State senators express “deep disappointment” over schools report

December 18, 2018 6:26 pm

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Some State Senators are fed up over a report on Rhode Island schools.

“The senate was very concerned about the direction of education in Rhode Island and us continually not meeting the same expectations that Massachusetts is setting for their students and achieving,” said Sen. Ryan Pearson of Cumberland.

Sen. Pearson and his colleagues formally asked the State Board of Education for a report on what Rhode Island can do differently that Massachusetts is already doing. What they got back, a day before the December 1st deadline, Pearson says, was much different.

“It didn’t mention Massachusetts once and in fact it was a pre-canned report that was written over a year ago for a completely different topic,” said Pearson.

What the Rhode Island Department of Education sent was a report comparing curricula within Rhode Island.

“They didn’t take it seriously, and that they had no intention of actually studying the issue or coming up with a real plan,” said Pearson.

Senate President Dominick Ruggerio sent a letter to RIDE expressing his “deep disappointment.”

In a statement RIDE communications director Megan Geoghegan responded Tuesday saying the Department produced that report in response to several requests from the legislature, “and have been forthcoming with legislators in regards to the Massachusetts efforts that can and should be replicated in Rhode Island, with a particular emphasis on curriculum and aligned professional learning.”

Pearson says that’s not good enough, especially in light of new test scores showing a 17-point gap between Rhode Island and Massachusetts students.

“I think the reality is that we failed students for a very long time. If we continue to fail them, we’re just going to be leaving an entire generation of students behind. And so the action needs to happen now. We can’t wait any longer,” said Pearson.