We need to be more like Massachusetts. If every Rhode Islander had a nickel for every time we’ve heard that, our piggy banks would runneth over. But the truth is, when it comes to our schools, Rhode Island absolutely missed the boat by not following in Massachusetts footsteps sooner and our children—and our economy—continue to… Continue reading My District Just Cancelled Field Trips—Good Move or What the Hell?
Cheryl Kirk is a mom from Indianapolis who knows a lot about access—and lack of access—to quality education. She knows that the playing field isn’t level and her two older children, who attended school through a voucher program, know it too. Her son is in his first year of college and was given the assignment… Continue reading Her Son’s Professor Says that Access to Quality Education is No Longer a Problem in Her City…Say What?
Opting out of testing is like opting out of our personal and collective responsibility as parents. As a mother, I want to know how my own kids are doing but, arguably more importantly, we all need to know how all kids are doing. We would not even be aware of the seismic gaps between white… Continue reading Why I Would Never Opt My Kids Out of Tests
[View the story “Zip Code Assignment for College?” on Storify]
By Jason Allen Don’t get me wrong, as a member of the NAACP, former youth & college division leader, founder of the my college chapter and liaison between local schools to the ACTSO competition, I believe in the local, regional and national work of NAACP leaders. However, this time, I believe that the NAACP as… Continue reading Dear NAACP, Don’t Talk About Equality, Be About It!
Rhode Island 10th and 11th graders took the PSAT and SATs for free for the first time this year. The PSAT was administered in the fall and just last week, during the school day, high school juniors took the SAT. They are the first cohort of students to benefit from Governor Raimondo’s free SAT/PSAT plan… Continue reading Removing Barriers: Step 1, Free Access to the SAT
When kids don’t graduate, it has lifelong consequences. Those are the recent words of Rhode Island Education Commissioner Ken Wagner and there is no doubt that he is right. A high school diploma is widely accepted as the absolute bare minimum when it comes to educating students in 2016 and while most would… Continue reading The Other 97 Percent, an Ugly Rhode Island Secret
I was excited. This was going to be it. I was finally going to proudly stand with Randi Weingarten of the American Federation of Teachers and Lily Eskelson Garcia of the National Education Association in the fight for equity. We were finally going to find ourselves standing firmly, together, on that ever so elusive surface… Continue reading Randi and Lily: This was supposed to be our moment but alas, looks like #ImwithHim (no, not Trump. John King!)
