[Summit] Gov. Raimondo's weekend messages, charts & video : Phase 3, School Reopening, and Job Training + Moses Brown School's intentions [Covid News no. 344]

Mon Aug 3 04:21:31 UTC 2020

   ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Gina Raimondo <communications at governor.ri.gov>To:Sent: Saturday, August 1, 2020, 05:36:06 PM EDTSubject: Saturday Recap: Phase 3, School Reopening, and Job Training

| Your RI COVID-19 News Update |
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|   |

 |

| 
| Hi David,
It's hard to believe, but it’s been five months since Rhode Island’s first confirmed case of COVID-19. So much has happened so fast—we’ve had to close and then slowly reopen our economy and we have tragically lost more than 1,000 Rhode Islanders to this disease. This virus is very much still with us, and it’s critical that Rhode Islanders continue to stay informed this summer. Here's a quick recap of our new announcements from this past week. 
If you know someone who wants to stay up-to-date on the latest measures Rhode Island is taking to stop the spread of COVID-19, send them this link: lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/eYMG9tf. The better we all stay informed, the better we'll be able to keep ourselves, our families, and our friends safe from COVID-19. |

 |

| 
| 
|   |  |
|  |  |

STAYING IN PHASE 3
A few months ago, I showed you our benchmarks for moving between phases of reopening. As you can see from those metrics, we want our rate of spread to be 1.1 or lower. In the past few days, we’ve seen this number increase to 1.3 or 1.4. Based on this data, it’s clear that we’re not ready to move forward into another phase, but we also don’t need to move back a phase either. We are now extending Phase 3 for another 30 days – through August 28 – with one restriction to social gatherings. We are lowering the social gathering limit for both indoors and outdoors to 15 people. 
The Department of Health looked through contact tracing of nearly 4,000 positive cases and identified a trend: social gatherings are a problem. Often we traced many cases – sometimes as many as 10 – back to the same social event. To those of you who are continuing to gather in big groups with friends – knock it off.  |

 |

| 
| 
|  |   |
|  |  |

BACK TO WORK RI
On Tuesday, I announced Back to Work RI, a first-in-the-nation program aimed at breaking down barriers to hiring and providing skills and support to thousands of Rhode Islanders impacted by COVID-19. We’re dedicating $45 million in federal stimulus funds to train and support 5,000 to 7,000 Rhode Islanders for good jobs in our new economy. 

| 
| 
|  | 
404

 |

 |

 |

This program will create opportunity for those who have been left behind for too long -- people without a degree past high school, people living in poverty, formerly-incarcerated individuals, parents who took time off, people in low-wage jobs that have been threatened by automation, and people of color. Back to Work isn’t just a goal—it’s a promise. More than a dozen companies have already signed a pledge to hire collectively more than 3,000 Rhode Islanders, and to hire with a focus on competency over credentials. And for our part, we’re training people for the targeted skills they need for these jobs, and providing supports like childcare, transportation, career coaching and more to make sure they can see it through. Watch the announcement with our partners, or go to dlt.ri.gov to learn more and sign up for updates.

| 
| 
|  | 
State of Rhode Island: Department of Labor and Training

State of Rhode Island: Department of Labor and Training
 |

 |

 |

| 
| 
|  | 
Security Check Required

 |

 |

 |

 |

 |

| 
| 
|   |  |
|  |  |

SCHOOL REOPENING METRICS As with every decision we've made during this crisis, our efforts to reopen our schools will be driven by science and data. We’ve identified a clear, comprehensive set of benchmarks we need to hit in order to be confident we’re ready to fully reopen schools. Those metrics are: statewide readiness, municipal readiness, testing readiness, supply readiness, and operational readiness. And we’ve assembled a team of local and national health experts to guide us during this process. The week of August 16, we’ll make a determination about the start of this school year.  
It's our job to work day and night to get to a point where we can say with confidence we check every box on this list. If not, then it means we’re not ready to fully reopen on August 31. Every school district must be prepared with both in-person and remote learning options, and parents will be able to choose the option they’re most comfortable with. |

 |

| 
| I hope you find this recap helpful. It's so important that everyone stay engaged and informed so that we can all stay safe and healthy. I'll be back on TV with more updates this Wednesday at 1 p.m.
We're all in this together.
-Gina RaimondoGovernor
P.S.: Information is our greatest weapon in the fight against COVID-19, If you or someone you know wants to sign up to receive these emails, you can use this link. |

 |

 |

 |

 |

 |

 |
|  |

|   
|  
|  Governor's Office | 82 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02903

