MSAD #1 will Continue Remote Learning for the end of School Year

MSAD #1 Superintendent, Ben Greenlaw, said the school district will not return to “face to face, in person instruction in our schools.”

Students, parents & staff were addressed in a memo May 1 saying MSAD #1 “will continue remote learning through the end of the 2019-2020 school year.”

Greenlaw went on to discuss important dates and procedures such as graduation and make-up work for different schools and grades in the district. He said “there will be no final exams given at Presque Isle High School this school year.”

The information was posted to Facebook, May 1:

Read the full memo:

May 1, 2020

Dear MSAD #1 Students, Parents, and Staff;

I hope this letter finds you well.  I understand that these are challenging times for students and families.  Please know that your students are missed by the faculty and staff of MSAD #1.  I am writing to provide some clarity regarding how we plan to end the school year in the district.

During her press conference on April 28,2020, Governor Janet Mills extended Maine’s Stay-at-Home Order through May 31, 2020.  This order requires that we continue social distancing practices and prohibits gatherings of ten people or more.  Due to the extension of the Stay-at-Home Order, MSAD #1 will continue remote learning through the end of the 2019-2020 school year. We will not be resuming face to face, in person instruction in our schools.  I held out hope that we would have the opportunity to come back to school this year, but a safe return is not an option at this time.  We are now shifting our focus to planning for the end of the 2019-2020 school year and considering options for opening our schools for face to face instruction for the 2020-2021 school year.

Please see below for end of school year dates and procedures:

Mapleton Elementary, Pine Street Elementary, Zippel Elementary, and Presque Isle Middle School will continue remote learning through Friday, June 5. The following week (June 8 – 12) will be utilized for students to complete make-up work and allow teachers to do the work necessary to conclude the school year.

Presque Isle High School seniors will conclude remote learning on Friday, May 29. June 1 through June 3 will be utilized for make-up work and allow teachers to finalize grades so that school officials can prepare for graduation.  We are planning on holding an in-person graduation ceremony for the Class of 2020, with social distancing guidelines in place, on Friday, June 5 and Saturday, June 6.  In the coming weeks, there will be more detailed information for the Class of 2020 from Presque Isle High School principal, David Bartlett.

Presque Isle High School students in grades nine through eleven will conclude remote learning on Friday, June 5, with the last official day of school being Monday, June 15.  We will use the remaining days after June 5 to allow students to complete the necessary make-up work and teachers the time needed in order to conclude the school year.  There will be no final exams given at Presque Isle High School this school year.

As we near the end of the strangest school year I have ever been a part of, I ask that we continue to be kind and understanding of each other considering the circumstances we are in.  Students, teachers, and parents have all faced unprecedented challenges during this time. We have been out of school since Friday, March 13, and left school that day not knowing it would be our last “regular” day of the year.  We will resume normalcy at some point. It is my hope that we will come out of this wiser and more resilient than before.

Best wishes and good health to all.

Sincerely, Ben Greenlaw, Superintendent