Parents and Students,
I hope you are having a great summer. I know summertime goes fast, and with August right around the corner, there are a couple of updates I want all parents and students to have.
There is a lot of work going on in our district this summer. Roof repairs, ventilation and air quality upgrades, new doors and windows, classroom upgrades, new tennis courts, and of course our annual thorough cleaning of all our schools. Our free lunch program has continued throughout the summer, this has been a great thing for families in our towns. I am appreciative of the staff who have been working hard this summer (our maintenance staff, our building secretarial staff, our transportation staff, our central office staff, our summer school staff, our nutrition staff and our administrators).
School safety has been a priority of our district for many years, but with recent events in the news I want you to know that we have been reviewing our emergency plans, and we take staff and student safety very seriously. Schools across the country have been focusing on how they prepare for a variety of emergency scenarios. Our district has had good plans in place for years, but we have spent significant time this summer attending training, reviewing our plans, and examining our communication and emergency preparedness.
Our resources officers, our new district safety officer and some of our administrators have attended training this summer put on by state and national experts and law enforcement. Attached to this email are two documents for you to review on school safety. The first is a short document with definitions of six emergency scenarios. Our goal with this document is to make sure that all staff and parents have common language to improve communication and avoid confusion. The second attachment is a simple document that directs students and staff with what to do for basic steps in each scenario. This second document will be posted in the same location in every classroom in the district prior to the start of school. I want parents and staff to all have this same information.
In each school there will be two lock down drills, several fire / evacuation drills, and additional training with our administrators, teacher leaders, and state and local emergency personnel. Guarantees are impossible, but what we can do as a district is to make sure our staff and students are familiar with what to do in case of an emergency.
On another note, here is a link to the school calendar for this year on our website. I have received a few requests for this, so I am sending it to everyone. Take note of the early release days and workshop days when school will not be in session.
I love summer in Maine, but once again as summer wraps up, I am excited for another school year. We have tight knit communities and one of the best school districts in the state. I once again am starting the year incredibly thankful to our amazing staff, students and our communities.
As always, reach out to me with questions or comments. I will always try to get back to you quickly.
Enjoy the rest of your summer….. see you soon.
Carl Gartley
Superintendent of Schools
RSU 18
RSU 18 Messenger 