Fall Sports Update – 09/08/2020

Dear Cumberland Student-Athletes and Families,

With recent announcements from the Rhode Island Interscholastic League and Rhode Island Principal’s Committee on Athletics, the Cumberland School Department would like to provide an update regarding interscholastic sports and the status of fall sports at our schools.

Middle School Athletics- Unfortunately, the Rhode Island Principal’s Committee on Athletics (RIPCOA) has postponed all fall sports at the middle school level. They have released a statement that their plan is to move the fall season to sometime around March. The Cumberland School Department and RIPCOA will release more information once it becomes available.

High School Athletics, Postponement of Certain Fall Sports- The Rhode Island Interscholastic League (RIIL) has announced the postponement of Football, Volleyball, and Unified Volleyball. Their intentions are to move these sports to a season sometime around March. The Cumberland School Department and RIIL will release more information as it becomes available with start dates for this “new” season.

High School Athletics, Permissible Fall Sports-The Rhode Island Interscholastic League has announced that the only fall sports that would be offered this fall with rules modifications are: Boys Cross Country, Girls Cross Country, Girls Tennis, Sideline Cheer, Boys Soccer, Girls Soccer, and Field Hockey. We have not received any information as to what these rules modifications for each sport may be; but we will be following all guidance from the National Federation of High Schools, Rhode Island Interscholastic League, Rhode Island Department of Health, and CDC. Presently, the start date for practices for these fall sports is September 21, 2020, and the first permissible contests will be allowed on Friday, October 2nd. The RIIL has only scheduled contests on Saturdays, while reserving all weekdays for after school practices and rescheduled games. Each team will participate in a six week season, and a two week window is being reserved for post-season play. Although the schedule has not been finalized, all indications point to the fall sports season being completed the weekend prior to Thanksgiving.

High School Athletics Sign Ups and Information– All students who are interested in participating on an interscholastic team, must sign up prior to Monday, September 14, 2020. There are three requirements that all students must complete prior to being allowed on the playing surface.

Complete the registration link with a parent/guardian at the link here: https://cumberlandhs-ar.rschooltoday.com/

Submit a NEW Notarized RIIL Assumption of Risk Form to your Coach or Athletic Director. These can be brought to the main high school building and can be printed from the registration link above. Please note, ALL student-athletes are required to complete this new form regardless of if you have done this in a previous year.

Provide an up-to-date physical from the last 12 months. This must be provided directly to the HS nurse’s office and not a coach or the athletic director.

We acknowledge there are many more questions that we do not have answers to at this time. The Rhode Island Interscholastic League has scheduled a meeting with all Athletic Directors the morning of Wednesday, September 9th, 2020. We anticipate having more information to share after this meeting and will be sure to notify our coaches, students, and parents of any new information as we become aware.

If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to our Athletic Director, Eric Blanchard, at eric.blanchard@cumberlandschools.org or 401-658-2600 ext. 343.

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Message from the Superintendent – Distance Learning

Dear Students, Staff and Families,

I write to inform you that at the school committee meeting held on Thursday, August 27, 2020, a majority of the Cumberland School Committee voted to start the 2020-2021 school year with Distance Learning.

We understand that you will have questions on how the plan will be implemented.  We will be providing you with additional information as soon as possible. 

Your patience and understanding during these uncertain times is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Robert A. Mitchell

Superintendent of Schools

Estimados estudiantes, personal y familias:

Les escribo para informarles que en la reunión del comité escolar el jueves 27 de agosto de 2020, la mayoría del Comité Escolar de Cumberland votó para comenzar el año escolar 2020-2021 con aprendizaje a distancia.

Entendemos que tendrá preguntas sobre cómo se implementará el plan. Le proporcionaremos información adicional lo antes posible.

Se agradece mucho su paciencia y comprensión durante estos tiempos de incertidumbre.

Sinceramente,

Robert A. Mitchell

Superintendente de escuelas… Read More...

Cumberland School Department Virtual Town Hall Meeting – Monday, August 17, 2020, at 6:00 pm

Cumberland School Department Virtual Town Hall Meeting – Monday, August 17, 2020, at 6:00 pm

We invite you to join this meeting to discuss the reopening of our schools in September.  A Frequently Asked Questions document has been created to hopefully address many of your questions and concerns. Please take some time to review the attached document. 

We realize that you may have additional questions and we will attempt to address as many as possible during the virtual meeting. You can submit your questions (please, no more than two) prior to the meeting using the link below.  If we are not able to get to all of the questions during the meeting, we will use the FAQ document to answer any unanswered questions.  Meeting connection information can be found on the attached meeting notice.

As you are aware, this coronavirus pandemic has created a challenging and ever-changing way of life for all of us. It is important for us as a school community to work together in providing a healthy and safe return to school for our students, staff, and families.

The guidelines and recommendations from our government and health officials can change on a daily basis. Therefore, we will do our best to give you the most up-to-date information at the meeting.  Please keep in mind that there may be changes as we move forward.

Cumberland School Department FAQ 

Virtual Town Hall Meeting Notice 

Virtual Town Hall Meeting Presentation

View the Virtual Town Hall Meeting Recording

 

 

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Message from the Superintendent – School Reopening Plans Submitted to RIDE

Dear Cumberland Students, Staff and Families:                                                                                  (Spanish)

I hope everyone is doing well during this challenging time.  As I mentioned in my last message to you, all school districts in the state of Rhode Island were required to submit their plans for reopening schools to the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) on Friday, July 17th.  I want to thank all of the individuals who worked tirelessly to complete this challenging task. 

