LETTERS

Who’s going to be held accountable?

Posted 2/11/16

To the Editor:

Lieutenant Governor Daniel J. McKee wants to make education a constitutional right and has proposed an Educate R.I. initiative. He cites Massachusetts, with the highest test scores …

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LETTERS

Who’s going to be held accountable?

Posted

To the Editor:

Lieutenant Governor Daniel J. McKee wants to make education a constitutional right and has proposed an Educate R.I. initiative. He cites Massachusetts, with the highest test scores in the nation, as an example of a school system we can and should emulate.

When Massachusetts elected to reform their public schools they first expanded financial aid to the school districts, with more to those most in need. They did not implement reform with private mayoral and charter schools, for which the lieutenant governor has been a longtime advocate, by pitting them directly against the public schools for taxpayer funding.

The Massachusetts business community and its lawmakers did not try to undermine teachers unions and labor contracts with backdoor privatization schemes. Teachers were not portrayed as slackers, with 180-day cushy jobs, hiding behind union contracts to thwart reform. Teachers and students were not browbeaten and treated as adversaries, with their input ignored or rejected. They did not damage morale with conflicting information and demands, inadequate preparation, and excessive and pointless standardized testing.

Since 2001, with the No Child Left Behind Act, state government, the Board of Education and their appointees at RIDE have been reforming public education. Who will step forward and assume responsibility and be held accountable to students, teachers and parents for the mess that has been made?

If Lt. Governor McKee has what he thinks is a viable plan for school reform, he should present it to the public - with his name on it.

John St. Lawrence 

Johnston

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