:49] And myself, yes, that's seven. Next is to accept the nomination of Hannah Larochelle, physical education teacher at JFK and BPS. Is there a second?
[0:13:58] Second.
[0:13:59] Thank you, Randy. Any discussion?
[0:14:04] All right, Nathan, take a vote.
[0:14:07] Randy?
[0:14:08] Yes.
[0:14:09] Lisa?
[0:14:10] Yes.
[0:14:11] Rebecca?
[0:14:12] Yes.
[0:14:13] Michelle?
[0:14:14] Yes.
[0:14:15] Nathan?
[0:14:16] Yes.
[0:14:17] [inaudible]?
[0:14:18] Yes.
[0:14:19] And myself, yes, that's seven.
[0:14:22] Next is consideration of, oh no, next is new business, update on remote, hybrid, and in-person model. Jeremy, did you want to share that?
[0:14:31] Yeah, so, good evening, again. So, what I wanted to do tonight is just provide a very high-level update to folks, because as you remember, last time we were together, on the 14th, that's when we talked about, you know, we need to be looking at remote, hybrid, and in-person models. What are our options, what's available to us? And so, in that intervening time, and you'll recall too, that is the board approved to have us come back and start giving regular updates to the board so that people can stay apprised of the progress that we're making and any information as it becomes available.
[0:15:06] So over the last, you know, couple of weeks, in about 10 school days, we have been beginning that work. A lot of that work initially centers around, what do the guidelines and requirements look like in terms of trying to bring more students back? So one of the things we've been looking at are the DOE's six health and safety measures. How do those apply? If we're looking to bring additional students back, do we have spaces? Where are they? How would we fit students in those? How many students fit in those? And also looking at additional staff. So, part of that is figuring out, like, if you have a class of 24 kids, you can't have them in one space. Even if you don't do six feet, and you do three feet, which is what the requirement is, do they fit in a classroom? The answer is generally no.
[0:15:58] You generally can only fit about 14 to 16 students in an average classroom, which means the other kids have to go somewhere else. So now we're looking at, do you have an alternate space, like a gymnasium or an all-purpose room? And if you do, do you have a staff member that can monitor them? So we're starting that work of beginning to calculate all of that. Also starting to look at transportation. You know, what does transportation look like? If we're having to do runs, do we have enough bus drivers to be able to pull off more runs, or can we pull off double runs, like we're doing now? And as we've talked about before, we're on a very thin margin with bus drivers, because if we've lost any bus drivers, it makes it very difficult for us to pull that off.
[0:16:47] And then also looking at food service. You know, if you start having more students in school, how do you feed all of those students and where do you feed them, when feeding them requires, you know, in large part, they have to be six feet of physical distancing? You can only do three feet in physical distancing when masks are on. When masks are off, as you know, like when you're eating, everybody has to be at least six feet apart. So in average-sized classrooms, you generally can't have all those students eating in that space and being six feet apart. So those are just a few of the things that we are looking at.
[0:17:23] On the remote end, we have, you'll hear from some of the leadership, school leadership, in a little bit, around the remote instruction. Remote instruction is very, very challenging. We have teachers who are trying to balance, you know, what they're doing when they're in-person and the other half of the group is at home, and working with those at-home learners, and then trying to flip-flop that, and working with them the next time they're in. That is not a small, trivial thing. It requires a tremendous amount of extra planning time and a tremendous amount of stress and emotional toll on our teachers. And we're hearing from staff who are deeply, deeply exhausted, doing the best that they can to try to meet the needs of all of their learners. So that's another element that we're looking at.
[0:18:10] And then in addition to that, our building-level administrators are scheduling meetings to collaborate with teachers to begin talking to them. We need to hear their voices, we need to gather their input and their feedback, as we're continuing to move this forward. And they will also be looking at doing parent forums, to be able to gather parent feedback as well. So there's a lot of things that are in motion, and we look forward to continuing to provide updates to the board as we go. But as you know, you know, based on our earlier conversation, the, as of today, the transmission rates throughout the state have had an upward swing. In fact, Maine CDC says statewide, we're in the beginnings of a surge. And they are warning all of us that that surge could become much worse as we head into colder months, and people spend more time indoors. So those are some factors that we also have to be keeping a close eye on, because if we have too high of community transmission, we will not be able to pull this off.
[0:19:15] So it relies a lot on this whole community to continue to be physically distancing, wearing masks, and using hand sanitizer and hand washing. So that's the high-level update that I have for folks tonight, and of course, I'd be glad to answer any questions that board members might have.
[0:19:35] Do we have any questions for Jeremy?
[0:19:40] Jeremy, Rebecca, just real quick. Have you guys, is there like a list or a place where,
[0:19:48] I don't know, other parents can, like parents can offer ideas or thoughts? Or is it best to just kind of, maybe you have like a suggestion box, or email you directly, or their principal? What is your preferred way?
[0:19:59] Yeah, usually the best way for a parent, if they have an idea, especially when it's related to instruction, is reach out to the school principals. School principals are going to be scheduling parent forums, so they can gather that feedback directly. But we can also look at putting a form together on our website for suggestions if people would like to suggest things. And then we can route those appropriately. So I can definitely do that for folks.
