Tagged: education reform

Stop by the Providence Athenaeum at 6 p.m. tonight! We'll be discussing how schools are changing to prepare students for 21st Century jobs.

I'm looking forward to a spirited conversation about what skills students will need as technology quickly transforms the world around us. We'll explore the value of a liberal arts degree, changes to curriculum in K-12 schools and what employers are seeking and finding in Rhode Island graduates. Join us!

The panelists are:

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will have to forgo his trip to Rhode Island, no thanks to the weather.  Duncan was scheduled to attend a town hall-style meeting tonight on school safety and to headline a Tuesday morning event at the Rhode Island Convention Center. His office says the secretary's flight to Rhode Island was canceled.

State education officials are defending standardized testing as a graduation requirement starting with the class of 2014. Students opposing so-called "high stakes testing" staged a protest yesterday at the Statehouse.

State Education Commissioner Deborah Gist responded by saying her goal is to make sure students finish high school with the right skills for college or a career. If the testing rule took effect this year, 44 percent of seniors would be at risk for not graduating.

A new program at the Providence After School Alliance (PASA) pairs high school students with middle schoolers, on the theory that a mentoring relationship with an older student might discourage dropping out.

PASA organizers say they are focusing on 8th graders, who often face a tough road when they transition from middle school into high school. Just 66 percent of Providence students graduate from high school within four years.