finalreportoftherhodeislandurbaneducationtaskforce building …€¦ · building our future an...

BuildingOur FutureAn Agenda for Quality Urban Educationin Rhode Island

October 2009

Final Report of the Rhode Island Urban Education Task Force

E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y

This Executive Summary outlines the main con-

cepts and recommendations of the final report of

the Rhode Island Urban Education Task Force,

Building Our Future: An Agenda for Quality Urban

Education in Rhode Island.

The Executive Summary and the full report were

produced by the Annenberg Institute for School

Reform at Brown University, Providence, Rhode

Island. Copies of both publications and additional

information about the work of the Rhode Island

Urban Education Task Force are available at

<www.annenberginstitute.org/UETF>.

Final Report of the Rhode Island Urban Education Task Force | Executive Summary 1

For the majority of the twentieth century,Rhode Island’s families and communitiesthrived on an economy driven by textile andjewelry manufacturing and fishing. By the closeof the century, however, financial services,trade, health, and education had replaced man-ufacturing and fishing as the strongest sectorsof the state’s economy.

For decades, our nation’s leading economists,educators, and business, political, and civicleaders have predicted that the U.S. educa-tional system’s failure to produce studentsequipped to participate in the new global econ-omy would have dire economic and social con-sequences (NCEE 2008).

Our collective failure to redesign our state’sand our nation’s educational system to respondto the new world of learning and work hasforced many companies to outsource high-skilljobs overseas, leaving whole communities andfamilies behind in their wake. The warningsigns of our collective failure are all around usand have become increasingly acute in the lastyear.

• Rhode Island has one of the highest unem-ployment rates in the country (ProvidenceJournal, September 18, 2009).

• Rhode Island has the highest proportion ofchildren living in poverty compared to otherNew England states (2009 Rhode Island KIDSCOUNT Factbook).

• Rhode Island is the lowest-ranking NewEngland state in overall child well-being(2009 RI KIDS COUNT Factbook).

• Rhode Island has the second-lowest propor-tion of college-educated workers of any NewEngland state (Crissey 2009).

These statistics present our community with aclear choice: support the educational status quo

and continue our downward spiral, or create afuture as great as our state’s past by transform-ing our public schools so that they produceyoung people who can strengthen our econ-omy, our families, and our communities.

The Importance of Our Urban CoreSuch a transformative agenda should be pur-sued by every school and community in ourstate. But, as a small and densely populatedstate, our economic and civic futures are highlylinked to the health of our core cities: Provi-dence, Central Falls, Newport, Pawtucket, andWoonsocket. And no factor is more importantto the health of these cities – and hence thestate – than education (profiles of Rhode Islandand the cities are included in appendices B1–B6 of the full Task Force report).

As noted in the Rhode Island Public Expendi-ture Council (n.d.) publication Cities Count, “by2020, one in five members of the state’s work-force will have come from the State’s urbancore school systems.” Currently, outcomesfor students in those cities are improving butremain unacceptably low (see appendices B7–B8 of the full Task Force report for moredetails and sources):

• Only about half of elementary and middleschool students from these communitiesachieved proficiency in the 2007-2008 assess-ment in English language arts, comparedwith about 77 percent in the rest of the state.

• About three in ten students reached profi-ciency in math in the urban areas, comparedwith about seven in ten students in the rest ofthe state.

• The graduation rate in Rhode Island’s urbandistricts is 61 percent, compared with 74 per-cent in the state as a whole.

Introduction to the Task Force Report

2 Building Our Future: An Agenda for Quality Urban Education in Rhode Island

• Urban students make up under a third of thestate’s public school population, but are alarge majority of the state’s students who arecharacterized as English language learnersand as low income.

• The mobility rate in the urban core was 44percent in 2007-2008, compared with 14 per-cent for the rest of the state.

