Raymond Baccari
Editor-in-Chief
Rhode Island’s tenth annual Education Summit is set to take place at RIC on Thursday. The event was originally scheduled to be in Gaige 200 at 4 p.m. This summit’s location has since changed to Alger 110, and will run from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Sen. Sandra Cano (D-Dist. 8) and Sen. Hanna Gallo (D-Dist. 27) are hosting the event. Cano is the current Chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Education, and Gallo is the committee’s current Vice Chairwoman. The theme for this year is “Increasing Access to Mental Health Supports in Schools.”
According to the announcement for this summit by the Rhode Island General Assembly, it will “bring together policy makers, practitioners and stakeholders to examine promising practices, current gaps and opportunities for delivering high-quality mental and behavioral health services to students and educators across Rhode Island.”
During the event, Elizabeth Burke Bryant, Director of RI Kids Count, will deliver a keynote speech. Following Bryant’s remarks is a look at current data regarding youth mental health. There are also going to be two panels that explain what Rhode Island is doing right and what they can work on to improve both education and health in the schools moving forward.
Those in attendance will hear from teachers, parents and students during the first panel of the two. This panel’s focus is on how mental health support is presented in schools, what is currently working and how improvements can be made.
Afterward, panel number two will highlight what current plans are in place to increase hires in the state’s mental and behavioral health workforce, and how to keep those currently employed.
Parking at RIC is often limited. The summit’s Eventbrite page urges people who have registered to attend to park in D lot, which is close to Alger 110. Directions for where the parking lot and summit is located can be found here.
Those who need accommodations for disability access can contact Nora Crowley by phone at 401-276-5554 or via email at ncrowley@rilegislature.gov with 72 hours’ notice.
To reserve a spot for this event, registration can be found here.