[0:20:25] Cool, thank you.
[0:20:26] You're welcome.
[0:20:27] Any other questions for Jeremy?
[0:20:30] All right. Hearing none, now, we have public hearing for review of the remote learning model. Jeremy, you want to take over?
[0:20:38] Sure. So, what we're going to do tonight, members of the board, is we're going to provide you, and the community, an update on remote learning. So how does remote learning work in the Biddeford school department? As you know, we're in a hybrid model, so that means students are in for in-person learning a couple of days a week, and then they're doing remote learning on other days of the week, and we have fully-remote students. So we wanted to be able to have our building leadership come tonight and be able to give a quick overview of what that looks like in each of our buildings. And we'll start off with our primary schools. So we have, tonight, our instructional coach, Amanda Cyr, who's going to be speaking, and also Principal Henderson and Principal Bouthillette. So, I will kick it off to the three of them.
[0:21:28] Thank you.
[0:21:29] Good evening, everyone.
[0:21:31] Can you all hear me?
[0:21:33] Yes, we can.
[0:21:34] Yes.
[0:21:34] Okay, perfect. Thank you.
[0:21:37] Good evening. I'm going to start off by explaining the primary school remote model.
[0:21:44] So on an average day, our teachers are providing daily instruction for students learning remotely in whole group, small group, and one-on-one formats. Daily instruction includes reading, writing, and math.
[0:21:58] In addition to that, science, social studies, and daily morning meetings are provided. For students with IEPs and 504 plans, those accommodations and services are maintained. Teachers plan on a daily basis for instruction and assessment. Assessment data is driving all instruction for these teachers, whether it be whole group, small group, or individual. During small groups and one-on-one sessions, teachers are providing explicit targeted instruction and feedback for the students based on their areas of need. All curriculum materials that are used by teachers and in-person instruction are being used with remote teachers and remote students, so the curriculum is standard throughout our grade levels, whether the student is learning in school or at home.
[0:22:48] Our kindergarten through grade two remote teachers engage daily in whole group read-alouds, vocabulary instruction, comprehension instruction, shared reading, writing, and foundational reading skills, which is fundations.
[0:23:03] For math, our teachers are using our Bridges curriculum, which includes the components of Number Corner and regular daily math lessons. In our pre-K classrooms, teachers are teaching directly from the state's Pre-K Early Learning and Development Standards, utilizing our new program, World of Wonders, as well as the handwriting without tears, using their digital platforms. For asynchronous learning, students have independent work assigned each day to reinforce the skills taught in direct instruction. Assignments include things like, writing in their journals, handwriting, hands-on, multi-sensory activities, as well as math and reading workbooks, or work that is shared through digital platforms, like Seesaw and Google Classroom. Teachers prepare weekly or bi-weekly packets and manipulative kits that are supplied and delivered to our remote students to help support the instruction happening at home. Our primary grade level teachers are having great success, and while navigating the challenge of teaching young children on screens, they're working hard each and every day to create a positive learning environment for all of our students.
[0:24:19] And now, Principal Henderson is going to talk about social-emotional support.
[0:24:25] Good evening, everyone. It's nice to see you. For social-emotional supports, it starts from the classroom with a daily whole-group meeting, with morning meeting, with lessons aligned to the Second Step SEL, which stands for Social-Emotional Learning, curriculum. Pre-K, along with the morning meeting, they're using, like Amanda said, the World of Wonders, where they have incorporated social-emotional learning that includes big and little books with character development, such as "Can You Share," "Feelings," and "I Can Do It," along with puppet plays. At the Tier 2 and Tier 3 level, the social workers from JFK and BPS have combined, and, like the teachers, split the remote students by grade levels. They provide individual and small group direct instruction on Zoom for social-emotional, behavioral and mental health support. If remote students do not participate in a small group, the social workers continue to reach out to the families and problem solve. For example, some students work better one-on-one with the social worker. Some, they connect through Seesaw, or they schedule individual Google Meets or phone calls. In addition, the social workers work closely with the administration, the remote teachers, the in-person teachers, the nurses, to help reach and support remote and in-person students and their families. This includes attendance, which I will lead into Kyle, but that also includes connecting with, like connecting the remote teachers and in-person teachers, making sure that kids are, the students are attending, and what's going on, and finding more information to help support that. The primary grade schools have also utilized food and material deliveries to do some check-ins at home. And then, we've also used school social workers to assist to overcome barriers to get to schools, such as food, clothing, housing, or any mental health referrals. The social workers, along with administration, nurses, teachers, are always here to support all the students and the families. And with that, Kyle will speak more about attendance.
[0:26:40] Good evening, everybody. I'm going to follow along what Kelsey and Amanda just talked about with, in terms of, attendance. As Kelsey mentioned, our, kind of, process right now, and for tracking attendance, obviously, there is in-person attendance that we do regularly through Infinite Campus, and that happens, obviously, on a daily basis, and we have, and like every year, following up when a kid is not, or a student is not, at school for in-person. The wrinkle this year, of course, is both the remote days for students that are participating in the hybrid model and the students who are fully-remote. And for students that are fully-remote, that looks a little different than the remote days for in-person students. For the remote days, on the in-person student end, we have, a form has been created for parents to, basically, report attendance on a daily basis. That form has been provided, primarily, through either Seesaw or Google Classroom. And our office staff, administrative assistance in both buildings, will take that data each day and match it against, you know, our in-person students. If an in-person student does not complete that remote attendance form, then they're marked, right now, as not, basically, not attending the remote day. So that's how we're following that.
