The Providence City Council formed a time-limited working group to prepare for its budget and oversight responsibilities when PPSD returns to local control. The group will receive briefings from finance professionals and governance experts, and aims to deliver a findings report by June 5, 2026.
The Central Falls City Council approved a resolution backing the SABE Act, which would build a stronger pipeline of bilingual and dual language educators in Rhode Island. The bill is still awaiting hearings in the House and Senate Finance Committees.
Former Education Secretary Miguel Cardona says harm done to the Department of Education over the past year will take decades to repair, citing the closure of seven civil rights enforcement offices and threats to Title III language acquisition grants for multilingual learners.
Antisemitic symbols and messages were found at three East Greenwich schools this week, weeks after a racist graffiti incident at a fourth school in the district. Superintendent Thomas Kenworthy is working with law enforcement and plans age-appropriate community education in response.
A new NWEA analysis finds that children who were infants during COVID are now falling below pre-pandemic benchmarks in reading and math as they reach first and second grade. Kindergarten scores held steady, but reading gaps among early elementary students remain stubbornly stalled.
Senate Democrats and education advocates marked one year since the U.S. Department of Education initiated sweeping mass layoffs, with Sen. Mazie Hirono leading a Capitol press conference to highlight the impact of staffing cuts on students and families as the Trump administration continues efforts to wind down the 46-year-old agency.
URI Feinstein College of Education seniors will take part in the first URI and Milken Network professional development conference during spring break, offering workshops on classroom management, trauma-informed practices, resume review, and career guidance as student teachers complete their residency placements across Rhode Island school districts.
Rhode Island joined a coalition of 17 states led by Massachusetts filing suit in federal court in Boston to block a Trump administration mandate requiring colleges to submit seven years of detailed admissions data by March 18, arguing the rushed requirement violates student privacy protections and imposes an unmanageable burden on institutions.
A Brown University Annenberg Institute paper finds the academic gap between the highest and lowest achieving students has grown significantly since 2005, driven largely by stagnation and steep COVID learning losses among struggling students, with gaps widening fastest in traditional public and Catholic schools.
The Brown Daily Herald editorial board urges Brown University to direct its $50 million federal workforce development commitment toward teacher training programs, noting that $1.5 million of the first round of grants is already funding a bilingual educator credential program at the Community College of Rhode Island expected to produce up to 180 new teachers for Providence schools.
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