June 15, 2010
 Deborah Gist, RI Commissioner of Elementary & Secondary Education to speak at
ALN Public Forum, July 22, 2010
Ms. Deborah A. Gist will provide an overview of the significant progress her Department’s made since she began her tenure as the Rhode Island Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education just a year ago.
Earlier this month, the Commissioner submitted Rhode Island's Phase Two Race to the Top application for $75 million in additional school funding. Later this summer, we will learn how our application fared.
Rhode Island’s Phase One Race to the Top application came in 8th out of the 41 states that applied. The “Great Teachers and Leaders” section of our application received the 2nd highest points in the country. Additionally, RI received almost perfect scores for our state standards, our assessment system, our interventions in the lowest-achieving schools, and our new educator evaluation standards that are based on evidence of student growth.
As Commissioner Gist states, “Rhode Island has made progress in improving its education system, yet we all can agree that we must do much more to improve performance for all of our students. In particular, we must address our achievement gaps. If we want great schools across Rhode Island — the best in the world — then we are responsible for creating that greatness – all of us. I am ready to link arms with educators, leaders, and residents throughout the state to bring a true education renaissance to Rhode Island.”
Won’t you join us for what promises to be an enlightening evening?
For more about the Race to the Top Fund, please visit the U.S. Department of Education website.
April 20, 2010
For Open and Rational Negotiations
 Recently, the ALN Board urged the Newport School Committee to add limited transparency to the upcoming union negotiations by having each party make public their positions going into each negotiating session and again coming out of each session.
ALN is a strong advocate for open government and transparent processes. Nowhere is the need for open government more critical than in the City of Newport's negotiations with its employee unions. Open negotiations is the only fair approach to protect the interests of the city taxpayers and school employees with less seniority than the negotiators.
The City is faced with contractual promises it cannot afford to keep. Newport's unfunded liability for retiree health and life insurance benefits alone is greater than $100,000,000 -- more than $4,000 for every man, woman and child living in Newport.
Newly hired employees face higher benefit contribution rates for less benefit than their longer-service associates, because there is not enough money in the City's coffers to continue to fund at the previous level. The unions are aware of the shortfall and yet refuse to adjust prior excesses promised to older members.
In fact, the School's negotiations can be relatively simple. Given the revenue reductions being experienced by Newport, the City Council is most likely to level-fund the Schools for the next fiscal year. The Schools also know what reductions in funding to expect from state and federal programs. Therefore, the Schools will not have any additional revenue available to pay salaries and benefits. The starting point is the amount spent on salaries and benefits this fiscal year. Added to that is the cost of step-rate raises for newer employees and known increases for benefits (for example, increased health insurance premiums and increased funding payments for pensions). The School Committee negotiators should present those numbers to the union representatives and ask them how they would like to allocate the available funds. Would the union prefer to reduce staffing requirements and/or reduce benefits (or increase employee contributions to benefits) in order to fund salary increases? Would they prefer to freeze wages and reduce step-rate increases to maintain benefits? The cost or savings of every change to the current contract should be determined carefully. The choices are harsh, but so are the economic realities facing the City of Newport.
Perhaps in times of plenty, labor negotiations can afford to be contentious and secretive. In lean times, as now, they must be collaborative and open. The City's employee unions and the City's Administration should set aside their traditional adversarial relationship and work together for the good of all. Otherwise, there will be no winners . . . only losers.
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March 15, 2010
School Contract Negotiations Begin
 The Newport School Committee has entered into contract negotiations with the union representing non-certified school department staff just as the State has released a new funding formula that would reduce aid to Newport County public schools by more than $9 million dollars and just as the State Board of Regents has urged school districts to improve their delivery of services to students and mandated that teacher assignments be based on performance rather than seniority.
ALN wrote the School Committee requesting that they periodically report on the status of the contract negotiations. The ALN Board feels strongly that public business should be conducted in an open and fair environment. An open negotiations process has been adopted in other communities, such as East Providence, to the benefit of the city, whose tax revenues fund the schools, and to the benefit of teachers with less seniority.
In the coming months, ALN will address the issues likely to be negotiated and inform you of how these issues have been handled in other communities. The negotiators for the Newport School Committee are: Chairwoman Jo Eva Gaines and members Rebecca Bolan, Patrick K. Kelley, Robert J. Leary and Dr. Charles Shoemaker. Contact the people you elected to this Committee if you would like to be heard on this issue!