[0:28:02] In the fully-remote world, because we have students that are attending daily Zoom sessions, attendance is taken by our fully-remote teachers during the Zoom session, whether it's during a morning meeting, or if they're attending an individualized targeted group. So we're kind of tracking it on both fronts, depending on the status of the student, whether they're fully remote or participating in the hybrid model on an off-campus day. When it comes to attendance tracking, the, we have a, you know, the benefit of the form, while it has its challenges, you know, being an online form, that parents have to navigate, the benefit is it provides real-time information for us. So we can pull down that data, you know, day of, and we can start looking at trends. So we can see which students are completing, which students are not completing it, and that allows, either the school administrative assistant, our social work staff, or, you know, building-level admin, to follow up on a daily basis with, and look at those trends and patterns with student attendance, so. And that's what, that's the summary, kind of, of our attendance, as it stands right now.
[0:29:13] All right, thank you all. So, we'll, I'm going to take just a quick moment to let board members ask any questions they might have around the primary school, and then we'll transition to our intermediate school. So, board members, any questions?
[0:29:30] I do.
[0:29:31] Go ahead, Lisa.
[0:29:32] Um, I'm just wondering, with the attendance, how it's, with the, checking the box or checking on the link, how is that working? Are the majority of parents doing that, or is, are we missing a lot?
[0:29:48] It is a, it's a mix. And I can say that, and I think Kelsey, feel free to jump in on the JFK end, you know, it is a mixed bag, I will say. We have a good, solid chunk of parents that are doing it really consistently, and we have another chunk of parents that, it's sporadic, and in some, you know, there's always that small group that is just not completing it. The one thing that we're noticing, in terms of attendance tracking, right, is the attendance, remote attendance form is one data point. It's an important data point, it gives us, you know, the daily tracking piece, but what we're finding is that, while parents may not, always, be doing the remote attendance tracking form, they are, the students are actually completing remote work, or participating on Seesaw, or engaging, you know, with learning. So, just because, in some cases, the attendance form isn't, they're not hitting the attendance form, does not always mean they're not doing anything on the remote days. So that's the real, that's that kind of fine line that we're, you know, kind of digging deeper into when we're looking at that data.
[0:30:52] And are you seeing, in kindergarten, the same thing, with attendance, and do we have truancy issues, or are people, generally, either, they may be not checking off the box, but their kids are engaged?
[0:31:07] Go ahead, Kelsey.
[0:31:08] So, kind of, like Kyle was saying, like, the, especially for pre-K and kindergarten, there's a good chunk of kids going to daycares, and so the parents either, you know, forgot to do it in the morning, and do it later in the afternoon, but there are some, like Kyle was saying, there's a big chunk that will do that. We have some that won't, and then that's where, between the classroom teacher and administration, and the social worker, we're reaching out to kind of figure out where the, kind of the breakdown is, or how we can help support. And as far as truancy, I don't, I haven't seen an issue yet with truancy, but again, this, the form is really, we, kind of, tweaked it from the, you know, beginning of the school year. So, and by tweaking, I mean, the in-person days, like, for instance, you have your Monday, Thursday, they're not filling out the form on Monday, Thursday, because they're in-person. So it's, now it's only, they're doing it on their remote, and so, because of that, like Kyle was saying, we're kind of gathering all that data now to see where, you know, where's the disconnect, or is there, like, like Kyle said, is the student actually doing the work, and the parent is just forgetting to do the form, or what's going on, or is it technology, or is it, so, so there's not, you know, yes or no yet, but we are definitely digging into that now.
[0:32:32] Okay.
[0:32:33] Any other questions for the primary school?
[0:32:36] I have a, I have a, go ahead.
[0:32:39] Go ahead, Randy.
[0:32:41] I have just a quick question about, is, is the remote instruction recorded so that in the event that the student misses the, uh, synchronous instruction, they have an opportunity to watch it asynchronously?
[0:32:56] So right now, currently, for student privacy purposes, we're not recording remote, like, live sessions. However, the teachers are posting any videos of mini-lessons that they can find to Seesaw, as well as they're also holding office hours. So at the end of the day, students and families can pop into their Zoom room with any questions that they might have on any instruction that happened that day, or if they need extra support.
[0:33:23] Thank you.
[0:33:26] Michelle, you had a question?
[0:33:29] Yes, thank you. I'm just curious, because I'm not totally clear, on how, and I know this may be varied by grade, but how much time a day are, like, let's say, a, someone in the hybrid model, versus someone in the fully remote model, how much time are they on a live, with a teacher on a daily basis?
[0:33:55] Kyle, or Kelsey, or Amanda, do you want to grab that one?
