To: MSAD 15 Community
From: Craig King, Superintendent
Date: November 20, 2020
Re: Holiday Travel
Unfortunately, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is increasing significantly on a daily basis across Maine and the United States as a whole. We have refocused our efforts at the school level to be compliant with COVID-19 health and safety guidelines. We all realize it is critically important that our school community continues to do everything possible to keep our schools safe, open, and able to provide in-person instruction to students.
As we approach the holiday season, families will have to make difficult decisions regarding holiday gatherings and out-of-town/out-of-state travel. Personally, I will not be traveling to northern Maine for Thanksgiving with my 83-year-old mother and extended family. It was a hard decision; however, I determined the risks to be too great. All families will have to use their best judgement regarding the question of holiday travel and large family gatherings.
The United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued strong guidance to the American people to limit our interactions and travel this holiday season so that we can all gather safely in the future. Both the U.S. CDC and Maine CDC provide excellent information on this topic:
U.S. CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/holidays.html
Maine CDC: https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/epi/airborne/coronavirus/travel.shtml
Any staff or students who travel to any state other than New Hampshire or Vermont will be required to either:
- Quarantine for 14 days upon return to Maine, or
- Quarantine until receiving a negative COVID-19 test result. The COVID-19 test result must be taken either:
- In the state you are visiting and no more than 72 hours prior to your return to Maine, or
- Once you return to Maine
Any staff or students who travel to restricted states will not be permitted inside the school building until either the negative test result can be produced or the 14-day quarantine has been met. Even a one-day visit to a restricted state would trigger this requirement. All household members who travel must test or quarantine if over 12 months old. Any person who is in quarantine should stay home and not have in-person contact with others outside the home unless absolutely necessary. Information on Maine COVID-19 testing sites can be found: https://www.maine.gov/covid19/restartingmaine/keepmainehealthy/testing
We ask all families to keep in close contact with either the school nurse or school administrator regarding any possible exposure to a person with a confirmed COVID-19 case, pending COVID-19 test results, confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis, or travel to a restricted state:
Ted Finn, High School Principal tfinn@sad15.org
Sadie Grealish, High School Assistant Principal sgrealish@sad15.org Cristie Barone, High School Nurse, cbarone@sad15.org
Richard Benoit, Middle School Principal rbenoit@sad15.org
Kristin Dacko, Middle School Assistant Principal kdacko@sad15.org Shelley Blake, Middle School Health Office, sblake@sad15.org
Danny Blake, Russell School Principal, dblake@sad15.org
Dorothy Foster, Russell School Health Office, dfoster@sad15.org Amanda Hennessey, Memorial School Principal, ahennessey@sad15.org Tracey Ross, Memorial School Health Office, tross@sad15.org
Geoff Robbins, Dunn School Principal, grobbins@sad15.org
Tonia Gilley-Pratt, Dunn School Nurse, tgilley-pratt@sad15.org
It was not the intent of this memo to add stress to your busy and demanding lives. However, it is important we keep working together as we tackle the challenges presented by this pandemic. Thank you for your support and have a restful, happy Thanksgiving break.
