GreatBigBlog

At the beginning of 2012, RI-CAN launched The Rising Tide campaign to raise all boats in Rhode Island classrooms. We worked hard alongside advocates like you, fighting to “Put Achievement First,” “Prize Talented Teachers,” and give schools the flexibility and tools to become “Success Schools.” And now that the 2012 legislative session has ended, it’s time to report our progress.

We began the year with the release of our second annual The State of Rhode Island Public Education report. Looking inside our public schools, the report found that in spite of a few promising pockets of success, stagnant levels of student achievement and a large achievement gap continues in our state.

With the help of Rhode Islanders from across our state, we began a dialogue about the kinds of transformation we need in our schools. We had nearly 2,700 action takers throughout our campaign and over 70 news stories featuring RI-CAN and our reform efforts.

Here’s the breakdown of our 2012 policy goals and what we accomplis...

Shortly after college I spent time working as a substitute teacher. I took short-term assignments due to a teacher’s illness or professional development opportunities. I enjoyed the work.  I was capable of following a lesson plan and controlling a classroom.  But the experience made one thing very clear – there is no substitute for a great teacher.

In their two years at Blackstone Valley Prep, my children have never had a traditional substitute teacher. They have not lost a moment of classroom time because their school is designed around the idea there should be no pause in learning.

So how do they do it? Do they hire teachers from Krypton? Are they holograms? Do they have access to a top secret flu vaccine? No. The secret is consistency. 

Because I have twins in two separate classrooms, it is easy to see the regularity in the curriculum within each grade level. Each day, the twins come home having learned the same lesson and, thankfully, ready to tackle the same pages of homework. Our school also works hard to create a consistent school and classroom environm...