super leaders: keep up the momentum!

A RI-CAN Issue BRIef

This report was published in April 2011 by RI-CAN: The Rhode Island Campaign for Achievement Now.

To order copies of this report,please contact RI-CANat [email protected]

RI-CAN: The Rhode Island Campaign for Achievement Nowwww.ri-can.org

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supeR leAdeRs: keep up the momeNtum!SEEING RHODE ISLAND’S EDUCATION REFORMS THROUGH

table of Contents

Introduction 4

1 leaders matter 5

2 A Rush of progress in Rhode Island 7

3 hard Work Ahead 9

RI-CAN 4supeR leAdeRs: keep up the momeNtum!

IntroductionLeadership matters at every level in education. Decades of research confirm that great teachers matter more to student success than any-thing else at school, and that the guidance provided by great principals and superintendents crucially impacts student learning as well.1 Leader-ship matters just as much at the state level. Bold, consistent leadership from a state commissioner and board of regents lead to policies that enable educators and students to perform at their best.

The current state education leadership team in Rhode Island, led by Commissioner Deborah Gist, has pushed for unprecedented reforms in our educational standards, options and funding. These reforms will have a direct effect on student success. RI-CAN: The Rhode Island Campaign for Achievement Now applauds the accomplishments our state leaders have made so far, but the most important work remains ahead. Rhode Island now has a clear vision of where we must go to close our achieve-ment gaps and give all students the education they deserve. We have

1 R. Gordon, T. Kane, and D. Staiger, “Identifying Effective Teachers Using Performance on the Job.” The Hamilton Project: The Brookings Institution (2006); S. Rivkin, E. Hanushek, and J. Kain, “Teachers, Schools, and Academic Achievement,” Econometrica, 73, 2 (2005) 417-458; W.L. Sanders and J.C. Rivers, “Research Project Report: Cumulative and Residual Effects of Teachers on Future Student Academic Achievement.” University of Tennessee Value-Added Research and Assessment Center (1996); E.A. Hanushek, “The Difference is Teacher Quality.” In Waiting for Superman: How We Can Save America’s Failing Public Schools, edited by Karl Weber (2010), 81-100. New York: Public Affairs; Waters, J. T. & Marzano, R.J. (2006). “School district leadership that works: The effect of superintendent leadership on student achievement.” Working paper. Denver, CO: Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning. Retrieved from http://www.mcrel.org/pdf/leadershiporganizationdevelopment/4005RR _Superintendent_leadership.pdf This meta-analysis examined findings from 27 studies conducted since 1970, covering 2,817 districts and achievement scores of 3.4M students. The analysis finds a statistically significant correlation between the length of superintendent service and student achievement, manifesting itself in as little as two years, and found five district-level leadership responsibilities with statistically significant correlations with student achievement.


unity on that vision and funding from our Race to the Top victory to back it up. The coalition that brought improvements to Rhode Island public schools must be supported moving forward by the Board of Regents and Gov. Lincoln Chafee.

RI-CAN was founded on the belief that all children can learn, and that we should not rest until they get the great teachers and schools they need. In this issue brief, we show just how important our leaders are to reaching that goal, what they’ve accomplished so far, and how crucial it is to continue to forge ahead.

leaders matterResearch and experience confirm that the policies set by leaders at all levels of our education system—from district superintendents to the state commissioner and Board of Regents—can have an enormous impact on student growth. At the district level, research has shown that great superintendents contribute directly to student achievement.2 Like state commissioners, district superintendents are responsible for setting clear, non-negotiable goals that provide direction while allowing school-level leaders discretion about how to meet those goals.

