Starting Monday, March 14, masking will be optional for grades K-12. Mandatory masking will still be in place for PreK; masking at this grade level will be revisited by the Board on March 23. This decision is in line with the Maine CDC/DOE Standard Operating Procedure. All other health and safety practices will remain in effect. The district health team will continue to monitor COVID case counts and trends and recommend changes as conditions and guidance warrant.

Please note that COVID-19-positive individuals will still need to isolate 5 days and, if asymptomatic, may return on day 6 but must mask until day 10. Also, with the removal of mandatory masking, unvaccinated close contacts not in pooled testing and who have not been COVID-positive in the previous 90 days must now quarantine 5 days. If asymptomatic, these close contacts may return on day 6 but must mask until day 10. It is not too late to sign up for pooled testing. Click here for directions.

Cumulative statistics on all COVID-19 cases during the 2021-22 school year are available on the COVID-19 Dashboard. 

The Maine DHHS is making more COVID home tests available through Project ACT.  All Maine households are eligible to receive 5 COVID home tests.

You can still register your children for pooled testing. The directions can be found here.

Please remember to notify your school nurse when your student tests positive for COVID. This is important because schools need to monitor those who are COVID-positive and must notify the Maine CDC of positive test results. Also, individuals who test positive must be excluded from pooled testing for 90 days. Otherwise, they will cause their pools to be positive when there is no one in the pool who is actively positive. This causes unnecessary stress and work for those who are in the pools or who are monitoring the pools.

To help streamline the notification process, we have developed school-specific forms to complete when your/your child tests positive for COVID. Links to the forms are on the school webpages. Simply click the REPORT POSITIVE COVID-19 TEST RESULTS on your school’s webpage.

Links to each form can also be found on the district webpage and below:

We have already begun the process by surveying internal stakeholders and will be providing numerous opportunities for additional stakeholder input. Stay Tuned for more information. 

On Friday, March 11, 2022, educators, community partners, and families across the globe will take time to build a greater awareness for the importance of supporting children's wellbeing and mental health through social emotional learning. The Maine Department of Education and the Office of School & Student Supports recognizes how difficult the past few years have been on every Maine educator, support staff and student in our schools. On SELday, educators, community partners, and families across the globe will collectively take a few moments to internationally build a greater awareness for the importance of social emotional learning for helping to cultivate a strong sense of humanity.

There are many different national events being hosted throughout the day. If you would like to view the Maine events, visit the Maine Department of Education's website and to view the national events, visit SELday.org.

Visit AAE's website to purchase tickets or scan the QR code above.