Teachers in Rhode Island frequently write me to tell me that the state is rapidly deteriorating in its commitment to public education, especially after winning $75 million from the Race to the Top. Commissioner Deborah Gist is enamored of evaluating teachers by the test scores of their students, and she fought hard to increase the number of charter schools in the state, over the determined opposition of parents. The parents in Cranston actually defeated the state’s efforts to bring in the charter chain Achievement First, which now is bound for Providence. Commissioner Gist is a member of the rightwing group called Chiefs for Change, which is affiliated somehow with former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and is religiously devoted to data, testing, accountability, grading, ranking, rating, and other means of turning children and teachers into data points. Chiefs for Change sent out a press release congratulating Louisiana on the passage of Jindal’s legislation to dismantle public education and replace it with vouchers and charters, while reducing the status of teachers to at-will employees who can be easily fired.
I personally don’t think Rhode Island is the worst state, as compared to states like Louisiana, Ohio, Michigan, Florida, and Indiana. But it deserves credit for moving in the same direction and seeking to earn its spurs in the competition for worst.
| In Rhode Island, all the teachers in Central Falls were fired, and a year later all the teachers in Providence were fired. Commish Gist’s PhD dissertation (defended about a month ago) was on this horrendous new evaluation plan. Principals from around the State were begging her to slow the process down because it was impossible for them, and for teachers, to get it done. In many cases, one principal was responsible for evaluating 123 teachers, complete with scripts, multiple classroom visits, and tons of paperwork on both sides. Many teachers and admins have retired because of this madness. |
Diane Ravitch's blog 
No, it probably isn’t the worst state for dismantling public education per se, but it is the worst state for dismantling state pensions ( which includes teachers). All teachers, even those with over 28 years, have had our pensions slashed. We keep what we have, but going forward we only earn 1% of our last five year salary per year, while the rest of our 9.5% contribution is put into a 403b type instrument. The worst part is that our pension system is back-loaded, which means that, before this extreme legislation, teachers used to earn only 1.8 % for their first 20 years of service, and begin to earn 3% per year after that. Now, under the new law, teachers who had been teaching for 20 years before the law went into affect, will end up with very small pensions, especially considering they have put in 9.5 % for all those years. Rhode Island has the dubious distinction to be praised by the WSJ for the most aggressive pension changes to date. This was all accomplished by an overwhelmingly Democratic legislation.
Our state Treasurer, Gina Raimondo, who used to own a venture capital company, is responsible for pushing this pension legislation through. She’s a Democrat too, by the way. Interestingly enough, her husband is Andrew Moffit, who works for McKensey Assoc., a group tied in with data collection for education, and helping to reduce teachers benefits.
In addition to our remarks on Gist, I’d also like to add that she is a Broadie, as is our superintendent of Providence Schools (where I teach) Susan Lusi. Our last super, Tom Brady, was also a Broadie–no, we can’t catch a break! These ubiquitous Broadies are like a cult.
I foresee Louisiana teachers being hit hard in the 2013 legislative session. The governor wasn’t nearly as successful with his retirement package as he would have liked. ( He got everything he wanted in his ed reform in short order.) K-12 teachers were not even a part of the reform….but I don’t think that will be the case this coming year. What has happened to you in Rhode island is
horrible! BTW our state superintendent John White is not only a Broadie but also a TFA alum!
Never underestimate the power of intensely motivated and monied people, even if they are dead wrong, they will have their way. When things go wrong (and they will) they’ll only go wrong for people with less money and less power. And the folks who brought you a privatized public education will be completely out of the picture or pointing to a well-endowed school to illustrate how successful private and charter schools are. I keep wondering where the NEA is as these people chip away at their membership.
Sad but true. There are some amazing things happening in SOME schools, in SOME classrooms. A great teacher is a great teacher is a great teacher. One who puts the blinders on and focuses on the students and their passion for educating them. Unfortunately, the “crap” gets in the way in Rhode Island and most are fed up and frustrated and burnt out. I am a beginning teacher and I am relocating to North Carolina Wake County School District to be union free and dedicated to EDUCATING STUDENTS! (Imagine that!) I am excited for a positive outlook and to leave the negativity in RI.
Let us know how that works out. Wake County schools have been in the middle of political battles over desegregation and Tea Party politics. Gerald Grant wrote about Wake County schools in a wonderful book called Hope and Despair in the American City: Why There Are No Bad Schools in Raleigh. But that was before the Tea Party faction won control of the schools and disbanded the program that Grant admired. The faction also brought in a Broadie to run the schools, someone who had worked in DC for Rhee. Oh, well.
I am a substitute teacher in Rhode Island. I can’t believe a teacher can’t leave the classroom to seek assistance in middle or high school. These students are NOT children!
They can be abusive and rowdy. The office will often hang up on me or not answer at all. I think this needs to be changed! I was told “What if a Student has a Heart Attack?’ That is ridiculous! What if a stude4nt has a heart attack and I’m hung up on.
My comment needs spelling and grammar editing. However, I think this is an important issue for substitutes and teachers alike. The teacher I was substituting for was out because she had been hit.
I am a substitute teacher in Rhode Island. I can’t believe that teachers are not allowed to leave a classroom to seek assistance when middle or high school students are involved. They are not children. If a teacher is being subjected to verbal or physical abuse he/she needs to stay in the classroom? I had a situation today where I called for assistance and was given a smart answer and hung up on several times. I left the classroom to seek assistance. I was treated like a criminal. I was asked the question “What if a student has a heart attack and you were out of the room?” Huh? What if a student was having a heart attack and someone hung up on me? I had to be “escorted” back to the classroom to get my coat.
I was not given any emergency numbers to call. A kind teacher gave me the number I called. Also, phone systems differ in schools. Sometimes a prefix is needed before the extension and I can’t even get through. I know they don’t have this ludicrous rule in Massachusetts about teachers not having the right to leave a classroom to seek assistance. I think all substitutes should be given a sheet with specific instructions on how to use the phone, who to call, and what to do if you can’t reach anyone. This rule seems to be any easy way to place blame on substitutes and teachers. Who wants to be in a classroom full of abusive students? This should not be!
JoAnn is right the students in inner city providence schools can be absolutely terrible. I worked at an alternative school last year and it was just a dumping ground for the worst of the worst. Those students have terrible home lives and no one puts them in check. They steal from others, smoke pot, swear (I heard the n-word 40 times per day!), fight, and have extremely low skills. I left that position for a small private high school, but somehow the alternative school’s contract with the district was renewed. I couldn’t believe it, PPSD practically endorses this behavior by the students. I’ve worked in 5 districts across 3 states and PPSD is hands down THE WORST of them. The district is too bloated. The administrative offices have a lot of people who sit on their asses. The student population needs a tightly controlled, consistent environment with high expectations. I feel bad for teachers that will be evaluated based on how they were able to get ghetto kids with zero background knowledge to learn high school level math and language arts, YIKES!!!