February 15, 2010
 "Baby Steps" Program Started to Aid Early Learning for Newport Children
Baby Steps is the fanciful name of a nascent but serious program being spearheaded by Dr. Charlie Shoemaker of the Newport School Committee to help prepare our youngest children ranging in ages from 0-3 years of age for the more formal work of pre-K-12 schooling. Two key objectives frame the program:
1) To assure that all infants and toddlers develop the necessary vocabulary and social skills that would effectively prepare them for Pre K or Kindergarten.
2) To engage the participation of parents in their child’s education, beginning at birth.
Baby Steps is modeled after the Harlem Childrens Zone’s Baby College program founded by Geoffrey Canada which was highlighted last year on Sixty Minutes. Dr. Shoemaker and members of his team have visited this New York City program and are now organizing an effort to replicate elements of it here in Newport. Educators, librarians, social workers and medical personnel have been meeting regularly as part of the overall effort with trial programs for parents, caregivers and children currently underway to test various approaches.
In summary, while organizers realize that many social agencies are presently addressing this population, the need for a more coordinated approach is starkly clear. This is evidenced by the reality that a group of children coming from disadvantaged families are, by age three, significantly behind their peers. Dr Shoemaker’s team argues that intervention for all must begin at infancy and involve parents and caregivers. As far as readiness to learn is concerned, any parent or grandparent that has ever played with a new infant or read to a very young toddler will attest to the fact that the learning curve at this early age is straight up. Dr Shoemaker and his team are clearly on to something. For more info email Dr. Shoemaker or call him at 846-3388.
December 15, 2009
Newport Mentoring Program is Thriving
Did you know that Newport students with mentors have 82% fewer disciplinary referrals and approximately 50% higher math, reading and writing scores?
According to RI Mentoring Partnership's Marketing and Recruiting Specialist, Marc Mainville, who has worked closely with the Newport School Department for five years, children thought to benefit from the program are referred by guidance counselors, teachers or parents. To date, the program has about 50 mentoring pairs.
Will Ferguson has been mentoring Trévon at the Cranston-Calvert Elementary School for several years. At first, their time together was spent building a relationship: shooting hoops, talking over lunch. Now, the meetings vary depending on what is going on in Trévon's life. Will uses the term "life coach" to describe his role. Listening and offering encouragement, Will gives Trévon his undivided attention for an hour each week.
More mentors are needed, so if you are able to help brighten a child's future, the training and support are provided, and, like in the old school days, you get the summer off!
To volunteer, contact Marc Mainville at 401-732-7700.
October 15, 2009
 Recently, Newport Public Schools received the Rhode Island Healthy Schools Coalition 2009 Award of Honor for the "Table Hosting" program, a unique way for kids to learn by doing. The credit for this award goes to the grassroots effort of concerned parents and community members who make up the creative, hard-charging Health & Wellness Committee.
Six to eight kids are "invited" to have lunch (during their regular lunch period) with a few parents & community volunteers for a special taste-testing of healthy "new" foods. In a fun and positive way, kids learn about nutrition, sample new foods and practice basic table manners and conversation skills with attentive adults. Beyond benefits in nutrition, studies have also shown that kids who regularly sit down for meals together with family have improved academic performance, increased self-esteem and decreased involvement in drug & alcohol abuse.
Shortly after being elected to the School Committee last Fall, Becky Bolan became Chairperson of the H&W group. She found people eager to make changes, full of creative new ideas to improve the health of Newport school children. In the past year, the group has grown to 48 members and 4 active sub-groups focused on: Nutrition; Physical Activity; School Garden programs; and Public Outreach.
Here are just a few of the group’s successful initiatives to date:
- Recess Before Lunch to help elementary kids (who have to sit in their seats all morning) play off some of their energy, so they are more relaxed and hungry when they sit down to lunch.
- School Gardens started at three elementary schools using community volunteers, who are trained Master Gardeners, to work with small groups of kids and teachers. Another example of learning by doing - and the success of seeing something you planted grow, blossom and get EATEN! The grade level curriculum is incorporated so learning happens at many levels. More support is on the way as Newport has been selected by RICAPE (Rhode Island Center for Agricultural Promotion and Education) (http://www.rifarmways.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/activities.detail/locID/17/index.htmas) as one of three districts to receive assistance in developing a garden in every school.
- A resource guide to Newport meal sites and food pantries was developed and distributed to Newport school children
If you are interested in these programs or getting involved in the many other initiatives coming this year, email Becky Bolan, Chair, Health & Wellness Committee, at: Becky.bolan@gmail.com.
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