RI Education Commissioner Infante-Green, New England Chiefs Host Reimagining Education & New England’s Workforce (RENEW) Summit 2022

Published on Monday, August 22, 2022

Rhode Island welcomes US Department of Education Secretary Cardona, New England School Chiefs, Workforce Leaders for college and career pathway and learning acceleration-focused summit

NEWPORT, RI - Today Rhode Island Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green welcomed federal officials, state education chiefs, and workforce representatives for the Reimagining Education & New England’s Workforce (RENEW) Summit 2022. The summit, held in collaboration with the Partnership for Rhode Island, convened U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical and Adult Education Dr. Amy Loyd, all New England’s School Chiefs, and workforce leaders for a robust discussion on building strong college and career pathways and accelerating learning in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"As Secretary of Education, I hope to maintain intentional partnership with this group of New England chiefs as they continue to move opportunity forward in our country,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel Cardona. “I want to share my gratitude towards this group for working to make sure education is equitable for students. We are working to reimagine education, everyone here should be proud of what they’ve accomplished. The worst thing we can do now is become complacent."

"I’m excited about the potential that exists in the room today, the value that each of our New England states brings to our collective effort to expand career-connected education,” said U.S. Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical and Adult Education Dr. Amy Loyd. “I'm grateful to these public and private sector leaders whose work will help young people build rewarding futures.”

Held at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, the inaugural RENEW Summit featured panel discussions and cross-sector, cross-state breakout groups, allowing participants to highlight successes, analyze challenges and establish strategies to break down barriers and bolster student achievement. New England School Chiefs traditionally hold an annual meeting to promote collaboration and share best practices to address pressing issues in education; last year, they convened in Massachusetts.

At RENEW, the six New England School Chiefs, including Frank Edelblut (NH), Daniel French (VT), Infante-Green (RI), Pender Makin (ME), Jeffrey Riley (MA), and Charlene Russell-Tucker (CT), signed a resolution in support of regional collaboration to accelerate student learning and build college and career pathways. Within the resolution, the school chiefs pledged to actively engage workforce, higher education, state and local government officials, and community leaders to collaboratively marshal strategies and resources necessary to meet collective goals.

“New England’s School Chiefs meet regularly to share information, collaborate, and work together to strengthen public education across our region. The RENEW Summit is the culmination of strong relationships, communication, and one common goal: help students leap ahead in academic achievement while preparing them for the global economy,” said Commissioner Infante-Green. “Together, we are establishing a bold vision that we hope inspires regional collaboration around the country. We are grateful to have hosted the inaugural annual RENEW Summit and look forward to strengthening these partnerships in the years ahead.”

"Economic development starts in the classroom. Our region is so tightly connected and for the New England economy to truly thrive, we need every northeast state to make shared commitments to career pathways and student achievement," said Executive Director of the Partnership for Rhode Island Tom Giordano. "The RENEW Summit is a step toward better collaboration and - more importantly - economic opportunity for more New Englanders."

The Partnership for Rhode Island is a CEO roundtable, and its board is comprised of the chief executives from Rhode Island's largest employers, including CVS Health, Hasbro, Aetna, AAA Northeast, IGT, Brown University, and FM Global, among others.

The RENEW Summit will be held in Vermont next year.

What They are Saying:

New England Chiefs expressed excitement for the partnership and added the following:

“Throughout the pandemic, as the education leaders from each of the New England states, we met weekly to collaborate and make sure we were bringing forth the best options to support our students,” said New Hampshire Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut. “This spirit of collaboration has continued as we work with and support each other in recovery efforts and to make sure we create pathways to bright futures for all of our students.”

“It’s a pleasure to be part of this summit and collaborate on ways to make learning more engaging and relevant for students, both in terms of their time in the classroom and by connecting them with opportunities related to college and a career,” said Massachusetts Education Commissioner Jeffrey C. Riley. “As we in Massachusetts work on initiatives like Early College, Innovation Pathways, and Deeper Learning, it’s helpful to hear how our neighboring states are preparing their students and find areas where we can learn from each other.”

“Working with my colleagues around New England, discussing shared challenges and learning about new and novel solutions was immensely valuable to Vermont’s pandemic response,” said Vermont Secretary of Education Dan French. “Now we are moving toward education recovery and building an education system for the 21st Century, focused on quality and equity. I am looking forward to continued partnership with our neighbors to discuss our shared goals and shared challenges, and build a better future for New England’s students.”

“This Summit brings together the unique and diverse perspectives of education and business leaders from across New England to learn from one another as we collectively identify strategies to strengthen public schools. It was an honor to serve alongside Secretary Cardona as a panelist today to share the innovative educational approaches we are supporting in Maine schools. Multiple pathways, including Extended Learning Opportunities, CTE programs, the Maine Outdoor Learning Initiative, and other interdisciplinary, project-based, applied learning activities, effectively engage students in higher order thinking and real-world problem solving," said Maine Education Commissioner Pender Makin. "These approaches not only efficiently accelerate learning across multiple content areas, they also prepare students for success in post-secondary education, jobs, and careers."

“This collaborative effort will help us develop important new connections so that together, as a region, we can build a career pathways coalition which will not only benefit all New England students and businesses, but serve as a national model," said Connecticut Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker. "I am pleased to be joined by Connecticut’s Higher Education, Business and Workforce Development leaders at this summit to share best practices and successes, while continuing to grow our partnership with our New England counterparts.”