Governor Carcieri, Commissioner Gist Join Local School Districts and National Experts at NGA-Sponsored Symposium on Educator Quality

Press Release

Governor Donald L. Carcieri today joined Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist, Warren Simmons of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, national education experts, and school district teams at a symposium focusing on Rhode Island's emerging educator evaluation system, and effectiveness measures such as student growth. This event was the first of two symposia focusing on educator quality, both of which are sponsored by the National Governor's Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices. Rhode Island is one of six states to receive NGA funding and participate in a national education policy academy and related activities.

"Every child deserves an effective teacher who is trained in the best instructional practices and classroom techniques. We know that skilled educators at all levels are essential for student learning and success, and we are fortunate to have many in Rhode Island," said Governor Carcieri. "We already have taken an important step in moving away from classroom teaching assignments based on seniority, in favor of a system that responds to student needs. Now we must link our educator evaluation process with objective measures, such as student learning growth, and ensure that the system properly recognizes the achievements of excellent teachers."

Governor Carcieri championed legislation in 2005 to implement statewide standards for educator evaluation, and he met with the Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education to stress the importance of this issue. The Board responded by adopting a new Educator Evaluation System and Educator Code of Professional Responsibility, and approved a new Basic Education Program which requires that decision-making and evaluation be based on the continuous improvements in student learning.

"Research confirms that teachers are the most important factor in improving student learning," said Bridget Curran, program director in the Education Division of the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center). "Through the Policy Academy on Creating New Models of Teacher Compensation, Rhode Island has taken on a leadership role to work to develop innovative models of teacher compensation as part of a comprehensive approach to improving teaching and learning. The policies and strategies developed through the meeting this week, and throughout the duration of the policy academy, will be used as the basis for developing and supporting talented teachers in Rhode Island and will serve as ideas and best practices for other states around the country."

"The first priority in our strategic plan for transforming education in Rhode Island is to ensure educator excellence," said Robert G. Flanders, Jr., Esq., Chairman of the Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education. "Educator evaluation is a critical starting point as we work to fulfill this priority. We expect all Rhode Island school districts to implement evaluation systems that emphasize professional growth and continued improvement, that are fair and accurate, that establish clear expectations, and that provide feedback on performance."

The NGA-sponsored forums are being offered to key Rhode Island stakeholders in the education system, to provide opportunities to discuss educator quality issues, to share practices, and to listen to emerging work from national experts. The keynote speaker was Allan R. Odden of the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, who addressed the components of a comprehensive approach to human resources strategies in education. "Strategic management of talent and human capital in education requires all HR programs -- recruitment, induction, professional development, evaluation, compensation and career progression -- to be structured around core competencies and multiple measures of teaching effectiveness. Rhode Island has started the ambitious process of laying a solid foundation for moving in exactly these directions," said Allan R. Odden, Co-Director, Strategic Management of Human Capital and the Consortium for Policy Research in Education at the University of Wisconsin.

Commissioner Gist spoke about Rhode Island's developing system of performance evaluations, including student growth expectations. Following those presentations, a three-member panel of education experts provided national perspectives before school district teams convened to discuss the information presented and consider implications for local implementation.

"Rhode Island educators are more than willing to be held accountable, but they want to make sure that the evaluation system is valid, reliable, fair, and transparent -- and we want that, too," said Deborah A. Gist, Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education. "An excellent and robust evaluation system that is based primarily on evidence of student achievement will provide educators with the candid and instructive feedback that every professional needs to improve performance. We look forward to working with educators across Rhode Island to ensure that we have effective teachers in every classroom and effective leaders in every school."

Warren Simmons, Executive Director of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, facilitated the panel of experts, which included Sandi Jacobs of the National Center on Teacher Quality; Laura Goe of the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality; and Douglas Harris of the National Center for Education Research.

"This is an important opportunity to build a growing partnership between labor, management and community that will strengthen evaluations to improve student outcomes," added Warren Simmons.

Governor Carcieri concluded by acknowledging the NGA's support of Rhode Island's education reform efforts.

"The NGA has recognized our consistent and dedicated efforts to make excellence in education a central focus of my administration, and we have been grateful for their invaluable guidance and assistance," said Governor Carcieri. "With the continued support of the NGA, the sustained focus on educator quality by the Board of Regents and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the commitment of the educators in our state, we will transform our education system into one that is responsive to student needs and driven by quality and effectiveness."

Rhode Island's team to improve teacher effectiveness is led by the Governor's Education Policy Advisor Janet Durfee-Hidalgo and includes Thomas Brady, Superintendent of the Providence Public School Department; Anna Cano-Morales, Senior Community Philanthropy Office for the RI Foundation and member of the RI Board of Regents; Speaker Gordon D. Fox, the Commissioner for the RI Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Deborah GIst; Warren Simmons, Executive Director of the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University; and Robert Walsh, Executive Director for the National Education Association Rhode Island.

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