Maine Department of Education Commissioner Pender Makin Recommends Schools Remain Closed Through the End of the 2019-20 School Year

Late Tuesday evening, April 7th, Department of Education Commission Pender Makin recommended to School Superintendents in Maine that they continue school closures through the end of the 2019-20 school year, and education continue remotely for the rest of the year.

From the bulletin "As you may know, US CDC guidance recommends an 8 to 20 week timeframe for avoiding large group/in-person instruction once there is evidence of community transmission of COVID-19.  Therefore, I am recommending, with the support of the Governor, that you begin to plan to replace classroom/group instruction with remote/distance learning for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year.

It is difficult to make such a recommendation, recognizing the profound challenge of reinventing public education and the many culminating events and rites of passage that educators and students anticipate all year long. I also realize that this recommendation will be difficult for families to hear, given the challenges of childcare and managing school expectations on top of the other significant impacts of this state and national emergency."

You can read the full bulletin HERE