 |

  |

   |

|
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|  |

 |

| 
| Hi David,
I know people are scared about what going back to school will look like for Rhode Island. And then comes the question, should kids be in school? I think that’s the wrong question. Of course kids should be in school – but only if it can be done safely. We know from health experts that there are countless benefits to in-person learning – socially, mentally, nutritionally, physically, developmentally. Our job is to make it as safe as possible. That’s the same approach we’ve taken in reopening every part of our economy. When we opened childcare centers two months ago, we didn’t ask if kids should be in childcare. We asked how could we reopen childcare safely. And with thousands of kids and adult staff in childcare sites daily over the last two months, we’ve had only a handful of cases, and we have responded quickly and effectively to every one.
As with every decision we've made during this crisis, our efforts to reopen our schools will be driven by science and data. We’ve identified a clear, comprehensive set of metrics and benchmarks we need to hit in order to be confident we’re ready to fully reopen schools. And we’ve assembled a team of local and national health experts to guide us during this process. The week of August 16, we’ll have our recommendation on what level of reopening we expect to see based on where we are at that point. We’re looking at five metrics to determine if we can safely reopen schools: statewide readiness, municipal readiness, testing readiness, supply readiness, and operational readiness. 
It's our job to work day and night to get to a point where we can say with confidence we check every box on this list. If not, then it means we’re not ready to fully reopen on August 31, and we’ll instead opt for one of the more limited reopening options. Every school district must be prepared with both in-person and remote learning options, and parents will be able to choose the option they’re most comfortable with. |

 |

| 
|  |

 |

| 
| In this week's education forum, Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green and I were joined by Dr. Sten Vermund, a pediatrician and infectious disease expert and the Dean of the Yale School of Public Health, to talk about ways we can mitigate risk for our students and teachers. We were also joined by Department of Human Services Director Courtney Hawkins for her report on our experience with childcare.
We had a great discussion about what we've learned from reopening our childcare centers, how we can apply those lessons to reopening schools, and what we can all do to make that happen. One part of the conversation that resonated with me was Dr. Vermund talking as an educator and a parent about whether he would feel safe sending his kids back to school. That discussion, which starts at 25:39 in the video, was an important testament to the benefits of reopening school in the fall.

| 
| 
|  | 
Security Check Required

 |

 |

 |

 |

 |

| 
|  |

 |

| 
| Commissioner Infante-Green and I are committed to giving our schools the resources they need to make reopening a success. I know this is a scary time, but we are listening to health experts, education professionals, and parents and teachers across Rhode Islanders to make our decisions about schools this fall.We're all in this together,
-Gina RaimondoGovernor |

 |

| 
|  |

 |

| 
| Click the graph to see check the Department of Health's COVID-19 data dashboard. |

 |

| 
| P.S.: Information is our greatest weapon in the fight against COVID-19, If you or someone you know wants to sign up to receive these emails, you can use this link. |

 |

 |

 |

 |

 |

 |
| 
|                                                      Governor's Office | 82 Smith Street, Providence, RI 02903 |

 |

| 
| 
|
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
| ‌ |

 |

| 
|  |

 |

| 
| 
|  |

 |

 |

| 
| An important 2020-2021 School Year Update:MB's Reopening Plans |

 |

| 
| 
| 
|  |

 |

 |

 |

| 
| Dear alumni, I hope you are finding moments of joy, peace, and relaxation during this unusual summer.
As the calendar turns from July to August, the new school year is now on the immediate horizon. On behalf of Moses Brown’s faculty and staff, I’m pleased and optimistic to share our plans for returning to school on September 2. I have just sent this information to our current families, and I wanted to be sure to keep our alumni community closely informed at this unprecedented moment for MB and educators everywhere.
I am incredibly thankful for the commitment of so many employees, trustees, alumni, medical experts, and parents who, during the past few months, shared their wisdom with us in developing these plans. Throughout, we kept our students and our mission as a Friends school at the center of our process.
Planning to reopen school is complicated because the pandemic continues to evolve. This has required us to formulate plans and schedules that are adaptable to different circumstances---in-person learning, distance learning, or a combination of the two. So, while our plan is detailed and comprehensive, it’s also flexible, positioning the school to open and (ideally) stay open.
Based on what we know today, we anticipate school beginning with students on campus. But this plan is entirely contingent on public health conditions, and we are awaiting further guidance from state officials as to whether any changes will be advisable. Since we have planned for all contingencies, we can respond quickly to state directives, and will be certain to communicate with you if changes are required.
Our plan takes the form of a reference manual that we hope and expect all community members to read. To get an overview, please refer first to the cover letter, the executive summary, and the appendix (where we list all the safety measures we are adopting for this fall). Links to individual divisional plans are embedded in several places.
In the coming days, we’ll be seeking feedback and questions about the plan from our current families so that we can continue to refine it in advance of the first day of school. In the weeks ahead, Karin Morse ’79 (Director of Alumni Relations) and the MB Alumni Association will also be sending information on a national virtual alumni event we plan to host in September to share an update on school reopening.
In the meantime, it will be essential for all of us at MB to continue to demonstrate the Quaker values of community and stewardship, as we all share a collective responsibility for the well-being of our entire school family. Thank you for your ongoing support and please stay safe. 
In friendship,

Matt GlendinningHead of School   |

 |

 |

 |

 |

 |

 |

 |

 |

Moses Brown School | 250 Lloyd Ave. Providence, Rhode Island | Email |www.mosesbrown.org

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://sna.providence.ri.us/pipermail/summit_sna.providence.ri.us/attachments/20200803/4097388e/attachment.htm>