Gist, education reform blasted at BoE meeting
Neither Dr. Gist nor the education reform movement came off very well at the Board of Education meeting earlier tonight. She only had one supporter among those who gave testimony. I was unable to speak, time ran out, so later in this post I’ll write what I was planning to say. Before I get to [...]
Do you care about the show or about results?
There was apparently quite a party in Cranston yesterday, with several hundred teachers coming together to, well, you wouldn’t say they were there to praise the state Education Commissioner, Deborah Gist. In a poll out a couple of weeks ago, 85% of teachers say they don’t approve of the commissioner or the current policies of [...]
Teacher: RI biz community is ‘below proficient’
This was one of the more interesting statements made at the teacher rally last night – and not because it shows why Deborah Gist isn’t an effective education leader. Rather, because it shows the inherent hypocrisy in our political debate and how varying interests can employ widely divergent logic depending on the situation and where [...]
Report shows education reform isn’t working
A new Economic Policy Institute report that is highly critical of the so-called “education reform” movement reads like an indictment of Deborah Gist’s tenure as commissioner of public schools in Rhode Island. The report compares large urban school districts with New York, Chicago and Washington DC – three cities that have implemented strategies almost identical [...]
Dump Deborah Gist
Deborah Gist is nothing if not polarizing. Nearly 90 percent of local teachers want a new leader. But the Chamber of Commerce supports her. She backed the firing of Central Falls teachers, but she has the backing of the East Greenwich School Committee. Tom Sgouros and the Providence Student Union have twisted her in knots [...]
More illogic from RIDE
In a reply to my post about sneaky changes in the NECAP documentation, the RI Department of Education spokesman wrote this: “The NECAP assessment is designed to measure whether students have attained the knowledge and skills expected at each grade level, that is, whether students have met grade-level standards.” This, of course, is the heart [...]
How RIDE Undermines Their Own NECAP Test
If I had to pick one thing to complain about with the high-stakes NECAP testing regime it wouldn’t be the pressure on the students, the deformation of the curriculum, or any of that. If it was just one thing, it wouldn’t even be the misguided policy to use NECAP as a graduation test. It would [...]
Gist Offers Logical Fallacies On NECAP Value
I was on the radio ever so briefly this afternoon, on Buddy Cianci’s show with Deborah Gist. Unfortunately, the show’s producer hadn’t actually invited me so I had no idea until it had been underway for an hour. I gather they had a lively conversation that involved belittling the concerns about the NECAP test that [...]
Kids, Schools, Twitter, Profanity, WPRO And Gist
There’s so much to blog about in this WPRO story about how a Warwick high school suspended a couple kids for sending rude and profane tweets to Education Comissioner Deborah Gist about high stakes tests as a requirement of graduation. In no particular order: Say what you will about Gist’s education policies, she should be [...]
Open Letter About NECAP To Eva Mancuso
Eva Marie Mancuso, Chair, Rhode Island Board of Education, Rhode Island Department of Education, 225 Westminster Street, Providence RI 02903 Dear Ms. Mancuso: I read with interest in this morning’s news about the Providence School Board’s suggestion to the Board that you not rely on the NECAP test as a graduation requirement. I would like [...]
Former Prisoner Facing ‘Backlash’ For Pursuing Education
This post, by TTEF President Andres Idarraga on behalf of the Board of Directors, originally appeared on TTEF’s blog. The recent controversy surrounding a young man pursuing his education at the University of Rhode Island raises several societal issues. (“One student’s journey from state prison to URI sparks inquiry,” Katherine Gregg, 2/24/13). Should we encourage [...]
Give ‘United Providence’ Time To Succeed
.United Providence! (UP!) is a new “nonprofit education management organization designed to manage the turnaround process in a cluster of Providence’s lowest performing schools.” It is a “first of its kind” collaboration between the Providence Teacher’s Union (PTU) and the Providence Public School District (PPSD). The low performing schools chosen for the new program include [...]
The Responsible Contract Resolution Act And Conn.
The Responsible Contract Resolution Act – better known as binding arbitration – will be debated in committee at the State House today. At this hearing, and in the local media before and after it, you will hear many of the Rhode Island’s most vocal union busters complain that the bill is tantamount to letting labor [...]
Ed Achorn: Baseball Is His Second Favorite Hobby
Ed Achorn is correct when he writes that in order to turn around the state’s dismal economy, “Rhode Island will have to improve its public schools.” But keep one thing in mind, he isn’t writing about education in this piece. And his favorite pastime isn’t baseball. The answer to both is: blaming labor for what [...]
Washington Post: Deborah Gist, Jeb Bush and ALEC
Rhode Island Education Commissioner Deborah Gist has sought several reform-oriented grants through a group closely connected with ALEC, according to the Washington Post. The Post reported Wednesday on the connection between Jeb Bush’s Chiefs for Change, a conservative education group of which Gist is a member, and the Foundation for Excellence in Education, which has [...]
Let’s Have 2013 Be A Year For Action in Rhode Island
It’s hard to know, only one sunrise removed, how 2012 will be remembered in Rhode Island. In so many ways, it seems it was a year defined by inaction. Most notably, we watched as our $75 million investment in a baseball player’s ability to launch a video game company – not surprisingly – went south. [...]
Some Year-End Reading for Progressive Policy Geeks
This time of year folks compile their year-end reading lists; so as we head into the holiday week, with pension debates and fiscal cliffs waiting for us on the other side of the calendar, I wanted to offer some suggestions: The first is a just released paper from Steven M. Teles, Associate Professor of Political [...]
RI Teacher Resigns on YouTube; Cites Test Scores
A Providence second grade school teacher said he has resigned because of the over-focus on standardized test scores and posted a video of him reading his resignation letter to YouTube. “I believe my goal as an educator should be to create life-long learners. Rather than creating life long learners Our new goal is to create [...]
Register for ‘Leadership For A Future’ Class of 2013
The 2013 Leadership for a Future class is now accepting applications. The premier organizer training program in the Rhode Island, Leadership for a Future is a great opportunity for people to learn how Rhode Island REALLY works and but also how to make it work better. You can register for the program ONLINE or download [...]
Speaking to the Speaker
Winners in political races have it easy. They thank everyone and move forward. The Silver Medalists analyze what went wrong and fade into the shadows. Is it possible to write a post-election column as the loser and not sound self-serving, shrill or sour? I’m going to do my best. From the beginning, this race was about [...]
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