Examples from across the nation show strong policies from superin-tendents driving positive changes for students. In Baltimore, for example, city schools CEO Andrés Alonso implemented policies that called for a focus on all students’ growth, on adult contributions to their learning, and on intensive engagement with parents and the community, as well as promoting school autonomy and choice. In just three years under his leadership, students attained their best scores ever on state exams. The district reversed its four-decade enrollment decline, posted its best-ever dropout and graduation rates, and ended 26 years of court oversight.3 In Chicago, Arne Duncan oversaw significant improvements in teacher hiring and recruiting efforts, especially in the district’s hardest-to-staff schools. And in Pittsburgh, Superintendent Mark Roosevelt helped narrow the district’s achievement gap between black and white students, and closed 23 schools to close a damaging financial gap.4

Like superintendents, state leaders play a large—and growing—role in education policy. As states boost their share of school funding and federal legislation require states to assume more responsibility, impor-tant education reforms are increasingly playing out at the state level. States have moved to be “the linchpins of efforts to improve the nation’s schools,” leading the charge toward higher academic standards, stron-ger human capital pipelines, equitable and adequate school financing, and school choice.5

Great state commissioners and state education leaders make a major difference in students’ lives, with bold, consistent leadership critical to

2 Waters & Marzano (2006).

3 Baltimore City Public Schools. Office of the chief executive officer. Retrieved from https://www.baltimorecityschools.org/ 21671011213230217/site/default .asp?

4 Reiter, B. (2010, April 27). Pittsburgh’s school system might be the model for the future. The Kansas City Star. Retrieved from http://saving17000kids.kansascity.com/articles/seeking-formula-fix-urban -education/

5 Cohen, E., Walsh, K., & Biddle, R. (2008, July). Invisible ink in collective bargaining: Why key issues are not addressed. Washington, DC: National Council on Teacher Quality. Retrieved from http://www.nctq.org/p/publications/docs/nctq_invisible_ink.pdf Institute for Educational Leadership. (2001). Leadership for student learning: Recognizing the state’s role in public education. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.iel.org/programs/21st/reports/staterole.pdf

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student success. State commissioners and boards have a bully pulpit to mobilize support for their plans with educators, staff and citizens. They also have control, together with state boards of education and education department leaders, over policy development, enactment, and imple-mentation in all key areas of schooling, including:6

Standards and accountability

Under the federal No Child Left Behind law, states are held account-able for schools’ progress and must set goals for and assess district and school performance, identifying and monitoring those that fail to make adequate progress. States are also required to develop statewide support systems for districts and schools that need help.7

Personnel decisions

States define what districts can do in collective bargaining. They set criteria, processes, and rights associated with teacher tenure and dis-missal. States determine guidelines for educator licensure and ongoing evaluations and they set parameters for educators’ pay.8

Financing

States allocate millions of dollars every year to districts and schools. In the 1930s, states contributed only about 15 percent of all school funding. Today, that figure has risen to nearly half of school districts’ budgets. States serve as the conduit to districts for federal funding, accounting for another 10 percent.9

In Massachusetts, former Commissioner David P. Driscoll implement-ed new curriculum and assessment systems, and new educator certifica-tion tests and licensure regulations, leading the state in 2005 to become the first ever to earn the highest scaled score in the nation on all four NAEP exams.10 Similarly, in Louisiana, State Superintendent Paul Pas-torek oversaw improvements to the state’s accountability system and its Recovery School District, which has become a model for school turn-arounds. Under his leadership, students have seen the largest overall achievement gains of the past decade, including double-digit increases for students in Recovery School District schools.11 Commissioner Eric Smith has overseen dramatic student achievement gains and reductions in student dropouts in Florida since his appointment as commissioner in 2007, enabling the state to improve its rank on the annual Quality Counts report from 31st to fifth in the nation.12

6 Institute for Educational Leadership. (2001); Cohen, Walsh, & Biddle. (2008); Council of Chief State School Officers. (2011). Developing high-performing systems of reform. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.ccsso.org/Resources/Programs/Developing_High-Performing _Systems_of_Reform.html

7 Unger, C., Lane, B., Cutler, E., Lee, S., Whitney, J., Arruda, E., & Silva, M. (2008). How can state education agencies support district improvement: A conversation amongst educational leaders, researchers and policy actors. Providence, RI: The Education Alliance. Retrieved from http://www.alliance.brown.edu/pubs/csrqi/Symposium.pdf

8 Cohen, Walsh, & Biddle. (2008).

9 Cohen, Walsh, & Biddle. (2008).

10 Thomas B. Fordham Institute. About us: David P. Driscoll. Retrieved from http://www.edexcellence.net/about-us/people/david-p-driscoll.html

