2017 PARCC Results in RI: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
PARCC data is in and while the overall news isn’t good, there are some bright spots for sure including huge gains at some schools and far more students taking the SAT now that it’s free. Big shout out...
View ArticleI Got To Talk About Protecting Kids on TV!
We all agree we need to do a better job of protecting kids and while an explosive story plays out in Providence and a principal finds herself charged with a misdemeanor, we realize we have more...
View ArticleThis Lawyer Doesn’t Know What He’s Talking About When It Comes to Sexual...
Additional charges have been brought against Providence PE teacher, James Duffy, according to reporting by Dan McGowan and Walt Buteau of WPRI. And he will have his day in court. But a recent...
View ArticleThey May Live in the Poorest City in the State But #YesTheyCan
It’s always inspiring, not to mention remarkable, when students defy the odds and succeed despite the naysayers. Central Falls, Rhode Island is a poor community where 65 percent of its residents are...
View ArticleMy Thoughts on Teacher Sick Outs and Unreasonable Demands in Warwick
I am lucky to have the opportunity to occasionally share what I know and think about local education issues on Dan Yorke’s radio and TV programs. I wrote about the situation in Warwick earlier in the...
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3rd Grade Reading Tells Us a Lot About Who Is Likely To Finish High School
Third grade reading scores are a very big deal because they are accepted as the most predictive indicator of whether a student will finish high school. Hey Rhode Island, our 3rd grade reading results...
View ArticleWe Have a Winner (And She Says It’s All About Relationships with Kids)
Lauren Hopkins is the latest teacher in Rhode Island to be awarded what is widely considered the “Oscar” of teaching. It is the Milken award, a prestigious recognition of teaching excellence by the...
View ArticleKiara Butler: Shifting the Narrative from Perfection to Truth
The full text of Kiara Butler’s TEDxProvidence talk on September 30th, 2017 is below. The Untold Truth by Kiara Butler I want to play a game But it has to be our game It has to be our secret That...
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Rhode Island lawmakers Still Don’t Think It’s Wrong for Teachers and Students...
It’s been 82 days since local TV and radio host Dan Yorke invited any lawmaker to come on his show and announce their support for making it illegal for teachers to have sexual relations with students...
View ArticleMy Kid’s Teacher Wins the Golden Apple
Each month in the state of Rhode Island, a teacher is surprised by TV cameras, a local news anchor, the Commissioner of Education to learn that they have won the Golden Apple Award because they’ve been...
View ArticleHey Santa, All I Want for Christmas is a Constitutional Right To an Education
Dear Santa, My state of Rhode Island really needs to free itself of the shackles of shame and fix a few things for its students fast. I’m hoping you can help. While it’s true that being nonconformist...
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Let’s Stop Tip-Toeing Around the Hard Truths About RI’s Schools
This is a letter to the editor that first ran here in the Newport Daily News. Its author is Mike Cullen, of Copernicus STEAM Learning Lab and the Rhode Island STEAM Academy. Mike Cullen of Newport, RI...
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My New BowFlex, The State of the Littlest State, and the Best T-Shirt I’ve...
Tonight was the Rhode Island Governor’s State of the State Address. Gina Raimondo is beginning the final year of her first term and her address was predictable in that it had some stellar moments and...
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WPRI’s Dan McGowan With a ‘Must Read’ on the Guilty Verdict of School...
We are very lucky to have Dan McGowan in Providence because he provides us with the information that all of us want and often struggle to find. In the aftermath of the multi-day trial of elementary...
View ArticleBowFlex Update and Still No Mention of Student Outcomes (But We Did Get a...
As I continue on my Bowflex journey—I’m in week 2—I found myself again leaning on my Governor to to get me through a work out. This time, instead of it being her annual State of the State address, it...
View ArticlePawtucket: A Tale of Two Cities, An Injustice for Students
As R.I. weighs a $2.2B investment in crumbling buildings, Pawtucket offers a study in contrasts, with the rewards of renovation and the risks of delayed repairs visible on the same street. –Providence...
View ArticleI Had the Best Time With My Former Students This Week: Girl Time, College...
Anyone who has worked in a school can tell you that students can be tonic for the soul. Without realizing they are doing it, they pull us out of ourselves—our lousy morning, a bad mood, and even a...
View ArticleMy Country. The Only Country I’ve Ever Called Home.
Note: Edy Pineda was my student as an 8th grader. It is incredibly special and rewarding for me to see him now as he waits to hear from colleges and uses his voice and his story to speak up on behalf...
View ArticleTV Appearance with Dan Yorke—Tragedy in Florida, Strengthening RI’s Consent...
It is always a pleasure to visit the set of Dan Yorke State of Mind and have a conversation about education issues. I wasn’t planning to talk about a devastating school shooting when I was booked to do...
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Providence Mayor Elorza Wants a Transformational Contract for Teachers —...
When Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza was recently shouted down by the city’s teachers throughout the entirety of his state of the city address, he was forced to answer some questions about the current...
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