Our current system of urban public educationis not a worthy vessel for children and youth inour urban core, nor for the many dedicatededucators who work with them. Redesigningthe current system to fit the needs of thetwenty-first century will require vision, boldaction, and an approach that harnesses thestate’s political, educational, social, and civicresources. It will require a technical blueprint,but one that also recognizes that reformrequires concerted political, social, and culturalchange.

The Work of the Urban Education TaskForceTo address these many challenges, GovernorDonald Carcieri created the Urban EducationTask Force in January 2008 and charged us towork with multiple stakeholders to forge a planto generate action and the political will neededto take the first steps toward its implementa-tion. The Task Force heard consistently aboutparticipants’ frustrations with the disconnectbetween their schools and their district centraloffices; with territorial politics and poor com-munication that divide school from community,parents from teachers, and teachers from prin-cipals and their school district leaders; and withthe lack of consultation with teachers, parents,and students about policies that affect them.They urged not just new policies from theirpublic servants, but the creation of new cul-tures and practices that would foster trust and

engagement in public education (see appendixC1–C2 of the full Task Force report for moredetails on educators’ and community members’comments in public meetings).

In the midst of these criticisms, we also heardand saw a foundation for hope and successthrough our local best-practice visits and ourconversations with students, teachers, andparents who are building partnerships anddeveloping promising practices to create high-quality schools in Rhode Island (see sidebarfor examples).

Building Our FutureWe can build on these and numerous othersuccesses by marshaling the will and resourcesneeded to redesign our public education sys-tems as systems to support innovation andenhance efficiency and effectiveness. In its finalreport, the Urban Education Task Force putsforward recommendations in seven areas thatwill create the infrastructure, collaboration,and culture to build the kinds of schools RhodeIsland needs to thrive in the twenty-first cen-tury. This ambitious endeavor requires busi-ness, government, labor, K–12 and higher edu-cation, the faith institutions, and communitygroups to seek common ground to build uponand to sustain our effort over time.

This endeavor also will require us to shift froma culture enamored of differences and conflictto one that seeks unity around shared valuesand strategies. Despite a diversity of ideologies,experiences, and backgrounds, the membersof this Task Force reached consensus arounda core set of action steps. One clarifying com-ment from the Rhode Island Federation ofTeachers and Health Professionals, relatedto the Educator Quality recommendation, isincluded in the full Task Force report (see page9 of this Executive Summary for a summary ofthe comment).


The Task Force process was not perfect – someworking groups were not as inclusive as others,member engagement varied, and some con-stituent voices undoubtedly went unheard. Butthe experience of the last eighteen months hastaught us that differences are obstacles thatcan be overcome when multiple stakeholderscome together over time to engage in dialogue,examine research and best practice, and worktoward a common goal – creating an educationsystem that builds our community’s future.

Warren SimmonsExecutive Director, Annenberg Institute forSchool Reform at Brown UniversityChair, Rhode Island Urban Education TaskForce

ReferencesCrissey, Sarah R. 2009. Education Attainmentin the United States: 2007.Washington, DC:U.S. Census Bureau.

National Center on Education and the Econ-omy. 2008. Tough Choices or Tough Times: TheReport of the New Commission on the Skills ofthe American Workforce. Executive Summary.Washington, DC: NCEE.

Rhode Island KIDS COUNT. 2009. 2009Rhode Island KIDS COUNT Factbook. Provi-dence, RI: RI KIDS COUNT.

Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council. n.d.Cities Count: Connecting People and Places forthe Future of Rhode Island. Providence, RI:RIPEC.

