January 19, 2010

‘Race to the Top’ needs further work

 Association will work collaboratively on next round

NEARI declined to sign on to the RI Department of Education’s Race to the Top application, submitted today in Washington by Commissioner of Education Deborah Gist. After many hours during the past week conferring over language in the grant proposal, NEARI President Larry Purtill said there were too many aspects of the proposal that the Association could not support.

“The process was flawed from the start. NEARI was asked to sign on in support prior to viewing the actual document,” he commented. “When the document did become available for reading, we were not allowed to retain a copy to study. We never saw the budget and how money was to be allocated from the grant if awarded.”

The specific areas of concern are the teacher evaluation process, emphasis on the role of charter schools, alternative teacher training, erosion of collective bargaining, and more.

Purtill said, “NEARI believes in a strong evaluation process that includes multiple assessments and environmental factors. We want an effective teacher in every classroom and the same opportunity for a great public education for every child. We also believe in collective bargaining and the rights of public employees. The Race to the Top grant application does not reflect these fundamental issues.”

He indicated that NEARI is willing to work in a collaborative effort toward an application for Round 2 of the funding, should RIDE’s first application not succeed.