“…adult benefits, rather than the needs of students, often decide the way public education is administered in Rhode Island,” claims an editorial in today’s Providence Journal describing Education Commission Deborah Gist’s State of Education speech last week.
Those benefits? Well, a little later on the editorial mentions this, “Teachers are finally being evaluated.”
If there are others, the editorial does not mention them. My guess is this is an attempt to heap responsibility onto unionized teachers for the central issue cursing public education in Rhode Island: the achievement gap.
If you think teachers from all over the state are the cause of this massive achievement gap that exists between the affluent suburbs and the struggling cities here in Rhode Island you probably wouldn’t do too well on the critical thinking portion of the NECAP test.
The ProJo owes it to Rhode Island to have a more honest look at education policy in Rhode Island. There are very real issues affecting our children and our economy. Among them listed in the op/ed:
“…huge gaps persist between the performance of poor students and those in the middle-class. Low-income students have a four-year graduation rate of 66 percent, compared with 90 percent for higher-income students.”
Bullseye. And it’s so worth noting that this has absolutely zero to do with employee benefits trumping student need.
“Clearly, the dollars Rhode Island taxpayers are pouring into education are not being spent as effectively as they could be,” opines the op/ed.
I’d agree with this too. Last week, the East Greenwich School Committee approved giving new laptops to every high school student. Meanwhile, in Providence, Pawtucket and Woonsocket students still sometimes need to share outdated text books.
But is this because the adults in Providence, Pawtucket and Woonsocket are more greedy than their East Greenwich counterparts? Or is it because East Greenwich has a better ability to offer a more comprehensive education to its students than does Providence, Pawtucket and Woonsocket?
The op/ed says charter schools are proving “even poor students from the toughest neighborhoods can thrive in the right school environment.” The writer should really compare per pupil spending at charter schools compared to their entirely-publicly funded counterparts are accomplishing this.
In the meantime, one failure of education policy perseveres: our inability to have an honest conversation about solutions to the achievement gap between the affluent suburbs and the struggling cites. It’s sad that such a conversation is being stifled by the state’s paper of record because of its obvious abhorrence of organized labor.
]]>Here are a few words you won’t see in the above graphic depiction of her speech, which I think belong in any talk about the state of education in Rhode Island:
A few other observations:
I’d love to hear from our readers in the comments about what observations you all have about her speech, or this depiction of it.
]]>Almost 90 percent of teachers asked for the poll felt that moral in Rhode Island public schools is not good. More than 80 percent of the local teachers polled said they feel less respected than they did prior to Gist’s tenure. 85 percent of respondents don’t want her contract renewed.
“For too long Commissioner Gist has spoken of her support among classroom teachers,” said Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals President Frank Flynn in a press release sent out today. “We decided to put that notion to an independent test. This survey found that she is not supported by classroom teachers. In fact, there is overwhelming evidence that her leadership is almost universally rejected.”
Here’s some of the results of the survey, as reported in the press release:
The new poll was released today to coincide with Gist’s State of Education speech tonight.
]]>Deborah Gist has been doing her darnedest to ignore the Providence Student Union as of late. But before her annual “State of Education” speech tomorrow night at the State House, they will be giving the inaugural “State of the Student” speech there as well.
Gist, in her joint session to the House and Senate tomorrow, will no doubt talk about the $75 million in Race to the Top money is helping advance the so-called “education reform” agenda she has proscribed for the Rhode Island. The students from Providence will preempt her by letting everyone know that it hasn’t been working out for them yet.
Here’s their full email:
Okay, what are we talking about?
Every year, the Rhode Island Commissioner of Education gives a “State of Education” address to the General Assembly detailing the Department of Education’s vision for Rhode Island students.
That is all well and good. But members of the Providence Student Union (PSU) feel that these speeches miss an important perspective – namely, the voices of Rhode Island’s students themselves.
Students are the ones who actually experience the “State of Education” every day, so PSU has decided to take this opportunity to share our vision for the schools Rhode Island’s students deserve.
Please join us tomorrow at the First Annual State of the Student Address to hear PSU’s recommendations for the changes our state’s young people need to achieve high standards in high school and beyond, with topics including teaching and learning, curriculum, school repairs, assessment and high-stakes testing. We hope to see you there!
Sincerely,
PSU’s State of the Student planning committee (Hector, Kelvis, Leexammarie, Cauldierre and Aaron)
P.S. In case you can’t make it tomorrow but still want to participate, we will be offering live-streaming coverage of our Address starting at 4:30 p.m. on our Facebook page.
The Providence Student Union, led by local adults Aaron Regunberg and Zach Mazera, has drawn significant attention to the NECAP graduation requirement, even getting a mention in a Boston Glove editorial. Gist, however, has cautioned local adults not to pay attention or participate in the student’s attempts to criticize the new policy (see statement from the commissioner’s office regarding this characterization).
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