Promising Partnerships and Practices in Rhode Island

Examples of promising partnerships and practices to createhigh-quality schools in Rhode Island include:

• Central Falls High School and the University of Rhode Islandpartnership to address the persistently low rate of studentachievement

• Newport Public Schools’ partnerships with the Newport Pub-lic Education Foundation and Positively Newport Schools

• Pawtucket School Department’s development of the WalshSchool for Performing Arts in coordination with the RhodeIsland School of Design, the Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre,and Fusionworks Dance Company

• the opening of two state-of-the-art education facilities in Prov-idence: the Career and Technical Academy and the reno-vated Nathan Bishop Middle School

• the partnership between Providence Public Schools, the Provi-dence After School Alliance, and the mayor’s office to build aseamless system of rigorous and rich out-of-school learningopportunities through its after-zones model

• the Feinstein E-learning Academy developed by theWoonsocket School Department, where students who arebehind in their schoolwork or who are at risk of dropping outcan earn credits toward graduation

• Rhode Island Mayoral Academies, the oversight organizationfor a new type of public charter school in the state, whichopened its first school this fall

• Urban Collaborative Accelerated Program (UCAP), an inde-pendent public school that serves 140 seventh-, eighth-, andninth-graders from the cities of Providence, Central Falls, andCranston

• the partnership between the Central Falls School District andthe Learning Community Charter School on the GrowingReaders Initiative, which links Central Falls elementaryschools with supports and strategies implemented at theLearning Community

• the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Profes-sionals’ recent grant from the American Federation of Teach-ers to support meaningful teacher evaluation in Rhode Island


Governor Donald L. Carcieri charged theRhode Island Urban Education Task Forcewith developing specific recommendations forconsideration by the Governor and the Gen-eral Assembly on ways to strengthen and trans-form urban education in the Ocean State. TheTask Force first met in January 2008 and metas a plenary group nine times over the nexteighteen months. Formal meetings of the taskforce are listed in appendix A2 of the fullreport.

The Task Force was specifically not chargedwith addressing statewide education funding.However, Task Force members emphasizedthat improving the equity of state funding isessential to improving education in the state.Currently, Rhode Island is the only state in thecountry that does not dispense its basic educa-tion aid on a predictable formula that incorpo-rates the number and characteristics of eachdistrict’s students. This is particularly impor-tant in these challenging economic times.

From the beginning, the Task Force empha-sized the need for a set of recommendationsthat, as a whole, would provide a statewideagenda for improving urban education from

pre-kindergarten through high school. The fig-ure below illustrates how the recommendationareas fit together to create a comprehensiveagenda for urban education in Rhode Island.The pre-kindergarten, early literacy, and multi-ple pathways recommendations attend to thespecific learning needs of our state’s children.The expanded learning time and educatorquality recommendations are focused on help-ing to improve learning supports and provideadditional learning opportunities. The innova-tion and collaboration recommendationsaddress key infrastructure needs (includingresearch) and the new ways of working that willfoster continuous improvement in our urbandistricts and the state as a whole.

Taken together, these recommendations canfundamentally change outcomes for RhodeIsland’s children. We urge their implementationin the same spirit that they were developed: col-laboratively and with great hope for RhodeIsland’s future.

Pre-Kindergarten EducationThe Urban Education Task Force recommendslaunching a high-quality pre-kindergartenprogram in Rhode Island, starting with a pilot

program in 2009 and continuingwith full implementation afterthe pilot, giving priority to chil-dren in communities with low-performing schools and low liter-acy performance in fourth grade.The specific recommendation is:

� Move beyond the Pre-Kindergarten DemonstrationProgram to implement pre-Kin Rhode Island using a mixed-delivery system (childcare,Head Start, schools).

Recommendations


Early LiteracyThe Urban Education Task Force recommendsthe implementation of a comprehensive systemof supports for K–3 literacy, with a focus onEnglish language learners. Specific recommen-dations are:

� Develop a comprehensive, guaranteed, viableearly literacy curriculum and mandate its usein districts in corrective action.

� Strengthen oral-language development tosupport early literacy by

• engaging a public relations partner todevelop early literacy public serviceannouncements;

• bringing Rhode Island’s urban communi-ties together to share resources to supportcross-district or statewide early literacyactivities.

� Develop expertise in teaching emergent lit-eracy by

• reviewing current certification require-ments for the Certificate of Eligibility forEmployment, for a Professional Certifi-cate, and for recertification and alternatecertification and recommending howexpertise in teaching English languagelearners to read and write can be incorpo-rated into the requirements;

• bringing Rhode Island’s urban communi-ties together with the regional educationcollaboratives to share resources to supportcross-district or statewide professionaldevelopment in early literacy.

