By: GoLocalProv News Team
The Rhode Island Department of Education has selected six PrepareRI Ambassadors.
The Ambassadors are made up of education leaders from around the state who will look at career preparation programs in Rhode Island and make recommendations to improve those systems.
“Our PrepareRI Ambassadors, who are leaders in their field, are charged with identifying best practices and assembling resources so that all schools and all educators have the support they need to blend academic readiness with in-demand job skills," said Ken Wagner, Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Starting in July of 2017, the Ambassadors will spend one-year leading professional development opportunities, working alongside industry partners to better connect classrooms to careers, and developing policy recommendations to enhance and expand career education.
“We know that by the year 2020, 70 percent of jobs in Rhode Island will require some form of postsecondary education or training, yet only 45 percent of Rhode Islanders currently meet that benchmark. We need to close that skills gap, and PrepareRI is critical to building robust and responsive career preparation programs that will empower our kids with skills that matter for the jobs that pay,” said Governor Gina Raimondo.
The six ambassadors are:
• Lynne Bedard, PhD., school-based CTE coordinator for Ponaganset High School
• Elizabeth Dwyer, mathematics instructor at the Rhode Island Nurses Institute Middle College
• Christianne Fisher, assistant principal for teaching and learning at Rogers High School
• Stacy Haines-Mayne, head of school counseling, Chariho Regional School District
• Anais Hazard, special educator at North Cumberland Middle School
• Elizabeth Sinwell, director of curriculum, instruction, and assessment at Foster-Glocester Regional School District