[0:33:59] Yeah, I can, I'll take a, start that one. I think it varies, you know, from grade level to grade level, in terms of, you know, what that looks like. I'll take the second grade team, for example. The way they have, and they, as you, Michelle, I know, you know this, but they have dedicated fully-remote teachers. So they have two dedicated fully-remote teachers that are not teaching in-person. So in terms of, like, a hybrid child, their off-campus day, essentially, right now, looks like, is asynchronous, meaning that they are doing work that was either prepared for them by the in-person classroom teacher while they were, you know, off-campus, so that they're either doing assignments or projects that have been assigned. They are also popping, you know, they're also doing things, potentially, through Seesaw, or they're doing other kinds of, either, targeted work that's been assigned by the in-person teacher. When it comes to the fully-remote student, because their teachers are, the two teachers, the two second-grade teachers are dedicated, their schedule is, kind of, laid out in such a way that they're starting with a morning meeting, and that whole group is participating, and then that day is then broken up into, typically, like, in-person, it would be direct, like, reading instruction, writing instruction, and math. They are also, during the course of the day, doing either small group, reading, or math groups on Zoom with their students. So, like, that's what, that's kind of how they're running it at that second-grade level.
[0:35:36] So it varies, depending on if it's the hybrid off-campus day, versus the fully-remote, you know, structure, but in terms of, like, exact hours of the day, that, you know, would depend on, kind of, what's, you know, what they have scheduled for each child on a given day. Amanda or Kelsey, feel free to jump in on what it looks like at the other levels.
[0:36:01] Pre-K, the two remote teachers are on Zoom, probably, about an hour, an hour and a half, between their small group, large group, and then one-on-ones, so, and which is pretty appropriate for that developmental age.
[0:36:19] And then in kindergarten and first grade, the average is about two to three hours, depending on, like Kyle said, if it's a day that they have a small group or not, in addition to whole group instruction.
[0:36:31] Okay, thank you.
[0:36:34] Any other questions for the primary school?
[0:36:39] All right. Hearing none, thank you, Amanda, Kelsey, and Kyle. We'll transition now to Biddeford Intermediate School. We have with us this evening, Principal Salacinski.
[0:36:52] Good evening, everyone. Nice to see you. For remote instruction, at the intermediate school, as Jeremy had shared earlier, last, as Kyle had said, we do have dedicated remote teachers at each grade level, which has been great, so they don't have to plan for in-person and remote. It's just remote, which has been a nice relief for them. For daily instruction, very similar to BPS, so we do have, during in-person, not in-person, the remote day, teachers start the day, typically, around 8:30, with a live morning meeting, whole group. They review social-emotional lessons. They may do, like, an introduction to a lesson for that day, and that could last anywhere from 30 minutes, you know, give or take. Throughout the day, students participate in small, targeted groups, based on assessment data, and their specific needs. So depending on the day, like Kelsey had said, in Amanda, a student could be in a group, in one group a day, two, up to four. It really depends on what that student needs. So they participate in that small group, and it's targeted directly to their needs.
[0:37:55] Teachers are using the same curriculum as the in-person teachers. So in math, they're using Bridges. In reading, they're using the Fountas and Pinnell, as well as, they pull from, depending on their grade level, they'll pull other resources to assist with their needs. When students are not in live sessions, they are completing work independently, either using a digital platform, like Google Classroom, or they are working on, paper, pencil, and materials that we prepare and send home on a bi-weekly basis. So the parents pick them up every other Tuesday. The teachers prepare packets. We have a set of parents that are dedicated to helping organize those packets for our teachers, which has been great. They're all labeled, bagged, and they come and pick them up. If parents are unable to pick them up, we drop them off, which has been nice. So each child has what they need to work at home, during their independent time.
[0:38:48] During hybrid, their off days, students work independently, again, on paper, pencil tasks, and on the Google Classroom, typically around topics that they covered on their in-person days, to reinforce those skills. For social-emotional supports, we have four social workers that are available to all students. They meet with remote students individually, or in small groups. They have scheduled days and times that they do that. Some students do need that regular scheduled, like they did in in-person, and others are as needed, so they're in contact with parents, by phone, or video conferencing. If we see a student's not participating, then they'll reach out, and see what the problem is, and help to alleviate any stress, or help with any issues that they're having, to help them get online. And then again, they also make, they make home visits, they do drop-offs of food, clothing, they're helping with all of that. They connect with attendance. So we have, on our off days, students do have the attendance form, that they have to fill out. The remote students, when they participate in their morning meeting, the teachers take attendance then. If a student is not present, then we connect with the social workers, and we follow up with those families. So, they've been busy, that's for sure.
[0:40:02] And any questions?
[0:40:07] Board members, any questions for Principal Salacinski?
[0:40:11] Um, yes, I have a question. Um, when you have the, for the hybrid model, the kids who are not in-person learning, on the days they're not there, is there any live interaction with a teacher on those days?
[0:40:31] For off days, no. Some teachers hold office hours on Fridays, because in-person teachers do not have their students on Fridays. So some teachers have chosen to open up, you know, a Zoom session for questions, or if kids want to just come in and say hello, or connect with their peers. So, they do have that available, but generally, their off-campus days, they are working independently.
[0:40:53] Okay, thank you.
