Draft- Reopening Schools Proposed Plan
Click here or the image for the Draft – Reopening Schools Plan submitted to RIDE on July 17, 2020… Read More...
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
Additional RIDE Reopening FAQs – 7.15.20
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
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...
Congratulations Paula MacMillin – Heroes of Distance Learning
Cox Celebrates “Heroes of Distance Learning” with $1,000 Home Technology Makeovers for Teachers
Local educators nominated by parents, principals and peers for creating cutting-edge curriculums while teaching from a distance
WEST WARWICK – (June 4, 2020) – As educators have migrated to uncharted waters with the transition to distance learning, many have emerged as heroes to the students and families depending on them to keep their school work on track. Cox Communications asked members of the community and school departments which teachers were truly excelling in this challenging environment in order to reward educators with a $1,000 home technology makeover for their virtual classrooms.
The request for recommendations led to a surge of nominees. With no shortage of deserving candidates for the technology makeover, Cox quickly expanded the campaign to recognize three teachers in Rhode Island with $1,000 awards. With the expanded program made more challenging every day as new submissions rolled in, Cox enlisted the help of the Rhode Island Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green to pick the winners.
After considering close to 100 nominations, educators from schools in North Providence, Newport, and Cumberland were chosen as the recipients of the $1,000 technology makeovers. The winners include: Marissa Bianco, grade 1 teacher, McGuire Elementary School (North Providence); Michael Carlino, math teacher, Rogers High School (Newport); and Paula MacMillin, grade 4 teacher, Cumberland Hill Elementary School (Cumberland).
“Teachers across Rhode Island have risen to the challenge of making school happen for all our students during this unprecedented public health crisis,” said Angélica Infante-Green, Rhode Island Education Commissioner. “As a result of the efforts of our educators, our state is now a national leader in distance learning. These nominations provided wonderful examples of what we have seen over the last few months, and we are incredibly grateful to Cox for launching this campaign in their honor.”
The nominations were packed with colorful anecdotes showing there is no limit to the creativity of teachers across the Ocean State. From using every technology tool at their disposal in the Google Suite platform to scheduling personal time to chat with their students about anything other than schoolwork to using fun props like pets and stuffed animals to make lessons more engaging, the recognized educators clearly demonstrate that their love of teaching knows no bounds – or limits, even in the face of a pandemic.
“I’ve said it before and I will say it again: teachers were forced to change the tires on a moving vehicle when the pandemic swept through our country,” said Jay Allbaugh, senior vice president and region manager, Cox Communications. “To see them not only keep their coursework on track but find ways to extract even more creativity and joy from students attending school for the first time in a virtual setting is just tremendous, and we are thrilled to recognize these teachers with the virtual classroom of their dreams.” … Read More...
The Second #StayHomeWaterFire Celebrating Educators, Students, and Parents
Friday, June 12, 2020, at 8:00 p.m.
LIVE on the Internet
Our first #StayHomeWaterFire event was so much fun we decided to do it again! Join us Friday, June 12 at 8:00 p.m. for another unique LIVE virtual WaterFire experience with our hosts WaterFire’s own Ed Cabral and Ashley Erling, Executive Producer of The Rhode Show.
The Second #StayHomeWaterFire celebrates educators, students, and parents with messages from Governor Gina Raimondo, Mayor Jorge Elorza, Rhode Island Commissioner of Education Angélica Infante-Green, and WaterFire Board Director, Dr. Barbara Mullen, Chief Equity and Diversity Officer for Providence Public School Department.
… Read More...
Cumberland’s 2020 District Teacher of the Year – Paula MacMillin
Superintendent Robert Mitchell is pleased to announce Cumberland’s District Teacher of the
Year – Paula MacMillin. We congratulate Paula on this outstanding achievement. We are very
proud of her commitment and dedication to her school, students and their families. Distance
Learning has brought many new challenges for everyone and Paula has been an asset to her
colleagues given her exceptional technology skills. We are fortunate to have her working in our
school system.
Paula was recognized during the May 14, 2020, Cumberland School Committee meeting. Her
school’s principal, Mrs. Debra Malcolm submitted the following nomination.
It is my honor and privilege to officially nominate Mrs. Paula MacMillin for the 2020 – 2021
Cumberland Teacher of the Year. Paula returned to the Cumberland Hill staff in the fall of 2016
as a fourth grade teacher. This was as she transitioned from her role as a district technology
coach. Paula took on her new role with an open mind as she volunteered to be a member of the
grade 4 ELA district mapping team. Paula served as the ELA liaison for her grade level
colleagues and took on this responsibility with great ease and fidelity. She would share the
information with her grade level colleagues as well as the grade 3 and grade 5 ELA mapping
team members. Paula expressed the importance for her instructional purposes to have a solid
understanding of what students entering the fourth grade were expected to have mastered as
well as what was expected for her students as they transitioned from the fourth grade into the
fifth grade. In addition to her role on the ELA mapping team, Paula is a very talented teacher.
She has a calm, positive demeanor and always supports the social-emotional needs of the
students in her classroom. She has participated in the school’s target team and worked closely
with mental health staff to address unique individual emotional needs of the students in her
classroom.
Throughout the 2019 – 2020 school year, Paula served as a technology resource for the entire
school staff. She was always willing to support everyone with questions regarding google
classroom, google forms, Kahoot, and creating online tools to support student learning. Paula
also served as a resource and support for whole school assemblies and professional
development days. She took on the responsibility of setting up projectors and amplification
systems for assemblies and professional development opportunities.
As the district and state transitioned to Distance Learning, Paula served as a primary resource
for both the school and district in which she implemented and shared her wealth of knowledge
with technology, resources, and the Google platform. Without being asked, Paula offered and
recorded “how-to” videos and shared them with the district staff. She continues to do this as we
enter our seventh week of distance learning. On Sunday, April 26, she posted an email
providing guidance for using a whiteboard for Google Meets along with a tutorial on Kami
extension with Google Classroom. Paula has served a resource for me as I continue to learn
and navigate the virtual world in order to support the students and staff of Cumberland Hill.
Paula has used much of her personal time answering staff emails, texts, and chats as she
became the “go-to” staff member for many individuals. She is always responsive whether it be
nights or weekends, or as she is juggling motherhood with a toddler.
When I shared that I was nominating Paula MacMillin as the 2020 District Teacher of the Year
with other members of the school staff, there was a unanimous Yes!! Members of the staff
shared how supportive Paula has been prior to and throughout the distance learning
experience. They cited her willingness to call or hold a virtual meeting to assist in step by step
processes for various technology resources. In my opinion Paula MacMillin is the perfect
candidate for the Cumberland School District Teacher of the Year given her ongoing support of
all members of the school district throughout the Distance Learning Experience.
Respectfully submitted,
Debra Malcolm
Principal, JJM Cumberland Hill Elementary… Read More...