Department seeks public input on transforming education in RI

Christopher Yanish
Posted 12/2/14

The Rhode Island Department of Education is asking Rhode Islanders what is important to them about public education, and people are responding.

In the last two weeks 5,336 people have completed …

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Department seeks public input on transforming education in RI

Posted

The Rhode Island Department of Education is asking Rhode Islanders what is important to them about public education, and people are responding.

In the last two weeks 5,336 people have completed the online survey, Transforming Education in Rhode Island. The department hopes another 5,000 Rhode Islanders will complete the survey by the March 2015 deadline. The survey is also offered in languages other than English, including Cambodian, Hmong, Laotian, Portuguese, Spanish and Vietnamese.

In an online letter accompanying the survey, Commissioner Deborah Gist says “advice” from the public will be continually sought throughout the entire process of implementation via school visits, public meetings and community forums.

The survey is already receiving reactions from state legislators like Representative Joseph McNamara, Chairman of the House Health, Education and Welfare Committee. He says the endeavor involves “large cohorts of individuals, teachers, officials and policymakers trying to build a consensus of what people expect of pre-kindergarten through 12th grade education.”

Results of the survey are available live on the department’s website, and with certain results trending viewers can already start to see which specific aspects of education are becoming most important to Rhode Islanders. From the results thus far, according to McNamara, “Diversity was there, but doesn’t seem to be the biggest factor.” Rhode Islanders also seem to be confident in the security of the state’s public schools. This is potentially attributable to the School Safety Statute, which outlines policy for emergency response planning and coordination with local and state police departments, he said.

The survey is helping to prioritize values and, according to McNamara, it is becoming clear that childhood and early-childhood education is one of the more important factors from the results so far. McNamara emphasizes more early intervention and states, “Research shows it can affect the success of students and increase chances of reading at grade level by third grade.” He says immediate concerns regarding this would be to make kindergarten a full day and to increase the quality and number of preschool programs with the hope of increasing success and graduation rates.

In an email to constituents, Rep. Patricia Morgan (R-Dist. 26) said, “This is an incredibly important issue, and one we need to get right.” She encourages everyone to share the link to the survey with friends and neighbors and adds, “The more input we have, the better.”

Between 15 and 20 people will be selected from over 200 applicants by Dec. 11 to form the “Community Team.” This process is closed and no more applications are being accepted. Members of the Community Team will be comprised of ambassadors from the field of education and various communities, which along with the RI Board of Education will design the actual plan to be put into action. The link to the survey is www.surveymonkey.com/r/2BSZ7L6. To view the results of the survey, visit

www.ride.ri.gov/BoardofEducation/RI2015-2020StrategicPlanforEducation.aspx#lt-23854-survey-results.

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  • JohnStark

    Two points here. First, like any other government entity seeking public input, this will result in a discovery that, shockingly, "We need more money." RI currently ranks 8th highest in per pupil spending on public education in the US. This is an "investment", don't you know. The return on this "investment" is the 17th lowest rate of high school diplomas in the country. We'd do better shorting Apple.

    Second, if the Dept. of Ed was interested, even remotely, in improving the lives of young people, they would endorse a policy that grants vouchers to students in low performing schools in order to allow them to flee those schools. That won't happen. Urban public education remains the last vestige of slavery, and education beaurocrats are their slave masters. Instead of granting emancipation, they wish to make the shackles more comfortable. A plantation remains a plantation, "community teams" or not.

    Wednesday, December 3, 2014 Report this