11 Louisiana Department of Education. (2011). The urgency of now: No time for excuses. Baton Rouge, LA: Author. Retrieved from http://www.doe.state.la.us/topics/urgency_of_now.html

12 Education Week. (2011, January). Quality Counts 2011: Uncertain forecast: Education adjusts to a new economic reality. Washington, DC: Editorial Projects in Education. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/ew/qc/index.html


A Rush of progress in Rhode IslandIn Rhode Island, the state education commissioner has authority over the state education department’s policy, legal, communications, commu-nity relations, and legislative activities. The commissioner also manages relations with the Board of Regents, the main policy-setting body over-seeing K–12 education, and coordinates strategic planning and budget preparation.13 The 11 members of the Board of Regents work with the commissioner to approve master plans and broad policy goals, prepare a state education budget, and approve state curriculum and teacher standards.

In less than two years, under the guidance of Rhode Island Education Commissioner Deborah Gist and others, state education leaders used their direct authority and bully pulpit to ensure that all of the state’s policies, programs, and systems are connected and directed toward the common purpose of improving achievement for every student. Rhode Island leaders introduced six key education reforms:

Higher standard for entry into our teacher preparation programs, once the lowest in the nation. 14

Our leaders recognize that teacher quality is the single most important factor for student success in school, and have led efforts to raise the standard of entry into the state’s preparation programs as a first step to raising expectations for our educators and the state system.15 In 2009, the state raised the “cut score” that teaching candidates must earn on a basic skills test, the Praxis I, to be accepted into teacher training pro-grams.16 When fully implemented, Rhode Island’s cut scores will be one point higher than Virginia’s, making our standards in reading, math and writing the highest in the nation.

Rhode Island’s first statewide educator evaluation standards.

The Board of Regents implemented standards that will help teachers and principals grow and improve as professionals, and empower districts to ensure that our students have access to only the best educators.17 Previously, parents, principals and superintendents had little way to tell which teachers were at the top and which needed help, because student achievement was not included in teacher evaluations. Now, Rhode Island will ensure that no student has a bad teacher two years in a row, because better and more frequent evaluations will show when they need improve-ment. Due to state leadership and cooperation, principals will now have the information they need to ensure that struggling students have strong teachers, and to provide the professional development that struggling teachers need.18

13 Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Office of the Commissioner: About the office. Retrieved from http://www.ride.ri.gov/Commissioner/about.aspx

14 Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (2009, October). Basic skills test score requirements. Retrieved from http://www.ride.ri.gov/EducatorQuality/Teacher _Prep/Basic%20Skills%20Test%20Score%20Requirements.pdf

15 Jordan, J. D. (2009, October 11). R.I. education chief seeks higher standards for prospective teachers. The Providence Journal. Retrieved from http://www.projo.com/news/content/improving_teacher _quality_10-11-09_NOG0SMO _v71.34608de.html The basic skills test is required for all students who fail to score highly enough on the SAT.

16 Jordan, J. D. (2009, October 11).

17 Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (2011, January). The Rhode Island model educator evaluation system: Working draft. Retrieved from http://www.ride.ri.gov/EducatorQuality/EducatorEvaluation/Docs/RhodeIslandModelEducatorEvaluationSystemWorkingDraft_01_7_11.pdf

18 Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (2011, January).

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8RI-CANsupeR leAdeRs: keep up the momeNtum!

Teachers no longer placed in schools solely by seniority.

In 2009, the Board of Regents took action to ensure that the most ef-fective teachers take charge of the students with the highest learning needs.19 Due to commissioner and board leadership, our revised Basic Education Program requires that superintendents place Rhode Island teachers based on their effectiveness and student needs, not solely on seniority.20

More education options for parents.