[0:40:57] Any other questions for Principal Salacinski?
[0:41:03] All right. Hearing none, thank you, Melissa. And we will move on to the middle school. We have with us this evening Principal Scott Waddell.
[0:41:13] Good evening, everyone. So at the middle school, with our fully remote students, they are assigned to teams, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade, and they have four core teachers. So all of our remote students have a direct math teacher, science teacher, social studies, and ELA teacher, in each of those four core classes. They also have an allied arts teacher for every quarter, so a fully remote student will be able to do art, health, music, PE, French, or Spanish throughout the year, as well. So their day pretty much mirrors a regular school day, in the sense that they will log in four, up to five times a day, for their live sessions with their classroom teachers, and those sessions run for about 30 to 45 minutes, with the last 15 minutes of an hour session usually for asynchronous work, or for small group work, or one-to-one time, with the, with that core teacher. For social-emotional learning, like our other schools, we do start each day with an advisory period, and that runs from 8:00 to 8:30 in the morning, where teachers are doing a SEL, social-emotional learning lesson, or relationship building, check-ins, or getting the students ready for the, the day. Our counselors and our social workers are also following up, similarly to other schools, in individual, or small group meetings. We've got social skills groups, lunch bunch groups, to be able to help kids get connected. And they're also connecting with parents.
[0:42:37] For our attendance, our attendance is taken, daily, by the advisory teacher, and then, at each of the classes, attendance is taken, and if a student is absent, we're making those phone calls, as we would in a, in a normal, in-person day. For our students that are in the hybrid model, it is a little bit different. So when the student is not in-person, their instruction is asynchronous. Teachers are providing videos, through Google Classroom. They are providing work, through Google Classroom, and that work could be from the previous day, when they were in person, or it could be a flip-classroom model, where they're getting ready for the next day, when they are, when they're in person, with the, with the teacher. On our off-days, our Fridays, so that's a, when teachers are planning, teachers also have targeted groups, small groups, and office hours on, on those, Fridays.
[0:43:30] For our attendance, in the hybrid model, it has been a challenge, especially, with off-campus days. We're using a, a Google Form, in Google Classroom, so students, each day, go in and answer a couple of questions. It's a quick, one, two questions. They get it in, and we can pull that data, as Kyle said, in real time, and we can follow up with, with those students. We, similarly, have truant officers, or social workers, or deans, who do home visits, if there's prolonged, lack of, attendance, or engagement. And we make those daily phone calls, through our office, to touch base with parents. And sometimes, it's just, you know, they didn't do the Google Form, and they're doing their, they are doing their work, but in other times, it's a good touch point, for our office, to, to reach out to our families.
[0:44:17] Thank you, Scott. Any questions from the board, for Principal Waddell?
[0:44:24] I have a question, again, about, you know, when a student, in the hybrid, and, or remote, I guess, misses a day, can they catch up on that day, if the classes are recorded, or do they only have the office hours to follow up?
[0:44:45] So in the fully-remote, all of the remote lessons are, the live lessons are synchronous, but teachers will typically create, or find, instructional videos to help teach that standard, or teach that concept. So, they do have access to videos that they can watch. They also have, at the end of the day, from 2:00 to 2:45, all of the remote teachers have office hours. So if a student was to miss, they would be able to drop into that office hour, touch base with their teacher, find out what they missed, and they can catch up on, on their work that way.
[0:45:17] Thank you.
[0:45:19] Any other questions for Principal Waddell?
[0:45:26] All right. Hearing none, thank you, Scott. And now, we'll transition to the high school. We have this evening, with us, Principal Martha Jacques.
[0:45:36] Good evening. For, to start, for, to discuss fully remote, we, also, because the students are, at the high school level, taking a variety of different courses, their teachers are the same teachers that are teaching in-person classes, and some of the classes are actually integrated, where the, some remote students will zoom in to a, what's also a, in-person class, and other, in other cases, students take courses through APEX, which is an online learning platform. We're using APEX, particularly, for high-level math, foreign language, and, an online science class. For a typical day for, in the, in a remote setting, students are, they have six 50-minute periods, throughout the day. So the teachers are utilizing that time to do synchronous instruction, asynchronous instruction, and small group, or individual, instruction. Teachers post agendas and their Zoom links each morning on their Google Classroom, so students know what they're expected to do for each of their periods, in that, within that day.
[0:46:48] In the hybrid model, as I mentioned, it's, in-person and remote learners are doing a combination of things. So during their in-person days, that's synchronous, direct instruction. In the, on their remote days, they are either receiving asynchronous instruction, where they're accessing material through Google Classroom. Other teachers are teaching concurrently, where they have remote students who are zooming in with the in-person students, or they're having specific check-in times, where the, remote students will zoom in for the first 15 or 20 minutes of class, to review what was done the day before, or what is going to be done that day. And then they have the remainder of that period to do their, their, individual work.
