New plans set forth for reopening public schools in Rhode Island, issued by Governor Gina Raimondo and Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green this past June, were at the head of the discussion during last Tuesday’s virtual Warwick School Committee meeting. While guidelines regarding the start and end of the school year, as well as designated school vacations, have been released, there is still a lot left to guess at when it comes to picturing what the actual process of educating students in person will entail come this fall.

Superintendent Philip Thornton noted the changes to the school calendar designated by the Rhode Island Department of Education for the 2020-21 school year as part of the updated reopening plans; officially, all Rhode Island public schools will open on August 31st. Thornton described plans for a “building orientation” the preceding Friday, 8/28, in order to prepare schools in Warwick for the returned presence of physical students.

Distance learning will be integrated into the school year going forward to compensate for time taken out of the classroom due to external factors. Individual districts will have the opportunity to declare snow days as “distance learning days,’ which will prevent the need to make up time lost in the classroom with additional days in June. Eight statewide professional development days have been scheduled, taking place roughly once a month between September and June; these days, all slated to take place on Mondays, will include distance learning for students as well.

Visualizing what this return will look like in a day-to-day sense is still uncertain; Thornton noted that further details regarding the reopening of RI public schools is scheduled to be released later this month. 

High school graduation days may take place any time after June 4th, which is predicted to be the 170th day of instruction for seniors. The graduating class of 2021, nearly a year off from this date, does not yet know what sort of celebration their parting ceremony may resemble; however, the current task at hand remains the sudden navigation of post-secondary education options as rising seniors. 

Of the 30 items listed under the “New Business” header in Tuesday’s meeting agenda, 25 were related to contract awards; significant items included the RILINK service provided to students through their school libraries, as well as the educational services provided by online service ConnectED. Public comment included a lengthy list of inquiries from a Warwick Schools parent, who expressed concern for the extensive uncertainty faced by the community when looking forward to the future where students will leave the inherent safety of the virtual classroom into the less secure physical one.

Prior to the public session, a closed executive session lasted approximately an hour and a half. Upon returning, the committee sampled discussion that covered a wide variety of topics, ranging from the role of technology within the district to the role of public education itself within not only Warwick but the state of Rhode Island.

“We’re going into a school year that, as I mentioned before, is unprecedented in scope of technology and demands of technology,” said committee member David Testa. Looking forward to the next school year, Testa said that the challenges faced with school technology thus far since school closures in March would seem like “child’s play” in comparison to what could come next.

“We need technology; we need an appropriately staffed technology department,” he said. 

Judith Cobden offered plentiful support for the new candidate, but expressed reluctance at the suggested starting salary for the position, noting that it closely resembled the salary earned by the previous person filling the role who had gained seniority.

Chairwoman Karen Bachus presented discussion regarding a proposed amendment to Article 1 of the Rhode Island Constitution, under the section titled “Declarations of Certain Constitutional Rights and Principles;” the current version, which outlines “essential and unquestionable rights” to be upheld as part of a “paramount obligation” within all branches of government, fails to designate public education as one of these rights to be provided to citizens of Rhode Island. Bachus explained that Rhode Island’s handling of the situation pales in comparison to the initiative taken by the state of Massachusetts in 1993, where the Education Reform Act was passed in order to provide more funding and support to public schooling. The background information provided for the amendment that Bachus read aloud described this act as initiating an “era of accountability” that rapidly narrowed the achievement gap. In contrast, however, the Rhode Island Supreme Court upheld a ruling in 1995 that affirmed the availability of public education as not being mandatory within the state; a second ruling, issued in 2014 and involving the same school districts (Pawtucket and Woonsocket), reiterated this fact. 

The proposal of an amendment to Rhode Island’s constitution, which would designated “access to an adequate education” as a fundamental right, was formally and unanimously endorsed by the committee; the introduction of this amendment would result in its inclusion within a referendum before voters during the Nov. 3 election. Committee member Nathan Cornell noted the twofold nature of such an amendment; not only would its passage reaffirm the rights of students in Rhode Island, but it would also make funding education an increased priority within the state.

An archived recording of the 7/15 virtual meeting can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHBtlBL3GjE&feature=youtu.be. The next meeting will take place virtually tonight (7/16) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nUDy1J9JJY.