RSU 24 Schools Closure Extended – Resume Monday April 27

RSU 24 Superintendent Michael Eastman sent a letter to Parents and Guardians on Friday, March 20th, effectively extending the District's school closures through April 26th. Schools are closed through April 20th, but with the April Vacation, the earliest that school will resume is Monday, April 27th.

Superintendent Eastman's letter is below

Dear Parents,

In the past several days at Regional School Unit #24, we have worked hard to keep its students, parents, and communities informed of the latest regarding the impact of the Coronavirus on our schools. After much consideration, I wanted to let you know that I have decided to extend the school shutdown  through the end of April vacation. At this point, the plan is to observe April vacation as originally scheduled and then have students back in our schools/programs on Monday, April 27th. With that said, the situation  before us is fluid, and changes could come about rather quickly. We will continue to communicate any changes to our plan as soon as possible.

Through the extended closure, we plan to continue to provide food to all of our students who are interested . As noted in previous communications, there are no income guidelines for any of our students to receive this food. If you are currently not receiving food and would like to access this opportunity, please contact the Principal at your local K- 8 school. I am pleased  to report  that we have had great success with the delivery of the meals to all of our communities over the first two days.

We also plan to continue our remote-learning program with our students through the extended closure. Please remember that these learning opportunities are allowable by the Maine Department of Education to count towards our school calendar, and, just as during normal times when the schools are open. your child's participation is critical. Full participation from our students will prevent a lengthy gap in their learning, which could have a very detrimental impact on them now and into the future.

The first deployment of your child's learning opportunities, which took place yesterday, was generally a success. We know there were a few snags - those are being resolved as I pen this letter. At RSU 24, we want to make sure that your child is provided the education and support that he/she deserves during this very challenging time. We will communicate the details of the next deployment of learning materials as soon as the plan is ready for distribution.

Please continue to check the RSU #24 Facebook page and the Facebook page of your child's school for the latest updates. Please know the decisions that have been made over the past week to shut down our schools were not easy, but they were made with the health, safety, and security of our students, RSU staff, and the broader community in mind. I wish you and your family the best during these difficult times.

Michael Eastman