The R.I. Department of Education’s recently completed survey on priorities for the state’s next five-year strategic plan is a good sign in itself.
The more than 10,000 responses from a broad swath of the community make clear that Rhode Islanders know how important educating the next generation is to the state’s future. And the department’s effort to engage the state’s citizens in setting a path forward is a better choice than an insider-driven effort.
But what is more heartening is the clearly defined role that RIDE has carved out for the business community. Two steering committees, dubbed the Ambassador Design Team, have been charged with creating the strategic plan for elementary and secondary education through 2020. And a member of the business community has been added to each of the groups.
Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Deborah A. Gist has said that the results of the survey – in which 70 percent of respondents said that the purpose of public education was to prepare every student for future economic success – make it clear that the state’s schools must be attuned to what local businesses’ workforce needs are.
From mastery of digital economy skills to the inclination to show up for work on time, Rhode Island graduates have been coming up short for years. Knitting the needs of the state’s employers into the preparation of future taxpayers is the classic win-win: Businesses will have a workforce that is more productive, and young Rhode Islanders will be better off for it. •