Expanded Learning TimeThe Urban Education Task Force recommendsthat Rhode Island launch an expanded learningtime (ELT) initiative in the five urban schooldistricts and implement it through a partner-ship between the Governor’s office, RIDE, andappropriate Rhode Island community-based

organizations, with targeted technical assis-tance from the National Center on Time andLearning. Specific recommendations are:

� Implement expanded learning time atdemonstration sites selected through a vol-untary, competitive proposal process.

� Ensure that the planning and implementa-tion process is inclusive.

� Include a series of key design components inthe ELT initiative that have been adaptedfrom successful models to the Rhode Islandcontext.

� Target specific age ranges with appropriatelearning opportunities.

� Implement the ELT initiative at the statelevel initially by hosting it through a public-private partnership that is governed by aStatewide Expanded Learning SteeringCommittee, in order to maximize capacityand efficiency and ensure that this initiativeis a catalyst for change and not a one-timeproject. The Task Force recommends thatthis public-private partnership include theGovernor’s office, RIDE’s Office of Middleand High School Reform, and the RhodeIsland Afterschool Plus Alliance.

� Engage the Rhode Island higher-educationcommunity in the ELT initiative.

� Allocate specific roles and responsibilities tothe partnering organizations in the public-private management structure according tothe functional needs of the ELT initiative.

� Offer ongoing technical assistance and pro-fessional development to both the local par-ticipating schools and the Steering Commit-tee to ensure that practice and policy areresponsive to best practice.


Multiple Pathways for Student SuccessThe Urban Education Task Force recommendsimplementing a number of steps to create mul-tiple pathways to graduation and postsecondarysuccess for young people, such as partnershipswith adult education programs, access to APcourses, and courses offered at nontraditionaltimes. Specific recommendations are:

� Support districts in creating early warningsystems that can be used to identify middleschool and high school students at risk ofdropping out. Provide tailored supports tostudents identified using the early warningsystem and track these students to ensurethat they get back on track for graduationwithin a reasonable amount of time.

� Develop more alternatives to the traditionalmiddle school and junior high school modelsso that all children have reasonable access toschools that are built around the needs ofstudents who are “exceptions to the rule”and are struggling in their schools.

� Develop a Multiple Pathways for StudentSuccess Initiative at RIDE, in consultationwith the Rhode Island Office of Higher Edu-cation and the Rhode Island Department ofLabor and Training. The initiative shouldbuild on the new BEP elements that addressmultiple pathways and will be responsible forsupporting, coordinating, and monitoringstate and district efforts to develop key alter-native high school opportunities for RhodeIsland’s urban students who are struggling inthe traditional high school system. The ini-tiative will also be responsible for developinga research-based “on track to graduation”measure that can be applied to each districtand monitored annually.

� Create a statewide college access workinggroup which would include, at minimum:RIDE, the Rhode Island Office of HigherEducation, representatives from school dis-

tricts, educators, public and private higher-education institutions, the Rhode IslandSchool Counselors Association, collegeaccess programs, college disability supportservices programs, community organizationsworking on college access issues, and stu-dents and their families to develop and coor-dinate a postsecondary access agenda for thestate.

Statewide Educator Quality DevelopmentSystemThe Urban Education Task Force recommendscollaboration within and across districts toimprove educator quality by implementinginnovative models that differentiate careerpaths for teachers and provide more profes-sional growth and evaluation opportunities.Specific recommendations are:

� Require the regular, substantive evaluation ofall teachers – both tenured and non-tenured– with evidence of instructional effectivenessas a major evaluation criterion. This regularevaluation should be based upon the multi-faceted conception of instructional effective-ness laid out in the Educator Quality recom-mendation in the full Task Force report andshould involve both the Rhode Island Pro-fessional Teaching Standards and evidence ofstudent learning and progress.

