Due to ongoing staffing issues at Garvin Elementary School and the Department of Health’s difficulty in responding to close contacts in a timely manner, Garvin will be moving to distance learning for the week of December 14th.  We felt it was important to let parents know as soon as possible to allow time to plan accordingly.  

 

As you know, these are difficult decisions.  The health and safety of our students and staff will always be our top priority.

 

Sincerely,

Robert Mitchell

Superintendent of Schools

 

Estimadas familias y personal de la escuela Garvin,

December 11, 2020

 

 

 

Dear Students, Staff, and Families,

 

I hope everyone is doing okay as we do our best to deal with the unrelenting impact of this pandemic.  As you know, our country, state, and community continues to experience an increasing number of positive Covid-19 cases.  The Cumberland School Department has been significantly impacted with more students and staff testing positive.  Hundreds of students and staff have been quarantined by the Rhode Island Department of Health due to close contact with individuals who have tested positive.  

 

The biggest challenge this has presented to the School Department is staffing our schools.  Given the number of school personnel impacted by the virus, we are struggling to cover all of our classrooms.  For example, the high school alone had 15 staff members in quarantine yesterday.  This does not allow us to cover all of the classes our students attend.  The same struggle is happening in all of our schools.

 

As a result of this daily challenge, the school department has decided to move to distance learning.  The following schedule will be implemented for students in grades PreK to 12.

 

Beginning the week of December 14th, all students in grades 6 through 12 will move to DL until the week of January 11th, 2021.

Beginning the week of December 21st, all students in grades PreK through grade 5 will move to DL until the week of January 11th, 2021.  

This includes students in special programs.

Please keep in mind that even with the steps taken above, additional closings in the PreK-5 schools may be necessary during the week of December 14th due to staffing and/or COVID issues.  The spreadsheet with the most current COVID-19 data for the Cumberland School Department is attached for your review.

 

We know that this is difficult for students, staff, and families.  However, given these circumstances, we feel that this is the responsible approach due to the increasing number of cases.  Since the time frame when students will be distance learning includes the holiday recess, elementary students will only lose three days of in-person learning and students in grades 6 through 12 will lose 5 days of in-person learning.

 

There is one additional issue that I need to bring to your attention.  All of the school districts in the state received a bulletin from the Education Operations Center (EDOC) informing us of reported scams associated with contact tracing.  The bulletin is attached for your review.

 

Thank you again for your patience and understanding as we navigate our way through what has been one of the most challenging times we have experienced.  However, there is hope and a light at the end of the tunnel. Hang in there everyone.  We’ll get through this.

 

Sincerely,

 

Robert A. Mitchell

 

Superintendent of Schools

 

 

 

 

 

11 de diciembre de 2020

 

 

 

Estimados estudiantes, personal y familias:

 

Espero que todos estén bien mientras hacemos todo lo posible para enfrentar el impacto implacable de esta pandemia. Como saben, nuestro país, estado y comunidad continúan experimentando un número creciente de casos positivos de Covid-19. El Departamento Escolar de Cumberland se ha visto significativamente afectado con más estudiantes y personal dando positivo. El Departamento de Salud de Rhode Island ha puesto en cuarentena a cientos de estudiantes y personal debido al contacto cercano con personas que dieron positivo en la prueba.

 

El mayor desafío que esto ha presentado al Departamento Escolar es dotar de personal a nuestras escuelas. Dada la cantidad de personal escolar afectado por el virus, estamos luchando por cubrir todas nuestras aulas. Por ejemplo, solo la escuela secundaria tenía 15 miembros del personal en cuarentena ayer. Esto no nos permite cubrir todas las clases a las que asisten nuestros estudiantes. La misma lucha está sucediendo en todas nuestras escuelas.

 

Como resultado de este desafío diario, el departamento escolar ha decidido pasar al aprendizaje a distancia. El siguiente horario se implementará para los estudiantes en los grados PreK a 12.

 

A partir de la semana del 14 de diciembre, todos los estudiantes de los grados 6 al 12 pasarán a DL hasta la semana del 11 de enero de 2021.

A partir de la semana del 21 de diciembre, todos los estudiantes en los grados de PreK hasta el grado 5 pasarán a DL hasta la semana del 11 de enero de 2021.

Esto incluye a estudiantes en programas especiales.

Tenga en cuenta que incluso con los pasos tomados anteriormente, cierres adicionales en PreK-5 las escuelas pueden ser necesarias durante la semana del 14 de diciembre debido a problemas de personal y / o COVID. Se adjunta para su revisión la hoja de cálculo con los datos COVID-19 más recientes para el Departamento Escolar de Cumberland.

 

Sabemos que esto es difícil para los estudiantes, el personal y las familias. Sin

We are working with the Rhode Island Department of Health to appropriately respond to the positive cases we reported to you yesterday at Garvin School.  We need to make tomorrow, Friday, December 11th, a distance learning day to allow the Department of Health to complete the required contact tracing.  We will keep you posted as we learn more about this situation.  We know this is difficult for everyone including students, staff, and families.  As always, we appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through this challenging situation.

 

Sincerely,

Robert Mitchell

Superintendent of School

 

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Estimadas familias y personal de Garvin:

Estamos trabajando con el Departamento de Salud de Rhode Island para responder adecuadamente a los casos positivos que les informamos ayer en la Escuela Garvin. Necesitamos hacer de mañana, viernes 11 de diciembre, un día de aprendizaje a distancia para permitir que el Departamento de Salud complete el rastreo de contactos requerido. Lo mantendremos informado a medida que sepamos más sobre esta situación. Sabemos que esto es difícil para todos, incluidos los estudiantes, el personal y las familias. Como siempre, agradecemos su paciencia y comprensión mientras superamos esta difícil situación.

Sinceramente,

Robert Mitchell

Superintendente de escuela