Everyone agrees that all students in the public schools need to be kept as safe as possible while the coronavirus is with us. I believe, however, the Portland school board is doing a great disservice to the students of Portland and Deering high schools with their remote learning center model for grades 10-12. This model includes no in-class learning time with only access to in-person supports or virtual office hours with teachers.

The seniors in these schools are competing with other students around the country to get into college starting next fall and need lots of personal interaction with their teachers. High school-level students have a more exacting course of study then those in other grade levels.

Consider, for example, those high school students who wish to pursue a degree in a science, technology, engineering and/or math-related field. Many of these students are required to take courses in biology, chemistry and physics. All three of these courses have an important laboratory component of learning that requires hands-on experience. How are the students going to be able to address this component of learning remotely? Imagine a student at home trying to work on a chemistry lab using a Bunsen burner while trying to react two chemical compounds. Good luck with that! This simply will not work.

Pursuing a STEM-related major at college is difficult enough without having one’s hand tied behind one’s back. Please let Portland’s high school students have some in-class hours so they can compete fairly with other students from around the country.

Samuel Rosenthal
Portland

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