Letter: Education Reform Needs Public's Attention: Forum Tonight!

Tonight, the East Greenwich School Department will host the first of a series of four public meetings, titled the “Excellence in Education Forums.” This week’s subject is: “Aligning Educator Talent with Student Need.” Anyone interested in public education, particularly parents of children in the schools, should plan to attend. Here’s why:

The adage that “all politics is local” is particularly true in public education. While the broad outlines for our educational initiatives and curriculum are a result of federal and state directives, local school committees have the specific responsibility for setting district policy, for negotiating collective bargaining agreements, and for hiring and evaluating the Superintendent of schools. All of these local activities have a direct and significant effect on the day-to-day environment in the East Greenwich Schools. The Excellence in Education Forums are being held to better inform residents about how these local activities affect our educational system.

The Rhode Island Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education puts forth a document referred to as the “Basic Educational Program” or BEP.  The BEP “…is designed to ensure that high‐quality education is available to all public school students, regardless of where they reside or which school they attend.” It specifies the standards that each district must meet, and each municipality must fund, in order to provide for an adequate education. It is the responsibility of each district to ensure that the BEP is met in their schools. There are some areas where East Greenwich has further work to do to come in to full compliance.

In support of our work to provide the best education possible, in 2009 the School Department, School Committee and local teachers bargaining unit (the East Greenwich Education Association), agreed to form a commission that would examine strategies to promote excellence in our schools. This “Commission on Retaining High Quality Teachers” was given the charge “…of identifying and studying best practices in attracting, directing, supporting, and retaining high quality teachers” and producing a set of recommendations for the School Committee. Those recommendations were presented to the public in November of 2011, and will be discussed in detail during the Excellence in Education forums.

It became clear during the commission’s work that the current contract between the East Greenwich Education Association and the district posed some barriers to full compliance with the BEP. Working together, the teachers and School Department have put forth a set of recommendations for consideration that would address these barriers. Many of these issues, such as how decisions are made to place teachers in the classroom, promotion and advancement of staff, professional development for educators, and many others, are critical elements of complying with the BEP and moving our schools forward.

At this week’s Forum, Deputy Commissioner of Education David Abbott will give a presentation about the BEP and it’s importance. Superintendent Victor Mercurio will report on the commission’s recommendations regarding placement of teachers in the classroom, and there will be a panel discussion with the school department, faculty and the public to answer questions and inform future policy decisions. This forum will lay the groundwork for a series of meetings later this Spring and Fall that cover the full range of the commission’s recommendations and set the stage for putting the recommendations in to action. Pubic engagement is a critical element of this work.

The “Excellence In Education Forum: Aligning Teacher Talent with Student Need” will be held today 7 – 8:30 p.m. in the Room.  In order to plan for attendance, please let us know if you will be coming.

We hope to see you there.  

The East Greenwich School Committee
Deidre S. Gifford, chairwoman
Robert Durant, vice chairman
David Green
Paul Martin
Susan Records
Jack G. Sommer
Mary Ellen Winters