IMPORTANT UPDATE
March 16, 2020 (3:00 PM)
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Thank you for your understanding and patience as, per the Maine CDC, we have closed all our buildings and limited them to less than 10 essential personnel. We ask that you be patient in our responses-- many staff will be checking voice mail remotely and answering emails as able.
I felt it prudent to reiterate we have expanded our food distribution to all Dayton youth 18 and under, including students (grades 6-12) who attend schools in other towns (TA, TAMS, SMS, BMS, BHS, OOB, and KES). We had a successful first day of distribution at Biddeford Middle School and the rest of the week will include additional community sites, as well as a Free Food Distribution in conjunction with Good Shephard Food Parish.
Lunch and breakfast will be made available via curbside distribution to all youth 18 and under from 9:30-11:30 AM. Parents will be given lunch for that day and breakfast for the next day (2 bags). This is the schedule for the remainder of the first week of March 17-20 only (a schedule for the following week will forthcoming):
BIDDEFORD LOCATIONS:
Biddeford Middle School, John F. Kennedy School, APEX Youth Connection (formerly Community Bicycle Center) and McArthur Library.
Distance Learning Packets will be available inside a bin outside each school.
DAYTON LOCATION:
Dayton Consolidated School
ALL Dayton children 18 and under are eligible, including students (grades 6-12) who attend schools in other towns (TA, TAMS, SMS, BMS, BHS, OOB, and KES).
Distance Learning Packets and books for students K-5 will be available at pick up as needed.
FREE FOOD DISTRIBUTION:
Wednesday, March 18 from 3-5 PM at John F. Kennedy School.
Open to all ages.
Tomorrow kicks off our distance learning plan. Teachers will reach out and parents are simply asked to do their best. All packets, including resources and a sample schedule to assist in establishing routines, are posted online at www.biddefordschools.me/DL. We continue to consider solutions for those families without internet access.
Spurwink has shuttered its 40 Main Street Biddeford location. Spurwink will be moving its school-based clinical services to telehealth. The basic details are outlined below. Zoom is the only HIPPA compliant platform they can use to provide telehealth services. If families do not have a way to connect with video conferencing, Spurwink will provide phone-only sessions; however, video is preferable.
During this time:
All therapy appointments will be transitioned to telehealth. Clinicians will be reaching out to each of their clients/families to discuss.
All Spurwink programs (case management, Shifa, FFT, OP therapy) remain OPEN but will only be providing telehealth, phone, and email support
Supervisor and Administrative contacts will remain available.
CDC quarantine guidelines will be followed for all staff reporting symptoms of, or have family exposure to, Coronavirus.
Please contact Shannon Taylor shannon.taylor@spurwink.org if you have any questions or concerns. She writes, “we will do everything possible to make sure clients continue to receive a consistently high level of contact and care. If you have concerns or questions about a particular client please reach out.”
We are managing a ton of communications so I implore parents and guardians to please direct questions to closurequestions@biddefordschools.me or use our special closure phone number of 207-391-6868. We have posted a Parent/Guardian FAQs link on that page answering questions received to date which may have already been answered.
As always, regular updates are posted at www.biddefordschools.me/health and on our official Facebook pages.
Stay Well,
Jeremy Ray
Superintendent of Schools
Official Links/Contact Information
Email: closurequestions@biddefordschools.me
Website: www.biddefordschools.me/health
Location: 18 Maplewood Avenue, Biddeford, ME, USA
Phone: 207-391-6868
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/biddefordschooldepartment/
Twitter: @BiddefordSchDpt