State officials raised the cap on the number of public charter schools allowed in Rhode Island, a key component of the state’s Race to the Top application. By raising the limit from 20 to 35, Rhode Island will be better able to accommodate the more than 5,000 children now on charter school waiting lists.21 In addition, in 2008 the General Assembly elimi-nated the most restrictive aspects of Rhode Island’s charter school law (including provisions governing bargaining, educator hiring, and com-pensation) to provide greater opportunity for the nation’s best charter school operators to open schools that produce transformative results for our students. Indeed, Rhode Island charter schools continue to create new and better options for students. In 2010, 67 percent of students in charter schools were proficient in reading, compared with 56 percent of students in the traditional district schools that charter students would have attended. In math, charter students outperformed their peers in traditional public schools by 9 percentage points, with 49 percent profi-cient in charter schools compared with 40 percent in the districts where charter schools are located.22

A statewide education funding formula based on student needs and district capacity.

In 2010, Rhode Island legislators finally passed a school funding formula, after having been the only state in the nation without one. Previously, district funding was not tied to enrollment, and districts could apply for extra funding even if they were not among the state’s neediest dis-tricts. Passed with bipartisan support in the General Assembly, the new formula ensures district funding based on student needs. Additionally, the money will “follow the child” to the public school each child chooses, even across district lines.23 This funding fairness ensures that districts with more low-income students get the extra resources they need to educate their students, and because students bring their funding with them, schools will have an incentive to attract low-income students into their district. Amidst these changes, Rhode Island continued to earn an “A” on its education spending on the national Quality Counts report card.24

19 Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (2009, October 23). Commissioner Gist ends seniority-based teacher assignments (press release). Retrieved from http://www.ride.ri.gov/Commissioner/news/pressrels/2009_PressReleases/BEP%20and%20Teacher%20Assignment%20Release.102309.pdf

20 Gist, D. A. (2010, April 7). State of opportunity: A report on the status of public education in Rhode Island. Annual address to the General Assembly, Providence, RI. Retrieved from http://www.ride.ri.gov/commissioner/DOCUMENTS/ 2010/20100407_Commissioner _Gist_address_to_GA.pdf

21 Jordan, J. D. (2011, March 1). Few apply to open charter schools. The Providence Journal. Retrived from http://www.projo.com/education/content/few_charter_school _applications_03-01-11_IDMO _v36.1a20342.html

22 Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (2011, February 14).Rhode Island’s NECAP math, reading and writing results for grades 3–8 and 11. Providence, RI: Author. Retrieved from http://www.ride.ri.gov/assessment/DOCS/NECAP/Reports_Results/10.2010/Fall_2010_RI_NECAP_Results.pdf

23 Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Office of Finance: Funding formula. Retrieved from http://www.ride.ri.gov/Finance/Funding/FundingFormula/ HB 8094.

24 Education Week. (2011, January). Quality counts 2011: Uncertain forecast: Education adjusts to a new economic reality. Washington, DC: Editorial Projects in Education. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/ew/qc/index.html; Foundation Level School Support, HB 8094, January Session (2010). Retrieved from http://www.ride.ri.gov/Finance/Funding/FundingFormula/Docs/H8094Aaa_FINAL_6_10_10.pdf

9RI-CANsupeR leAdeRs: keep up the momeNtum!

$75 million—the largest federal grant Rhode Island has ever received—won for our students through the federal Race to the Top competition.

Thanks to a strong effort by the Rhode Island Department of Education and education officials across the state, Rhode Island placed fifth out of 35 states in the competition’s second round. We received perfect scores for our state standards, assessment system, implementation of our state-wide data system, and use of data to support instruction. We ranked sixth in the country on the most important section of the grant, Great Teachers and Leaders.25

hard Work AheadWith all these accomplishments, Rhode Island has much to be proud of, but we still have far to go. We must continue to move quickly on reforms that matter to our students, maintaining our momentum with the educa-tion coalition we’ve built. And what a coalition it is; rarely does a state build so much support for so many ambitious education goals, in both the strategic plan and Race to the Top application.

