March 19, 2021
Dear Students, Staff, and Families,
I hope everyone is doing well and that the news of the increasing number of individuals being vaccinated is bringing some needed comfort during what has been a trying time to all of us. In fact, all of Cumberland’s school employees will have a second opportunity for their first vaccination this afternoon. The second vaccination is scheduled for early April.
Listed below are a number of items for your review:
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I am pleased to report that grades K through 9 and grade 12 are in-person learning for 4 days per week. It is clear that students and staff are happy to be closer to a more normal schedule. The high school is planning for the return of grades 10 and 11. The goal is to get them in as soon as possible.
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Laura Canavan and Dennis Mendes for the Education Operations Center (EDOC) visited McCourt, NCMS, and the high school on Thursday to assess how those schools are responding to having all students in for 4 days for the first time in a year. They were pleased with all of the safety measures that have been put in place at all of the schools. I often think that parents would be pleased if they were able to see how much planning has taken place to keep students and staff safe.
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As mentioned in previous communications, the biggest challenge for schools has been traffic flow at the beginning and end of the school day. The police have been very helpful in addressing this concern. One of the more challenging areas is the flow of traffic onto Nate Whipple Highway from NCMS. I am pleased to report that there has been an ongoing collaboration between Principal Beth Coughlin, the Cumberland Police Department, especially Captain Iozzi, Mayor Mutter, and the residents of Staples Rd., that has led to a mutually beneficial safety plan for the school. Thank you to everyone involved in this process.
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We have learned that the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), EDOC, and the Department of Health are working to increase the number of students allowed to ride the bus. The goal is to increase ridership capacity to at least 65%. We will be sure to let you know if any changes are made to the number of students allowed to ride our buses.
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As you know, despite the ramifications of the pandemic, RIDE expects every student in the state to take RICAS. We have been told repeatedly that there are no exemptions except for medical exemptions. Per RIDE, there are no opt-outs. Please know that we have a responsibility to carry out this directive. As a result, all students, including students who are distance learning, will be required to come to school and take this assessment. Plans are being developed and more information will be forthcoming.
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The updated COVID-19 spreadsheet is provided for your review.
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As a reminder, Rhode Island PBS is excited to announce that Cumberland was selected to be featured in the next episode of the popular local series – Our Town! The Cumberland episode will premiere in September of 2021. I have been asked to invite Cumberland families and friends to a virtual informational meeting with PBS at 6:00 p.m. on March 31st. If you are interested in learning more, please use this registration link to attend the meeting on the 31st.
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Also, Sodexo Food Service is hiring part-time positions for 4 or 6 hours per day – school hours, no weekends or holidays. No experience is required; we will train you!
Please visit the website https://us.sodexo.com/careers and search Cumberland, RI.
We are slowly but surely getting back to some sense of normalcy, We need to keep our guard up and stay vigilant with our mitigation measures. We are focused on getting our 10th and 11th graders in now. As always, thank you for your patience and understanding as we work our way back to a more normal routine. Have a good weekend.
Sincerely,
Robert A. Mitchell
Superintendent of Schools… Read More...
March 12, 2021
Dear Students, Staff, and Families,
I hope everyone is doing well. We are encouraged by the opportunity to get all school staff vaccinated. All school department staff will have an opportunity to have both vaccinations by the beginning of April. I believe there is comfort in knowing that the number of individuals being vaccinated is increasing on a daily basis. That being said, we know that we need to remain vigilant in our mitigation effort.
Listed below are a number of items for your review.
- Grades 3, 4, and 5 returned to school for 4 days of in-person learning this week. The transition went very well. All of the elementary schools are now full in-person for 4 days a week. The biggest challenge has been coordinating traffic flow at the beginning and end of every school day. The elementary school principals are reporting that traffic flow is getting better each day.
- Grade 12 returned to 4 days of in-person learning on March 9th as well. By all accounts, that has gone very well.
- Grades 6, 7, 8, and grade 9 will return to 4 days of in-person learning on Tuesday, March 16th. The high school administration is developing plans for the return of grades 10 and 11. Cumberland School Department In-Person Return to School Presentation
- As I mentioned in prior communications, there may be some minor changes to the pickup and drop off times for students riding the buses. We have been assured that there will not be a significant change. However, we wanted to make parents and students aware of this possibility. We will post the changes on the district website when we receive the schedule from the bus company.
- Cumberland’s Reopening of School Task Force agreed to reduce the number of quarantine days from 14 to 10 for students who have traveled to states with a high positivity rate and those students and staff who are quarantined as a close contact. A negative test is not required for the 10 day return if the student or staff member is asymptomatic during the quarantine period. We will reassess this decision at our next Task Force meeting and consider reducing the quarantine time with a negative COVID test.
- The updated COVID-19 spreadsheet is provided for your review.
- Rhode Island PBS is excited to announce that Cumberland was selected to be featured in the next episode of the popular local series – Our Town! The Cumberland episode will premiere in September of 2021. I have been asked to invite Cumberland families and friends to a virtual informational meeting with PBS at 6:00 p.m. on March 31st. If you are interested in learning more, please use this registration link to attend the meeting on the 31st.
