LINCOLN – As with many Rhode Island schools, the William M. Davies Jr. Career and Technical High School’s less-than-optimal physical buildings and equipment don’t match the quality of its dedicated faculty and engaged students, said officials on Monday.
The need for state-of-the-art technology and equipment is especially critical at this vocational school that offers a full academic curriculum, they said.
Read MoreScituate High School Academy of Engineering students are almost ready to deliver a holiday gift: a prosthetic arm for a 9-year-old boy.
Ollie Mancini, the son of Scituate 8th-grade math teacher Nicole Mancini, was born without his left forearm. Thanks to local students, he’ll have his new arm by Christmas.
Read MorePonaganset High School is the model for the new career and technical program hailed by Gov. Gina Raimondo in her pledge to prepare students for jobs that are both highly paid and highly skilled.
Read MoreMore than 300 educators and local business leaders took time out of their weekend this past Saturday morning to participate in the first-ever Prepare RI summit, a state initiative which “closes the gap” between student learning and future, high-demand careers.
“It is not just about test scores or graduation rates,” said Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) Commissioner Ken Wagner. “It is about preparing students in a way that the people who will employ our students feel that they are aligned with what they need.”
Read More“This is about doing things differently,” state education Commissioner Ken Wagner said Saturday.
Wagner was speaking to educators from across the state, as well as partners from the business community, at the education department’s Prepare Rhode Island forum, held at URI’s Providence campus on Washington Street.
Prepare Rhode Island, he said, is about “aligning what our economy needs with what families need and want for their kids.”
Read MoreMore than 250 educators, industry partners, students, and community leaders came together today for the first-ever PrepareRI Summit, a daylong strategy session on career education in Rhode Island. Hosted by the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), the Summit featured opening remarks from Commissioner of Education Ken Wagner and, by video, Governor Gina Raimondo, who has made job training and career education a top priority in her administration.
Read MoreI attended high school in the 80’s, when students had a choice – college prep or vocational education. Both programs remained parallel and separate through the early 21st Century and both initially served students fairly well but not perfectly. Vocational programs didn’t keep up with job market demands and college prep programs left many with high debts and few work options.
Today’s job market is very different both because skills traditionally associated with college prep are necessary for jobs that had previously been considered “vocational” (consider the technology in today’s heating and cooling systems) and because tomorrow’s workers are expected to change positions and roles far more frequently than in the past. Since the mission of K-12 education includes preparing students for life after high school, it has become necessary to rethink the experiences students have in school.
Read MorePicture this: A family sits down to dinner, is on route to soccer practice or getting ready for bed. The inevitable question is posed: “What did you learn at school today?” It’s a scene that’s played out on television and in our own families for decades.
The answer matters. It matters whether or not a student is excited to learn.
Read MoreThe 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.
Read MoreThe Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) and the Office of the Governor Gina M. Raimondo today announced that the state has been awarded $2 million over three years to improve career readiness and postsecondary attainment for all Rhode Island youth.
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