[0:47:32] On the, on Fridays, teachers hold, live, office hours, and also are scheduling specific times to meet with, either, fully remote, or hybrid students, in small groups, or individually, to follow up on work, or do other check-ins. For social-emotional supports, at the high school, this is an area where we have a lot of resources. Our counselors, social workers, our restorative practice coordinator, are all, readily available to students. They're reaching out to students, both through email, Zoom, and in-person. The, some of our counselors are, also, participating in in-person, some in-person classes, with freshmen, who are having difficulties, or are in need of additional support. And also, running different groups.
[0:48:20] We have a group that's starting, that's a yoga-based social-emotional group, for, fully-remote students. And we're trying out different ways to get kids connected with other peers, and have an outlet. In terms of attendance, on fully remote, in the fully remote setting, teachers are taking attendance, by period, every single period, every day. For the hybrid, in the hybrid model, teachers are, in the, for students on their remote days, students are logging in to Infinite Campus and checking that they are here. They have between 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. to do that, so that we can have that data by the end of the day. And then, we follow the same process as we do for in-person.
[0:48:58] If a student has not signed in, an automated call goes home, around 1:00. If we see a pattern of three, five, seven days, that's when you will have contact from counselors, social workers, admin, and eventually, the, truancy officer, making home visits. So, we're really trying to make sure, while it's a new process for, definitely, high school students, to have to check in, and on their own, take that responsibility, we're starting to see better results, as we get further along in the semester.
[0:49:28] Any questions?
[0:49:32] Board members, any questions for Principal Jacques?
[0:49:38] All right. Hearing none, thank you, Martha. And our last, our last stop on our tour of the Biddeford School Department, this evening, is the Biddeford Regional Center of Technology. We have with us this evening, Director Paulette Bonneau.
[0:49:57] Good evening. The COT has a little bit different twist on what we're doing. Because we're a regional center, and we have multiple schools coming into our, our school, and we have sending schools that have different schedules, such as Old Orchard is, has different days than Thornton Academy. We, actually, do all of our remote learning on Wednesdays, and it's our, and that is a synchronous day. So, as they're required, they attend, and they are, they run through the regular schedule, and the teachers are, as I said, synchronous, and the attendance is taken, and sent to all the sending schools. And we have, probably, a 95 to 98% attendance on Wednesdays, so that is working very, very well.
[0:50:47] As far as fully-remote students, we, the majority of the classes are hands-on, and lab, so, many of the classes, we're not able to offer as fully-remote. But for those classes that we do have fully-remote students, those students are integrated in with our, the in-person classes, and the, the teacher is, is simultaneously teaching the students in front of them, and on screen. That has, it's had its challenges, but the, as we've gained better technology, that is working much better, and there are, for instances, like in early childhood, they're preparing packets, and they're picking them up, much like the other schools, and delivering, so that they have projects that they can work on. But at this point, we only have, out of the 350-plus students, we only have seven fully-remote students. So, we've had students, we've gained some students, who wanted to do hybrid, and go back to remote, but they're staying with the COT, and we've accommodated, where, as much as we can, so. As far as social-emotional, much like, similar to the high school, we use all the resources, with counselors, and sending school counselors, to support, and, we also follow up with attendance, which is, is, like I said, very, very good. And that's pretty much a summary of the COT.
[0:52:16] Great, thank you, Paulette. Any questions for Director Bonneau, from the board?
[0:52:27] Hearing none, thank you, Paulette. And that concludes our presentation, for this evening, around remote learning in the Biddeford School Department. And we'd be, if there's any other broad questions, I'm glad to answer, answer those.
[0:52:43] Do you have any questions for anyone?
[0:52:47] I just want to add, I know how, what a tough job this has been for all of the teachers, and, to transition to all of this, and administrators, and staff, and bus drivers, and, you know, everybody. And I just, as a, on the school board, but also as a member of the community, I just, and as a parent, I just really, really appreciate everything you are doing, because I know that, this is really uncharted territory, and everyone is trying so hard, to, to make things work. And you know, we appreciate your efforts, and appreciate that we are moving toward, you know, working through to get to that place where we can have the kids in school. So, thank you.
[0:53:36] Thank you, Michelle. Anyone else?
[0:53:40] Yeah, I'd like to mirror Michelle's comments. I agree completely. I also want to, I guess, follow up with this. And it may be in my mind, that we had, that the DOE had put a restriction on recording, direct instruction, or live instruction, with the hybrid model. Has, has that been a state-mandated issue, or is that something that we are doing as a district?
[0:54:14] Randy, are you asking about, like, recording remote, or are you asking about something different?
[0:54:19] Yeah, with, well, recording any live instruction, whether it be in-person or, on, or remote, in the event that that live instruction would contain the images of students.
[0:54:33] Yeah, so that, we haven't received specific guidance from DOE on recording. There's, generally, a reluctance on our part to record, and store those, for student privacy purposes, and particularly around FERPA, which is Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act, because anytime you record something that has identifiable student information, that could become an educational record. And so we want to be very, very careful about that. And obviously, with parents having differing opinions on their student being recorded, that makes it challenging, as well. So in general, we steer away from that. There are instances where that, you know, might happen for educational purposes, but it's not a general practice that we record everything.
