PROVIDENCE – Officials from the R.I. Department of Education met with the House Committee on Health, Education and Welfare Wednesday night offering strategies on how schools can safely reopen next fall after closing buildings this spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among the plans R.I. Education Commissioner Angelica Infante-Green told the committee is to have a mix, or “hybrid model,” in which some students learn at schools in person and others learn remotely. Remote learning has been in place since the state ordered school buildings closed in April.
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Infante-Green and Deputy Education Commissioner Amy Riley outlined six key components RIDE is evaluating in order for school to reconvene onsite in September. One plan is creating a unified 2020-21 statewide school calendar; partnering with organizations to provide health and education guidance to schools; possibly reopen schools by grade spans based on school system capacity and health information; provide stimulus funds for schools to respond to the crisis, also prioritizing vulnerable students in Rhode Island; meeting with K-12 education representatives weekly to get their thoughts; and for RIDE to continue ongoing support.
While RIDE is pushing to have in-class learning in the fall, updated safety guidelines will result in increased costs for the state. Infante-Green said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends having one student sitting every other seat in a bus while traveling to and from school, possibly decreasing the student volume in buses by about 75% and increase the number of bus runs per day. Buildings will also have to be retrofitted with new safety measures, Infante-Green said.
Riley said the department is pushing students, teachers and parents to finish the school year “strong” with distance learning and recognizes fatigue is setting in. Infante-Green further emphasized that distance learning is more challenging for younger students.
“This is not ideal,” the commissioner said. “It’s not something that we wanted to do; it’s what we had to do.”
Infante-Green also said it will be a challenge for kindergarten students to socially distance and wear masks, especially if another outbreak occurs in the fall, so RIDE is working on other plans to ensure safety.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
