Central Falls School District sharing in $263K grant from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

CENTRAL FALLS – A $263,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will help a school district, charter school and nonprofit organization support teacher development to raise expectations for students.
The Central Falls School District is partnering with the Rhode Island Mayoral Academies, a nonprofit organization, and Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy, a charter school, to share in the grant, which will be used for a program called the ComebackCity High Expectations Project.
The project involves collaboration between the three groups, helping teachers, leaders and parents better understand and implement high academic expectations for all students, thereby improving student achievement. This will involve developing professional learning communities, enabling virtual collaboration and hosting conferences.
“Building on a history of successful collaboration, the Central Falls School District looks forward to partnering with Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy, RIMA and others in the Central Falls and wider education community, to make the best practices of instilling and teaching high expectations clear, implementable and quantifiable,” Superintendent Frances Gallo said in a statement.

“When we set the bar high for students, they will rise to the challenge,” she said.
Parents and members of the broader community are invited to take part in the conferences.
Michael Magee, CEO of Rhode Island Mayoral Academies, said the project coincides with preparing for use of the Common Core State Standards in Rhode Island, which will emphasize higher-level thinking skills. RIMA is “honored” to partner with the Central Falls District in this preparation, he said.
“We have a responsibility to prepare our teachers (and our parents to support them) to translate the high expectations of the standards into instruction rigorous enough to meet them,” said Magee. “This collaboration will explicitly prepare teachers to raise expectations in order to improve academic results through coaching feedback, professional learning communities and conferences.”

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