� Ensure the enhancement of the currentRIDE data-collection system to allow for thecollection of all data needed to attemptteacher value-added data analysis.

� Pursue national funding opportunities topilot several currently available models inte-grating educator evaluation, support, andprofessional development in Rhode Island’surban districts.


� Provide full support for RIDE’s continuingwork with school districts, their unions, andother partners to develop the RI ProfessionalTeaching Standards and to create modelevaluation tools and guides for districts thatdetail how to use the RIPTS in the evalua-tion process. Further, Rhode Island unionsand the teachers they represent in the urbandistricts should continue to be consultedthroughout this development process.

� Create a cross-stakeholder panel to developresearch-based, statewide standards and bestpractices for professional development andto advocate for the restoration of state fund-ing for professional development.

� Review and revise teacher certification,including the Certificate of Eligibility forEmployment (CEE), the Professional Cer-tificate (PC), and the requirements for each.

� Provide full support for RIDE’s and theBoard of Regents’ efforts to prioritize educa-tor quality development and their work tocraft a comprehensive, long-term agenda tomaximize state support for increasing educa-tor quality.

Comment on the RecommendationThe Rhode Island Federation of Teachers andHealth Professionals, in a comment included asa whole in the full task Force report and sum-marized here, notes that RIFT concurs withthese recommendations with the followingclarifying points.

• Student assessments are not valid or reliablemeasures of teacher effectiveness. There isno evidence that monetary incentives asdescribed in value-added models improveteacher performance, and teachers do notwant to risk their basic salaries so that someindividuals benefit to the detriment of others.

• Teacher labor should be included in any dis-cussions of further recommendations affect-ing educator quality.

• Advancement in certification status shouldnot depend on evidence of student learning.Certification and licensure requirements andtimelines should be independent of employ-ment decisions by individual employers.

• We do not agree with the recommendationto support the Board of Regents’ and RIDE’swork on the Educator Evaluation SystemFramework. It is unfeasible and inappropriateto evaluate all educators annually as proposedin this framework; tenured teachers should beon a three-year evaluation cycle unless thereis cause to evaluate more frequently.

Innovation for Successful SchoolsThe Urban Education Task Force recommendsthat RIDE, the school districts that are thefocus of the Task Force, charter school leaders,including the League of Charter Schools, theMayoral Academies, and charter school direc-tors, work collaboratively to develop the infra-structure and policies that will support innova-tive practices in our schools. We propose botha Center for Innovation and a Zone of Innova-tion as starting points for catalyzing andspreading educational innovations. Specificrecommendations are:

� Develop a Center for Innovation led byRIDE, which would help identify, develop,support, and spread innovative educationalefforts in Rhode Island’s urban districts andthroughout the state.

� Enact legislation as soon as possible to createa Rhode Island “Zone of Innovation” –which would initially include Central Falls,Newport, Pawtucket, Providence, andWoonsocket – that provides a policy envi-ronment in which school districts and educa-tional entrepreneurs are encouraged to cre-ate new, different schools.


Educator CollaborationThe Urban Education Task Force recommendscreating new capacity for cross-district andpartner collaboration to harness the state’s fullpotential for progress. In addition to achievinggreater efficiency of resources and a sharedsense of accountability for outcomes, this newcapacity would further drive progress in thecritical areas of curriculum, instruction, assess-ment, and educator quality. Specific recom-mendations are:

� Create an Urban Education Consortium,serving as a public-private partnership, thatwould be endorsed by the Governor, theBoard of Regents, the General Assembly,and the Commissioner of Education butwould be supported by private donors andgoverned by an independent advisory board.

� Expand the existing Research Collaborativeto support the implementation of the TaskForce recommendations.


The work of the Rhode Island Urban Educa-tion Task Force would not have been possiblewithout the generous financial contributions ofthe Nellie Mae Education Foundation and theRhode Island Foundation. We are also gratefulto the Wallace Foundation and Bank of Amer-ica for their support.

