New Hampshire joins New England states to reimagine education and the workforce

NEWPORT, RI — Educational leaders from around New England gathered Monday to discuss how the region can collectively accelerate student learning in response to the pandemic.

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona joined Commissioner Frank Edelblut and Deputy Commissioner Christine Brennan of the New Hampshire Department of Education, along with other New England education commissioners for the Reimagining Education and New England’s Workforce (RENEW) Summit at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, RI. 

Cardona shared his vision for accelerating student learning and creating pathways for students to succeed as part of tomorrow’s workforce. 

“We have managed COVID. Now, it is time to lead education, and transforming our pathways to progress, to prosperity, to opportunity, is a key role that we have as education leaders,” said Cardona. “… We must rise to meet the new challenges our school systems and students face.”

During Monday’s event, commissioners from New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts and Connecticut signed a pledge resolving to establish efforts across the New England state education agencies to share best practices and actively engage with community leaders, businesses, higher education and state and local government officials to collaboratively marshal strategies and resources to provide pathways for students to thrive in college, career and life. 

“This pledge will help to reenergize the collaborative efforts already underway throughout New England and across state lines that aim to help students flourish in tomorrow’s economy,” said Edelblut. “This is a team effort, and investing in our young people now and providing them with numerous pathways to succeed will result in strong academic and 21st Century skills. We have a unique opportunity to learn from the pandemic and its many disruptions, and come out the other side even stronger with enthusiasm to aim higher for our students.”

Joining representatives from the New Hampshire Department of Education at the summit were David Juvet, senior vice-president of public policy for the New Hampshire Business and Industry Association, Katherine Ziemer, senior vice provost for academic affairs at the University of New Hampshire, Mark Rubinstein, chancellor of the Community College System of New Hampshire and Joe Doiron, director of workforce development for the New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs. 

“Being united in our quest to provide and expand learning opportunities for students cannot be accomplished alone. Listening to best practices from our neighbors will help all New England students in the long-run, and we are grateful for this collaboration and partnership,” said Brennan. 

This was the first annual summit of the New England education chiefs and education and business leaders, and was held in collaboration with the Partnership for Rhode Island.