When Commissioner Gist began her job, she visited every district, state school and charter school in Rhode Island, and met with parents, teachers, students, administrators and community leaders to gather input on the creation of a new strategic plan.26 The Board of Regents and other education leaders continued to build that coalition with support for the Race to the Top plan, leading a statewide effort to gather wide-spread commitments. Ultimately, 48 of Rhode Island’s 50 Local Educa-tion Agencies committed to participating in the state’s Race to the Top plan. Those 48 groups account for 97 percent of all students in Rhode Island and 99 percent of students in poverty.27

Our state leaders have also worked to create a new climate of part-nership between management and labor across the state. The state American Federation of Teachers, the Rhode Island Federation of Teach-ers and Health Professionals, and 11 local unions all signed on to support the initiatives outlined in the Race to the Top plan.28

As one federal reviewer noted, “The application includes indications of strong support from the State’s legislative leadership, the Governor, Board of Regents, state teachers’ and administrative associations, stu-dents, parents, charter schools and various aspects of the community.”29 Another reviewer found it evident that, “political support of reform will continue after the life of the grant based on the level of commitment shown by the legislature, the Regents, and the Commissioner.”30

The result of this coalition-building is a strategic plan and Race to the Top agenda that are closely aligned around the crucial goals of creating

25 U.S. Department of Education. (2010). Race to the Top fund: Detail chart of the Phase 2 scores for each state. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/phase2-applications/index.html

26 Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (2010). Transforming education in Rhode Island: Strategic plan 2010-2015. Retrieved from http://www.ride.ri.gov/Commissioner/news/pressrels/2010 _PressReleases/RIDE%20Strategic %20Plan%2001-07-10 _BORapproved.pdf

27 State of Rhode Island. (2010, May 28). Race to the Top application for initial funding. Retrieved from http://www.ride.ri.gov/commissioner/RaceToTheTop/docs/Combined _Narrative_FINAL_5.27.pdf

28 State of Rhode Island. (2010, May 28).

29 U.S. Department of Education. (2010). Race to the Top technical review form. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/phase2-applications/comments/rhode-island.pdf

30 U.S. Department of Education. (2010). Race to the Top technical review form.

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high-quality data and assessments, continuing to improve teacher and leader quality, implementing high-quality standards for all students, and addressing challenges in our state’s struggling schools.

Now, it’s time to follow through.

We’ve made our promises to all the members of our statewide coalition, and we owe them our best. We know they will be watching us closely. They’re not the only ones: Rhode Island’s actions over the next several months will be closely monitored by the federal Education Department, which has authority to cut off funds if our actions do not follow through on our Race to the Top plan.31

By uniting so many people in Rhode Island around a common plan and joining together in the implementation of these impressive reforms, our leader-ship team has shown that the state is ready to chart a new course for educa-tion. Rhode Island needs Gov. Chafee, Commissioner Gist and the new Board of Regents to maintain this clear vision and strong leadership to carry out our integrated, comprehensive agenda. We must keep children’s increased achieve-ment as the driving factor behind every reform. We must continue our support for the reforms we have begun on our strategic plan and provide great public schools for every Rhode Island child.


31 Education Secretary Arne Duncan made his intentions clear in a December 2010 interview: “Where folks aren’t following through, are we prepared to take funds back? Absolutely.” For skeptics who think that promise lacks teeth, he points to his decision to award grants to only two states in the first round of the economic-stimulus program’s Race to the Top competition. “No one thought we’d do that, either.” McNeil, M. (2011, February 12). Federal watchdogs hit oversight trail on stimulus. Education Week. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/02/09/20stim -accountability.h30.html

About RI-CANRhode Island’s achievement gap—the persistent and significant dispar-ity between the academic achievement of low-income and minority chil-dren and their white, middle-class peers—is the most urgent social and economic problem facing our state. We have one of the country’s largest achievement gaps between rich and poor kids, and each and every one of us is paying the price for our failing public schools. But Rhode Island, and the entire nation, was built on the promise of universal education. Public schools are the cornerstone of our democracy. Our future is inex-tricably linked to the education of our children—all of them.

RI-CAN is building a new movement of concerned citizens advocating to fundamentally reform our public schools through smart public poli-cies. We will not rest until every Rhode Island child, regardless of race, ethnicity, or class, has access to a great public school.

www.RI-CAN.org

super leaders: keep up the momentum!

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