We extend our sincere thanks to the followingpeople for their dedication in steering the workof the Task Force: Janet Durfee-Hidalgo,Rhode Island Governor’s Office; David Abbott,Rhode Island Department of Education; War-ren Simmons, Ellen Foley, Michael Grady, andDavid Sigler, Annenberg Institute for SchoolReform at Brown University; Elizabeth BurkeBryant, Rhode Island KIDS COUNT; andPatrick McGuigan, the Providence Plan.

Several Task Force members served as workinggroup chairs, volunteering additional time andenergy to develop the recommendations andaction steps. We thank Tom Brady and SharonContreras, Providence Public Schools; SarahCahill, Rhode Island Afterschool Plus Alliance;Rosanna Castro, formerly of Brown University;John Simmons, Rhode Island Public Expendi-ture Council; and Ron Wolk, the Big PictureCompany. Elaine Budish, RI KIDS COUNT,and Elizabeth Jardine, Rhode Island Depart-ment of Education, stepped in to chair theMultiple Pathways working group when theirchair made a transition.

Many local leaders participated in workinggroups and in Task Force meetings, addingconsiderable expertise and needed perspectives.While they are too numerous to mention here,we have listed them in appendix A1 of the fullTask Force report. We are grateful for theirsupport and input. And we thank Rhode IslandCollege and the Rhode Island PhilharmonicOrchestra and Music School, who donatedspace for Task Force meetings.

Our National Advisory Panel was made up ofsome of the best minds working in educationreform today, including Barnett Berry, Centerfor Teaching Quality; Rick Hess, AmericanEnterprise Institute; Milbrey McLaughlin,Stanford University; Charles Payne, Universityof Chicago; Jesse Register, MetropolitanNashville Public Schools; and Paul Reville,Massachusetts Department of Education.

We received research support from the memberorganizations in the Research Collaborative;particular thanks to Elaine Budish of RhodeIsland KIDS COUNT, who developed the sta-tistical profiles of each of the Task Force cities,and Rebecca Lee of the Providence Plan, whoanalyzed data on student mobility. Several otherindividuals and organizations provided analysisand support. Young Voices developed and ana-lyzed a survey of students in Pawtucket andCentral Falls. Students from Brown’s TaubmanCenter and Urban Education Policy Program,including Nick Vockerodt, Steven Glass, JamesHuang, Stefanie Mach, and Priya Mahajan,attended meetings, gave feedback, and con-ducted analyses.

Staff of the Annenberg Institute dedicatedthemselves to the work of the Task Force. CarolWalker provided thorough and efficient admin-istrative support, organizing the many eventsand meetings. Kathy Hardie managed thechair’s schedule. Margaret Balch-Gonzalez andTracie Potochnik provided valuable staff sup-port to the working groups. Susan Fisher, Mar-garet-Balch Gonzalez, Mary Arkins, and Hae-won Kim edited, designed, and published thepreliminary and final reports. Amy Rittenhousedesigned the Web site.

Acknowledgments


Elliot Krieger, Rhode Island Department ofEducation; Amy Kempe, Governor’s Office;and Al Dahlberg, Brown University, providedvaluable communications advice to the TaskForce.

Several organizations partnered with the TaskForce to develop community and constituentforums. We thank the Rhode Island YoungProfessionals, an auxiliary of the Urban Leagueof Rhode Island; the Providence PublicSchools; NeighborWorks Blackstone RiverValley; the Woonsocket After School Coalition,the Woonsocket Education Department, andthe Woonsocket Parent Advisory Council;CHisPA and Progreso Latino; the RhodeIsland Federation of Teachers and Health Pro-fessionals; the Central Falls Teachers’ Union,the Pawtucket Teachers’ Alliance, the Provi-dence Teachers Union, and the WoonsocketTeachers Guild; and the Newport Public Edu-cation Foundation, the Alliance for a LivableNewport, and the Newport Public Schools.

