DFER Rhode Island Blog
REPUBLICAN FY 2013 BUDGET PROPOSAL
March 29, 2012
REPUBLICAN FY 2013 BUDGET PROPOSAL
DRAMATIC AND RECKLESS CUTS TO EDUCATION SPENDING
Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives began debate on its budget proposal for FY 2013, the upcoming fiscal year that begins October 1st. The debate resumes on the House floor today.
In Rhode Island:
• Almost 1,000 children will be eliminated from the Head Start program;
• Nearly 6,000 students with disabilities' costs will shift to states and districts as part of cuts to IDEA; and,
• Approximately 13,000 students from historically disadvantaged groups will have reduced or eliminated services due to Title I cuts.
Read more here.
Rhode Island Update: The Politics of Successful New Schools
July 20, 2011
Some good news from Rhode Island this week in today's Providence Journal which celebrates the early success of the flagship Rhode Island Mayoral Academies school in Blackstone Valley. The editorial, quoting State Commish Deborah Gist, notes how rare it is for any school in the state to have 100% of students showing proficiency or better on state exams.Kudos to the teachers, parents, and students who pulled together to make this such a promising development in education reform.
The politics here are important: the state's Board of Regents is set to vote very soon on an application from Cranston Mayor Alan Fung to open the second "Mayoral Academy" serving students from Providence and Cranston. We've come a long way from the initial concept papers and the movement to create a climate in Rhode Island which would "open the drawbridge" to high quality school operators who had previously ignored the Ocean State because of all of the red tape and restrictions on education innovation.
Few apply to open charter schools
March 4, 2011
(From The Providence Journal, March 1, 2011)
By Jennifer D. Jordan
Journal Staff Writer
Rhode Island threw open its doors to charter-school operators last year, lifting a statewide cap and securing two federal grants to aid their ambitious expansion.
But few applicants have stepped through the threshold.
Massachusetts, which also took steps to encourage charter school growth, has been swamped with scores of applications. In mid-February, education officials approved 17 new alternative public schools to open this fall and next.
But despite Rhode Island's welcome mat, just three organizations have sent letters of interest or applications to the Rhode Island Department of Education to open charter schools in 2012-2013:
•Achievement First is interested in opening a mayoral academy in Cranston.
•The Meeting Street School wants to start the Grace School Mayoral Academy in Providence, combining students from local school districts with students who have severe and profound disabilities in inclusion classrooms.
•Three nationally board-certified teachers have submitted an application to open Ocean State STEM Academy, a high school in Providence or Cranston focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
A fourth applicant, Seth Andrew, founder of the New York-based Democracy Prep charter schools, has withdrawn his paperwork to open a K-12 school named Providence Collegiate, according to state education officials.
Andrew was hired by the Rhode Island Mayoral Academies to help run Democracy Prep Blackstone Valley that opened in 2009, but he and RIMA had a falling out over financial terms.
Joe Williams on WPRO
February 11, 2011
On February 9th, DFER executive director Joe Williams spoke with Dan Yorke on NewsTalk 630 WPRO & 99.7 FM. CLICK HERE to listen to their discussion about the future of Rhode Island's Race to the Top grant and Education Commissioner Deborah Gist.DFER-RI: 'Thoughtful Pause' on Charters Jeopardizes Race to the Top Funding
January 27, 2011
DFER-Rhode Island called on Governor Chafee to abandon his call for a "thoughtful pause" and forge ahead with the expansion of charter schools as called for in the state's successful Race to the Top application. Continued delay in developing new public charter schools puts Rhode Island's $75 million Race to the Top Grant in serious jeopardy.To read the press release, click here: Press Release -
Click here to read the full letter to Governor Chafee, click here: Letter - Thoughtful
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