RIFTHP Announcements

RIFTHP Virtual Professional Learning Series on 

Artificial Intelligence  

Winter/Spring 2025

The Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals is actively working to support educators as they integrate AI tools into their instructional practices and, where appropriate, into our classrooms, with strategies that support both educators and students. 

From The Cranston Herald  Wednesday, December 4, 2024

By BARBARA POLICHETTI

Frank Flynn can’t count the hours he’s spent at school committee meetings, legislative hearings, or bargaining sessions. But, as a lifelong educator and head of the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals (RIFTHP) for the past 14 years, Flynn wouldn’t take back a minute of the time he has spent working to support teachers and the work they do.

In a historic move, the educators at Paul Cuffee Upper School have voted to join the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals (RIFTHP), making it the first independent charter school in Rhode Island to unionize with the organization. 

This vote is a significant  step forward in the collective effort to ensure fair working conditions, enhanced educational quality, and a stronger voice for those dedicated to serving the school's diverse student body.  

Providence artist Andrew Grover created a Lego model of the RIFTHP office on Smith Street and presented it to President Frank Flynn.  Andrew brings attention to Rhode Island’s beautiful historic buildings, including public schools.  He was a public school teacher for 21 years and now uses his talent and creativity to point out the beauty that is within our communities.  Using Legos to create models of buildings students recognize from their neighborhoods, Andrew truly brings art to life for kids when he visits schools.  The model will be proudly displayed at the office.&

The student loan landscape has been changing and the AFT is working hard to be sure members know how to navigate it and get debt relief as soon as possible. The biggest news is that, after a three-year hiatus, borrowers will have to start making their student loan payments again beginning Oct. 1. The next biggest news? The SAVE plan, a more generous income-driven repayment plan that will save borrowers thousands of dollars and qualify them for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is already pervasive in our lives. But the introduction of platforms like OpenAI/ChatGPT has the education world questioning how it should be used or if it should be used at all. In the AFT TEACH workshop “Use It or Block It? Using OpenAI in the Classroom,” presenters Peter Guyon and Kathleen Torregrossa addressed this question in front of a group of educators—some of whom were already using AI in the classroom, while others were curious about its potential.

The opening session of the 87th national convention of the American Federation of Teachers features AFT leaders from across the country, guest speakers such as Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and AFL-CIO Massachusetts President Steven Tolman, and the State of the Union address by AFT President Randi Weingarten.

Dr. Jessica Saint-Paul is an adjunct faculty member in the Los Angeles Community College District. She had been trying to work toward PSLF since 2008 and believed she was on track until she learned at an AFT student debt clinic that none of the payments she had made to Navient, her student loan servicer, would qualify. She agreed to become a plaintiff in AFT’s Navient lawsuit to fight for justice for borrowers who were lied to by Navient.

07/16/2022

by Randi Weingarten

President, American Federation of Teachers