- Sodexo Food Service is hiring part-time positions for 4 or 6 hours per day – school hours, no weekends or holidays. No experience is required; we will train you! Please visit the website https://us.sodexo.com/careers and search Cumberland, RI.
We are hearing that students are excited to be back to full in-person learning. As we transition the middle schools and grade 9 to 4 days of in-person learning, we will once again utilize the support of EDOC to assess our transition to having more students in the middle schools and the high school.
Sincerely,
Robert A. Mitchell
Superintendent of Schools… Read More...
February 12, 2021
Dear Students, Staff, and Families,
I hope everyone is doing well. Listed below are a number of items for your review.
- At last night’s School Committee, I presented our plan for bringing students in for more in-person learning. The plan to bring students in for four days of in-person learning is provided for your review. As I have mentioned, please reach out to your child’s principal for school specific questions.
Cumberland School Department In-Person Return to School Presentation
- Asymptomatic School Site Testing: You may have seen in local news reports that the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) is conducting asymptomatic (no symptoms) COVID-19 testing at school districts across the state. Testing is completely voluntary. Our testing date is Wednesday, February 24, 2021 from 10:00am to 5:00pm for the students and staff of Cumberland Schools. Testing will take place in the Cumberland High School Transitional Building Cafeteria (lower level). All students and staff of the Cumberland School District are being offered testing at this site free of charge.The test that will be administered is the Medial Nasal test. This is the less invasive test. The area just inside the opening of the nose is swabbed. Results are provided within 48 hours. Pre-registration is required. The deadline for registration is Friday, February 19, 2021. Information is as follows:
- The updated COVID-19 spreadsheet is provided for your review
- As a reminder, the Cumberland School Department maintains its decision to continue the current practice of keeping affected students and staff out of school for fourteen (14) calendar days from the date of the last exposure. The CDC and the RI Department of Health provides guidance concerning quarantine periods for close contacts to positive COVID-19 cases. The guidance provides local school departments with three options for quarantine period with shorter options available in certain circumstances.
This is still considered to be the “gold standard” by the CDC and RI Department of Health. We will therefore not allow students or staff to shorten the quarantine period from school by testing. Students will be marked as absent on days in which they were scheduled to be in attendance in-person but are unable to attend due to quarantine from vacation travel. While we understand that this may cause hardship for some families, we made this decision after extensive consultation and with the safety of our students, staff and their families in mind. Our priority is to provide the safest possible environment for our students and staff. We appreciate your anticipated cooperation with this.
Please be patient as we work to bring students back for more in-person learning. There may be some bumps along the way. However, we are looking forward to getting one step closer to a more normal routine.
Enjoy the February school vacation week.
Sincerely,
Robert Mitchell
Superintendent of Schools
12 de febrero de 2021
Estimados estudiantes, personal y familias:
Espero que todos lo estén haciendo bien. A continuación se enumeran varios elementos para su revisión.
- En el Comité Escolar de anoche, presenté nuestro plan para llevar a los estudiantes a un aprendizaje más en persona. El plan para traer a los estudiantes durante cuatro días de aprendizaje en persona se proporciona para su revisión. Como mencioné, comuníquese con el director de su hijo para preguntas específicas de la escuela.
Presentación de regreso a la escuela en persona del Departamento Escolar de Cumberland
- Pruebas asintomáticas en el sitio escolar: Es posible que haya visto en los informes de noticias locales que el Departamento de Salud de Rhode Island (RIDOH) está realizando pruebas de COVID-19 asintomáticas (sin síntomas) en distritos escolares de todo el estado. La prueba es completamente voluntaria . Nuestra fecha de prueba es Miércoles, 24 de febrero de 2021 de 10:00 am a 5:00 pm para los estudiantes y el personal de las escuelas Cumberland. Las pruebas se llevarán a cabo en la cafetería del edificio de transición de la escuela secundaria Cumberland (nivel inferior). A todos los estudiantes y al personal del Distrito Escolar de Cumberland se les ofrecen pruebas en este sitio sin cargo. La prueba que se administrará es la prueba medial nasal. Esta es la prueba menos invasiva. Se limpia el área que está justo dentro de la abertura de la nariz. Los resultados se proporcionan en 48 horas. Se requiere preinscripción. El plazo de inscripción finaliza el viernes 19 de febrero de 2021. . La información es la siguiente:
… Read More...
Good Evening,
All Cumberland School Department buildings will be closed tomorrow, February 2, 2021. The snow day will be a distance learning day for all students and staff. After school activities are canceled.
Administrative office staff will work remotely.
Please stay safe and warm.
Buena noches,
Todos los edificios del Departamento Escolar de Cumberland estarán cerrados mañana, 2 de febrero de 2021. El día de nieve será un día de aprendizaje a distancia para todos los estudiantes y el personal. Las actividades extracurriculares están canceladas.
El personal de la oficina administrativa trabajará de forma remota.
Por favor, manténgase a salvo y abrigado.… Read More...