  Our plans were based on three priorities:  health and safety, teaching and learning, and fiscal responsibility.  The health and safety of our students and staff will always be our top priority.  All of our decisions will be based on the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) guidance for the opening of schools.  It is important to note that this is going to be a challenging Fall.  The guidance we are receiving from the state seems to be changing almost every day.  We are prepared to respond quickly if circumstances require us to do so.

RIDE has required us to submit plans for three possible scenarios: (1) the return of all students in grades pre-kindergarten through grade twelve, (2) a plan for half the students to return each day to reduce the number of students in the schools, and (3) a plan for a limited number of students to return to school.  Almost every school district in the state has expressed concern about all students (PreK-12) returning to school on August 31st for health and safety reasons as well as the fiscal impact of this directive.  However, RIDE is insisting that all students in grades PreK to 5 return to school on August 31st.  The option that makes the most sense for our secondary students is an alternating day schedule in which half of the students come to school on one day and the other half comes the next.  When students are not in school they would be given assignments to work on at home.  This plan will address health and safety concerns and meet the CDC guidelines.  We have also prepared a Virtual Academy for students who can not attend school.  

RIDE will review the plans and provide feedback by the end of the month.  The Governor, in collaboration with RIDE and the RIDOH will decide which plan will be implemented.  The Commissioner’s Weekly Field Memo on Friday, July 17th, included the following:  Public health will drive all reopening decisions, and RIDE is working closely with our colleagues at the RI Department of Health to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic in our communities. We expect to make preliminary determinations on which scenarios schools should plan for in early August, with final determinations closer to the opening of schools statewide on August 31.

I know that everyone in our community has questions about the start of school.  RIDE has created a comprehensive FAQ document that will answer a number of questions.  The FAQ answers questions related to mask-wearing, testing of students and staff, etc.  It is important to note that RIDE does not have the answers to all questions at this time.  For example, one of our most challenging issues is how to safely transport all students to school given the social distancing guidelines.  RIDE has not yet determined how many students will be allowed to ride the bus.  The FAQ documents are attached for your review.

We will be sure to share our plan once RIDE provides us with feedback.  We will also provide an opportunity for our community to ask questions at a future public meeting.  

Sincerely,

Robert A. Mitchell

Superintendent of Schools

RIDE Reopening FAQs – 7.10.20

Additional RIDE Reopening FAQs – 7.15.20

 

Spanish

Estimados estudiantes, personal y familias de Cumberland:

Espero que todos estén bien en este momento desafiante. Como mencioné en mi último mensaje, todos los distritos escolares del estado de Rhode Island debían presentar sus planes de reapertura escolar al Departamento de Educación de Rhode Island (RIDE) el viernes 17 de julio. Quiero agradecer a todas las personas que trabajaron incansablemente para completar esta desafiante tarea.   

Nuestros planes se basan en tres prioridades: salud y seguridad, enseñanza y aprendizaje y responsabilidad fiscal. La salud y seguridad de nuestros estudiantes y personal siempre será nuestra principal prioridad. Todas nuestras decisiones se basarán en las instrucciones del Departamento de Salud de Rhode Island (RIDOH) para abrir las escuelas. Es importante tener en cuenta que este será un otoño desafiante. Las direcciones que estamos recibiendo del estado parece estar cambiando casi todos los días. Estamos preparados para responder rápidamente, si las circunstancias lo requieren.

RIDE exigió que presentemos planes para tres posibles escenarios: (1) el regreso de todos los estudiantes en los grados de prejardín de infantes al 12º grado; (2) un plan en que solo la mitad de los estudiantes regresen cada día para reducir la

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Message from the Superintendent – June 18, 2020

Dear students, staff, and families:

Congratulations to the members of the Cumberland School Community on not only making it through distance learning, but excelling at distance learning!  To the parents, extended families, administrators, teachers, counselors, technology department, support staff and others who guided our students through this challenging time, thank you!  Everyone in the Town of Cumberland came together to make our distance learning plan a success.  We’ve heard it said that it takes a village to educate a child and Cumberland demonstrated that by coming together during a very challenging time.   

In addition to the pandemic, this year has been challenging in other ways.  Our country is going through a great deal of unrest around racism, systemic inequality and police brutality.  Although these problems have been around for centuries, our country seems poised to take meaningful action right now.  To the black community and all people of color in our community, we acknowledge your struggles and we support you. We will no longer just be standing behind you, but we will step up, and stand beside you. 

As educators, we have a responsibility to play an important role in addressing the racial issues that exist in this country.  Our goal is to create a truly inclusive community that honors and values our diversity, and educates our students about the history of these issues, and how we’ve gotten to where we are today.  To do this, we must examine our own teaching practices and our curriculum choices.  This is not easy work, but we pledge to do it.  

Over the summer we will be putting together a task force to create a plan to look at district wide practices including, but not limited to curriculum, teaching practices, hiring practices, family engagement and partnering with our local police department and government.  We will be seeking input from all stakeholders about the best steps to take.  We hope that you will consider being a part of this change with us.  We will also be providing a list of resources for families which will include book titles, articles, websites, videos, and community organizations.  If you want to be part of this change with us or have resources to share, please contact Erin Oliver via email at erin.oliver@cumberlandschools.org or by phone at 401-441-8780.  

On behalf of the Cumberland School Department we wish you a safe, happy and healthy summer! 

Sincerely,

Robert Mitchell… Read More...

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