FARMINGTON — Regional School Unit 9 will explore options to increase in-person school days,  Curriculum Coordinator Laura Columbia announced at Tuesday evening’s board meeting.

The board approved March 26 as a teacher workshop day so Columbia can meet with staff to present proposed changes and get feedback.

Farmington board member Scott Erb asked Columbia if modifying the schedule this late in the school year was necessary because it may result in more complications for staff, parents and students.

“I am planning for a full return next year, right?” Columbia said. “I think we all are, we’re ready. I also want to be transparent, that is, I don’t know what the CDC guidelines are going to be so I think our model could be maximized more for more days for students on site. And I would also like to get that kind of feedback and implementation now so that when we start in the fall we’ll have a better understanding rather than starting the fall with a new model.” 

Regarding vaccinations, interim Superintendent Monique Poulin informed the board that all school staff are now eligible for the coronavirus vaccine following Gov. Janet Mills’ March 3 announcement.

“We were fortunate to get information that our staff members age 60 and older who are interested in a vaccination will be invited for their first vaccination on Saturday. Franklin Memorial/Maine Health is sponsoring that,” Poulin said.

Director of Technology Jeff Brazee provided the board with an update of the department’s distributions. From August to September over 1,300 laptops were issued to grades 6-12 and over 1,000 iPads were issued to students in kindergarten to fifth grade. In November and December, 150 iPads were distributed to those teaching grades 6-12.

Brazee also urged participants to fill out the broadband survey at www.mainebroadbandcoalition.org, which is using results to map the state’s internet accessibility.

In other business, members provided committee reports.

The Personnel and Finance Committee has been working on the district’s superintendent and business manager search. The Educational Policy Committee will be reviewing the district’s affirmative action policy which has not been revised in 20 years.

Supporting students through academic challenges has been the focus of the Drop-Out Prevention Committee which helped implement the Remote Starks Tutoring Project.

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