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RHODE ISLAND URBAN EDUCATION TASK FORCE

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Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri asked Warren Simmons, executive director of the Annenberg Institute, to lead a task force whose charge was to develop recommendations for strengthening and transforming urban education in Rhode Island. The Rhode Island Urban Education Task Force (UETF) was convened in January 2008 for a term of 18 months and included a wide range of leaders from education, government, civic, and community organizations.

Goal
Rhode Island is a small and densely populated state whose future depends on the health of its core cities. And no factor is more important to the health of these cities than education. By 2020, one in five members of the state's workforce will have come from the state's five core urban school systems: Central Falls, Newport, Pawtucket, Providence, and Woonsocket. Outcomes for students in those cities are improving, but they remain unacceptably low.

Governor Carcieri charged the UETF with developing a statewide response to these challenges. The five urban communities share many of the same issues, and collaboration, with support from state leaders, is more efficient than each community tackling the problems alone. A statewide approach would draw on a rich and diverse set of community and governmental assets to support the growth and development of the state's youth.

What We Do
With Warren Simmons as chair and staff support from the Annenberg Institute, the UETF:

• examined data on the conditions and outcomes for urban public school students and information on teaching and learning resources available inside and outside of schools;
  
  
• held numerous public forums to engage the community in understanding the urban challenge and developing solutions;
  
  
• visited sites locally and nationally that provide examples of best practice; and
  
  
• developed recommendations for consideration by the Governor and the General Assembly in the following areas:
  
  
  • effective state support and intervention strategies: “what works” and how data can be used to improve policy and practice;
    
    
  • opportunities for collaboration among Rhode Island’s urban schools and districts, as well as between state agencies and organizations; and
    
    
  • new relationships and partnerships with community-based organizations, cultural institutions, businesses, and the faith community.

The UETF released its final report to the Governor in October 2009. With full consensus from all the key stakeholders, the report presented recommendations in seven major areas for consideration by the Governor and the General Assembly, focusing on the five core urban districts. Implementation has begun for several key recommendations.

Timeframe
Term of the UETF: January 2008 to June 2009
Release of final recommendations: October 2009

Partners & Funders
The UETF began with 26 local leaders representing the five urban core communities, the state government and legislature, higher education, and other key stakeholders. Later, the UETF expanded to 37 members. More than sixty additional people supported the UETF by participating in meetings, serving on focus-area working groups, or providing background research.

The UETF was supported by a consortium of research organizations, led byBrown University and involving local organizations, as well as by a National Advisory Panel that included Barnett Berry of the Center for Teaching Quality; Frederick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute; Milbrey McLaughlin of Stanford University; Charles Payne of the University of Chicago; Jesse Register, superintendent of Metropolitan Nashville (TN) Public Schools; and Paul Reville, Massachusetts Secretary of Education. The work of the UETF was supported by a combination of local and national grants.

Contact Person
Ellen Foley
Associate Director, District Redesign and Leadership
Annenberg Institute for School Reform
Ellen_Foley@brown.edu

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