[0:55:23] Understood. The only, the reason that I, I bring that up is just because, in the, in a remote, or asynchronous, or, I'm sorry, in the hybrid or remote model, if the instruction, or even in-person, is recorded, then the other cohort has the ability to view it, asynchronously. That's, that's kind of what I was getting at, is the, if the instruction is recorded, whether that instruction is in-person, or remote, that it provides another tool for those students, who may not be able to attend live. So it was just, you know, just something to think about, or consider, if we haven't already.
[0:56:06] Yeah, and that's a good thought, Randy. And you know, part of that is also just making sure we balance the technology needs, in terms of video storage, and server, and access, because video uses a tremendous amount of bandwidth, and a tremendous amount of storage, which we don't necessarily always have, in, in high quantities. But, definitely a good suggestion.
[0:56:29] Thank you.
[0:56:32] Any other questions, or comments?
[0:56:34] Rebecca?
[0:56:35] Yeah, I just had, thank you, Marty. I had, kind of, just wanted to, again, mirror the gratitude, absolutely. And, also, I'm a little bit curious about the, like, how, what is, do we have any, like, metrics, or numbers, or anything, on, you know, how this is going, or is it, too early? Like, are we, do we have a way to know, like, how successful this has been, or are there, things that we, areas of opportunity that, like, have stood out the most? Like, you know, how, what are we seeing, so far, now that we've kind of got our, feet wet, a little bit?
[0:57:12] Yeah, I think that's a great question. You know, we are in the midst of, particularly, at the elementary and intermediate levels, with NWEA testing. So, you know, we'll begin to get an initial set of data on where, the status of our learners. As you know, NWEA does test three times a year, so we'll have a fall benchmark, and then be able to measure progress, from there. We're also, right now, as building administrators have said, they're taking a look at attendance data, and what does attendance data look like? It is an elusive metric, as administrators have pointed out, because, you know, measuring attendance when somebody's in-person is really easy, right? Are you physically there? But measuring attendance when you're at home, and did you actually engage in the material, or are you just checking a box, is a very different thing.
[0:58:05] And so, starting to try to unpack that, and make sure that we're being, you know, thoughtful about how we're measuring that. And then, we'll continue to keep looking at other metrics, and, you know, we're glad to provide, you know, a presentation, in the future, around what we're learning, in terms of attendance and, you know, general data. And of course, the, the feedback, you know, parent feedback and teacher feedback is critical, and making sure that we're listening carefully to their experiences.
[0:58:36] Great, thank you.
[0:58:37] You're welcome.
[0:58:38] Any other questions or comments?
[0:58:43] I, too, would like to say thank you. I know you've all been working very hard, you, your staff, your bus drivers, everyone. And you're doing a fantastic job, and, I just want to say thank you to all of you.
[0:58:55] Thank you, Marty.
[0:58:58] Do we have, I guess, that's it for that item. Next is, resignations for information only. We have Sandra Larochelle, grade four teacher at BIS, and, consideration of retirement. So, we make a motion to accept, with regret, the retirement of Cindy Bato, educational technician at BHS, with 34 years of service. Is there a second?
[0:59:26] Nathan, second.
[0:59:28] Nathan, any discussion?
[0:59:32] All right, we'll take a vote. Nathan?
[0:59:36] Randy?
[0:59:38] Yes.
[0:59:39] Lisa?
[0:59:40] Yes.
[0:59:41] Rebecca?
[0:59:42] Yes.
[0:59:43] Michelle?
[0:59:44] Yes.
[0:59:45] Nathan?
[0:59:46] Yes.
[0:59:47] [inaudible]?
[0:59:48] Yes.
[0:59:48] And myself, yes. That's seven. Next is to accept, with regret, the retirement of John Bedard, custodian at BHS, with 20 years of service. Do I have a second?
[1:00:00] Nathan, second.
[1:00:01] Nathan, any discussion?
[1:00:05] All right, let's take a vote.
[1:00:08] Randy?
[1:00:09] Yes.
[1:00:10] Lisa?
[1:00:11] Yes.
[1:00:12] Rebecca?
[1:00:13] Yes.
[1:00:14] Michelle?
[1:00:15] Yes.
[1:00:16] Nathan?
[1:00:17] Yes.
[1:00:18] [inaudible]?
[1:00:19] Yes.
[1:00:20] And myself, yes. That's seven. Next is to accept, with regret, the retirement of Robert St. Cyr, custodian at BMS, with 12 years of service. Is there a second?
[1:00:31] Second.
[1:00:32] Thank you, Randy. Any discussion?
[1:00:37] All right, let's take a vote, Nathan.
[1:00:40] Randy?
[1:00:41] Yes.
[1:00:42] Lisa?
[1:00:43] Yes.
[1:00:44] Rebecca?
[1:00:45] Yes.
[1:00:46] Michelle?
[1:00:47] Yes.
[1:00:48] Nathan?
[1:00:49] Yes.
[1:00:50] [inaudible]?
[1:00:51] Yes.
[1:00:52] And myself, yes, that's seven. And next is to accept, with regret, the retirement of Cynthia Taylor, van driver at the transportation department, with 25 years of service. Do I have a second?
[1:01:04] Second.
[1:01:05] Thank you, Randy. Any discussion?
[1:01:09] All right, let's take a vote, Nathan.
[1:01:13] Randy?
