Enews: U.S. Secretary of Education lauds Rhode Island

November 8, 2011

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U.S. Secretary of Education hosts Town Hall meeting for students, educators

Foundation President & CEO Neil Steinberg participates on 5-person reactor panel

Before the RIPEC Town Hall Meeting (l to r): Rhode Island Foundation President & CEO Neil D. Steinberg; Speaker of the House Gordon D. Fox; Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Deborah A. Gist; U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan; Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed: and Governor Lincoln D. Chafee.

The Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council and the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University co-sponsored a Town Hall meeting at Providence Career and Technical Academy on November 2 featuring U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Annenberg Institute Executive Director Warren Simmons moderated a panel including: Rhode Island Foundation President & CEO Neil Steinberg; Providence Teachers Union President Steven Smith; Jessica Hallam, a senior at Ponaganset High School; Youth in Action Executive Director Adeola Oredola; and Acting Providence School Superintendent Susan Lusi.

As co-chair of the state's Race to the Top Steering Committee, Neil, as well as Education Commissioner Deborah Gist, spoke about the collaborative effort that resulted in Rhode Island's securing one of 12 federal Race to the Top grants. He stressed that the broad participation in the grant application process has flourished, continuing into the implementation phase of Race to the Top and the distribution of $75 million over four years in Rhode Island.

More than 400 students and educators attended the meeting. Secretary Duncan answered questions from the panelists and the audience. He noted that our state's size is "a benefit because you can innovate and do things larger states can't."

That evening, RIPEC's annual meeting at the Rhode Island Convention Center featured a keynote address by Secretary Duncan.

Learn more about the Foundation's work in public education reform.

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PLAY, a program of the Sandra Feinstein Gamm Theatre, supports student learning and teacher development in the Pawtucket schools.Learn more about this program that links arts-learning and academic performance.