Gov. McKee Rolls Out Historic “Learn 365 RI” Plan to Help Rhode Island Students Succeed Year-Round

Yesterday, on his 100th day in office, Gov. Dan McKee announced a new strategy to set Rhode Island students up for success. His new “Learn 365 RI” plan engages local leaders and community organizations to create year-round programs for students of all ages to learn in settings beyond the classroom.

The new plan will use millions of dollars in federal funding to add a million hours of extra learning time to help Rhode Island students catch up and get ahead, with the critical goal of “making education important as a priority in every household in the state of Rhode Island.

”Here’s what they’re saying about Gov. McKee’s new “Learn 365 RI” plan.

Providence Journal: RI lags Massachusetts in education. Here’s how McKee says the state will catch up by 2030.Gov. Dan McKee will unveil a plan on Wednesday to push Rhode Island’s struggling education system forward by adopting a 365-day learning strategy.The shift, dubbed Learn 365 RI, seeks cooperation from municipal leaders in moving the state from the current 180 days of learning to a year-round program that would offer students educational opportunities outside of their traditional schooling.The idea is not to expand the school year to 365 days, but to add enough optional out-of-school programming that kids could add many more hours to their educational year. Programs would be free or made affordable to families based on how much they can pay.[…]

Learn 365 RI will be available to students regardless of what type of school they attend, whether it’s public, private or a charter school.

The goal? In McKee’s words: “making education important as a priority in every household in the state of Rhode Island.”Providence Business News: McKee unveils ‘Learn 365 RI’ strategy to boost education statewide

Gov. Daniel J. McKee on Wednesday spent his 100th day in office launching a new strategy slated to help boost education across the state and exceed Massachusetts’ academic levels by 2030.

McKee’s “Learn 365 RI” plan calls for a shift in education beyond the 180 days of traditional learning in classrooms. It proposes a statewide goal to add cumulatively at least 1 million hours of out-of-school learning time per year.[…]

“Whether it’s the kids in kindergarten who are showing up to school with fewer social and academic skills; or the middle schoolers showing higher signs of anxiety and depression; or high school students who are struggling to make it to graduation,” McKee said. “We know that it will take about three to five years to recover from the impact of the pandemic when it comes to education. We also know that schools can’t shoulder the entire weight of getting us back on track and beyond. We need reinforcements – statewide and community wide.”

WLNE: ‘Learn 365 RI’: McKee announces proposal to ‘meet Massachusetts levels’ in education…the governor is allocating $4 million in GEER funding to support out-of-school learning.

This federal funding is given to governors to help students and families recover from the impact of COVID on education, said McKee.

“This $4 million is only just the start,” he said. “To compliment these dollars, we also have $47 million in the queue that the General Assembly approved in my budget last year.”

Once approved, McKee said this money will help cities and towns build out community centers to support out of school learning activity.

“Our kids want to learn, parents want their kids to achieve, and we all want Rhode Island to be best in class when it comes to education,” said McKee.

“So, Rhode Island — it’s time for us to make a shift — from thinking that learning happens only during a 180-day school year to embracing the ‘Learn 365 RI’ strategy,” added the governor.

WPRI: McKee: RI schools should rival Massachusetts by 2030

[…]“Think about it – if just 20,000 Rhode Island students add about an hour per week of out-of-school learning, that right there equals one million hours,” he explained.

He said this will only improve if everyone in the community is involved, not just teachers.

“A key component of our strategy to increase out-of-school learning time is to achieve a high-level commitment from mayors, town administrators, council presidents, and town managers across the state,” McKee said. “They are the ones who are uniquely positioned to take this effort communitywide.”

In order for this to work, Mckee said he needs every municipal leader across the state to sign the Learn 365 RI Municipal Compact. Newport Mayor Xay Khamsyvoravong was the first to sign it.

RIDE will meet with leaders who sign the compact and update them on where their community stands on the three key measures the state is focused on improving.

“This is our shot, Rhode Island,” McKee said. “Let’s take it and let’s make it.”

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