[1:01:14] Yes.
[1:01:15] Lisa?
[1:01:16] Yes.
[1:01:17] Rebecca?
[1:01:18] Yes.
[1:01:19] Michelle?
[1:01:20] Yes.
[1:01:21] Nathan?
[1:01:22] Yes.
[1:01:23] [inaudible]?
[1:01:24] Yes.
[1:01:25] And myself, yes, that's seven. That is it, and next is executive session, to consider the evaluation of officials/appointees, pursuant to 1 M.R.S.A. § 405(6)(A).
[1:01:38] I make a motion to move to executive session. Do I have a second?
[1:01:42] Nathan, second.
[1:01:44] All right, let's take a vote.
[1:01:46] Randy?
[1:01:47] Yes.
[1:01:48] Lisa?
[1:01:49] Yes.
[1:01:50] Rebecca?
[1:01:51] Yes.
[1:01:52] Michelle?
[1:01:53] Yes.
[1:01:54] Nathan?
[1:01:55] Yes.
[1:01:56] [inaudible]?
[1:01:57] Yes.
[1:01:58] And myself, yes, that's seven. So we're moving to executive session. Thank you, everyone, and have a good night.
[1:02:04] [silence]
[1:02:44] You have to leave.
[1:02:45] [silence]
[0:20:00] [inaudible] I'm making to the presentation that we're giving on November 3rd, is changing a little bit of the beginning pieces to really lay a baseline of what was currently funded and is continually funded, and what isn't, so that you know the depth of what we're talking about, because we had people ask questions, well is all that currently in existence? No, it's not. So we had to do that. And then the second part that I added was the actual cost for a taxpayer, so you knew the financial impact.
[0:20:30] Okay. We're going to put that in the newsletter as well for this month. All right. Thank you so much. Good night. Next on the agenda is public comments regarding items on the agenda.
[0:21:00] There are no public comments. Next is approval of the minutes. We have the minutes from October 14th, 2026.
[0:21:13] Are there any discussion or corrections regarding the minutes?
[0:21:20] Motion to approve?
[0:21:24] Second? All in favor? Unanimous. Thank you.
[0:21:30] Super tenders, we don't think we have that on our, we don't have that yet, do we, Jeremy? Yes. Oh, is it? Did you find it? It's under superintendent notes. Okay. Let me just find it again. If not, Jeremy, you can read it if you'd like. Sure. Superintendent report, Jeremy.
[0:22:00] So good evening everybody. Tonight I have some positive news from our food and nutrition department, specifically surrounding the high school's greenhouse. We are pleased to report that the garden to cafeteria initiative at the high school is thriving this fall. Thanks to the hard work of a dedicated, paid, high school greenhouse intern. Our students have been able to enjoy fresh locally grown produce directly from the school cafeteria.
[0:22:30] During September and October, our intern harvested and delivered 16 pounds of mixed lettuce, 41 pounds of tomatoes, two pounds of Thai basil, one pound of Genovese basil, six and a half pounds of peppers, and six and a half pounds of cucumbers. The intern has played a vital role in every step of this process, including planting, pest management, watering, harvesting, washing, and sanitizing the produce.
[0:23:00] Once in the kitchen, high school cafeteria staff integrated the fresh vegetables into lunch offerings. Freshly chopped lettuce was used as a taco topping, Thai basil and bell peppers were featured in sweet chili chicken rice bowl, cherry tomatoes enhanced the freshly made salads, and the basil was blended with local garlic scapes into an incredible pesto, and the cucumbers were sliced up for the salad bar. In addition to greenhouse tasks, the intern is gaining hands on experience in the kitchen, helping with meal prep,
[0:23:30] sanitizing tables, and setting up lunch stations. This well-rounded role provides valuable vocational skills, connects classroom learning to the real world, and contributes to the school community. We are excited about the success of this program and look forward to expanding our student internship and apprenticeship opportunities, giving more students the chance to engage in meaningful work based learning. And we'd like to extend a special thanks to our food service director, Rachel Brand, for her leadership in this effort.
[0:24:00] And that's all I have.
[0:24:08] Okay, thank you. You're welcome. We have no committee reports.
[0:24:14] Under new business, the first item is first reading of policy DJ, bidding and purchasing.
[0:24:30] Any questions or discussion regarding the policy? Second?
[0:24:41] No, you don't have to vote. Okay, this is the first read. So next would be the first reading of policy DJH, purchasing and contracting procurement staff code of conduct.
[0:25:00] Again, it's just the first read, so we will table both of those until next time.
[0:25:06] If anybody has any questions, let Dr. Ray know. Next would be public participation on non-agenda items.
[0:25:21] There is none. Communication? We have no communication. Any comments from school committee members, Mr. Morissette? No, ma'am. Mr. Lessard?
[0:25:40] Mr. Coyle? No, ma'am. Miss Martin?
[0:25:45] Miss McPhee?
[0:25:50] No. Okay.
[0:25:56] And myself, I have none.
[0:26:00] Next would be a motion to adjourn. So moved.
[0:26:06] Second?
[0:26:10] All in favor? Unanimous. Thank you. Have a good evening.
[0:27:17] Thank you, Brenda.