Jonny Skye Njie, Ina Anderson, Erika Read,and Tehani Collazo played an important role indesigning and organizing the communityforums. Students who were part of the Wood-lawn Community Development Corporation’sTune-In Youth Media Group, Scott Lapham,students from RiverzEdge Arts Project inWoonsocket, and Victor Ramos skillfully pro-duced videos and photos documenting three ofthe forums. And we are deeply grateful to themore than 450 people who attended the com-munity forums, provided feedback, and partici-pated in our deliberations.

The new Commissioner of Education, Debo-rah Gist, arrived at a point in our process whenmost of the recommendations had been com-pleted. Still, she took part in our final TaskForce meeting, engaged in the material deeply,and provided thoughtful comments. We thankher for her recent participation and for herfuture leadership in the critical areas we haveidentified in the report.

Finally, the Task Force wishes to thank Gover-nor Donald L. Carcieri for his vision of devel-oping a statewide solution to the challenges ofurban education in Rhode Island. We werehonored to be part of the process to develop anagenda for urban education in our belovedstate; now we commit ourselves to supportingthe implementation of the ideas herein.


John H. AmbrogiSuperintendentNewport Public Schools

Chace BaptistaCo-DirectorYoung Voices

David BeauchesneDirector, Education and Community PartnershipsRhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra andMusic School

Thomas BradySuperintendentProvidence Public Schools

Elizabeth Burke BryantExecutive DirectorRhode Island KIDS COUNT

Sarah CahillExecutive DirectorRhode Island Afterschool Plus Alliance

Anna Cano-MoralesSenior Community Philanthropy OfficerThe Rhode Island Foundation

Robert CarothersFormer PresidentUniversity of Rhode Island

Rosanna CastroFormer MemberProvidence School Board

Sharon ContrerasChief Academic OfficerProvidence Public Schools

Angus DavisMemberRhode Island Board of Regents forElementary and Secondary Education

Hans DellithSuperintendentPawtucket Public Schools

Richard DiPardoPresidentWoonsocket Teachers Union

Ray DiPasqualePresidentCommunity College of Rhode Island

Roger EldridgeInterim DeanRhode Island College

Donnie W. EvansFormer SuperintendentProvidence Public Schools

Robert Flanders, Jr.ChairmanRhode Island Board of Regents forElementary and Secondary Education

Gordon FoxState Representative and House Majority LeaderRhode Island General Assembly(represented by Beth Cotter)

Sarah FriedmanDirectorThe Learning Community Charter School

Jo Eva GainesChairpersonNewport School Board

Members of the Rhode Island Urban Education Task Force


Frances GalloSuperintendentCentral Falls School District

Robert GerardiSuperintendentWoonsocket Education Department

Patrick McGuiganExecutive DirectorThe Providence Plan

Peter McWaltersFormer Commissioner of EducationRhode Island Department of Education

Brandon MeltonSenior Vice PresidentLifespan Corporate Offices

Teresa Paiva WeedPresident of the SenateRhode Island General Assembly(represented by Robert Kalaskowski)

Lawrence PurtillPresidentNational Education Association/RhodeIsland

Sandra PowellDirectorRhode Island Department of Labor andTraining

Marcia RebackPresidentRhode Island Federation of Teachers andHealth Professionals

Rev. Brian Shanley, O.P.PresidentProvidence College

Rev. William ShawPresidentMinisters Alliance of Rhode Island

Warren Simmons, ChairExecutive DirectorAnnenberg Institute for School Reform,Brown University

John SimmonsExecutive DirectorRhode Island Public Expenditure Council

Steven SmithState RepresentativeRhode Island General Assembly

Paul SprollProfessor and Department Head, Art and DesignEducationRhode Island School of Design

O. Rogeriee ThompsonAssociate JusticeWashington County Superior Court

Ronald WolkChairman of the BoardThe Big Picture Company

For more information about this report, contact:

Annenberg Institute for School ReformBox 1985, Brown UniversityProvidence, Rhode Island 02912

401•863•7990

www.annenberginstitute.org

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