In an effort to offer students more in-person instruction before the school year ends, Morse High School is looking to launch a voluntary extended school day program.

Under Morse High School Principal Eric Varney’s plan, the extended school day program would run from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. four days per week. Students could go to a central location within the school where one staff member from each department would be available to help students with their remote learning assignments.

Varney said he and the school’s teachers are in favor of this program because it “opens a door for students who are struggling to get distance learning done, no matter what their grade is.”

With just seven weeks left in the school year, Varney said his goal is to make productive changes that will help students rather than disrupt any learning schedule students may have developed during an unusual school year under the pandemic.

“Ultimately, we want to provide as much as we can for our students and I think this could be a step in that direction,” said Varney. “Our goal is to provide a good environment for students to get their work done and get help from teachers.”

The Regional School Unit 1 school board approved Varney’s plan during an in-person meeting Monday. Notices will be sent to families to gauge interest in the program.

Varney said students would be asked to sign up for the extended day program, at least in the first week, to ensure the school can provide a space were students can safely distance themselves from others and enough staff will be available to help students.

Two RSU 1 parents made public comments at the meeting Monday calling on administrators to expand in-person learning — regardless of the state’s current school restrictions to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

RSU 1 parent Danielle Paus said she has “major concerns” about how long students have been limited to remote learning and said she feels “it’s time to get the kids back in school.”

“I know the teachers and administrators I’ve spoken to want to get kids back in school,” Paus said. “This has gone on for a very long time and it’s hard to justify out-of-state tourists coming in, people going out for dinner, shops being open, and yet Maine children still aren’t in school five days a week.”

While the district’s elementary and middle schools have devised ways to fit more students into school to expand their in-person learning offerings by grade, Varney said Morse High School doesn’t have that luxury.

Bringing more students back to the full in-person learning that many parents, teachers and students want would be “problematic” due to physical distancing requirements set by the Maine Department of Education, said Varney.

“We have, depending on the period of the day, 20-30 classes that wouldn’t fit in their classrooms with the 3-foot spacing,” Varney told the board Monday. “Lunch would be even further problematic and busing wouldn’t be possible.”

Varney said ninth grade would be easiest to allow into school for full in-person learning because only four to six classes wouldn’t fix into their classrooms, but classes have a mix of students from different grades, further complicating the issue.

RSU 1 Superintendent Patrick Manuel said the state hasn’t given the district any indication of what COVID-19 restrictions will look like when students are scheduled to return to school in the fall.

RSU 1 parent Kyle Beeton urged administrators to “make several plans” for how to operate in-person learning regardless of what the pandemic looks like in August rather than wait for the Maine Department of Education to announce guidelines.

“For the leadership of this district to simply sit on its hands and wait for August is, in my opinion, irresponsible,” Beeton said Monday. “Getting our students back in school is a community issue. This is a mental health issue, this is an economic issue, and if you don’t make these plans to get our kids back in school now, I feel like you’re gambling with our kids and the health and wellbeing of our community.”

Morse High School saw a slew of COVID-19 cases before April vacation, causing the school to move to full online learning earlier this month after the Maine CDC declared an outbreak at the school. According to the district’s website, 12 “individuals associated with” Morse High School tested positive for COVID-19 this month.

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