When the Rhode Island Foundation convenes its second “Make It Happen RI” forum on Dec. 7, the format won’t be the same as the nonprofit’s first such event seven years ago.
Up to 300 people are expected to turn out for “Make It Happen: World Class Public Education for RI” at the R.I. Convention Center.
Members of the Rhode Island Foundation’s Long-Term Education Planning Committee have been working for about a year to create a 10-year plan for improvements to the state’s public education system, and the event is the public’s turn to weigh in on how to implement those ideas.
“This plan gets to the strategy level but not to the tactics,” said Rhode Island Foundation CEO and President Neil D. Steinberg.
That structure differs from how the foundation approached solutions for the struggling economy during its “Make it Happen RI” event in 2012. Attendees, most of them hand-picked, were asked to draft plans, along with methods for implementing them, to bolster the state’s economic activity and jobs creation.
This time, although the event is still mainly invitation-only, much of the plan’s framework is in place, and the Rhode Island Foundation is seeking ideas on how to enact it.
“While we’ve had a year of robust, meaningful discussions, and have developed a vision, priorities and strategies, the group knows that community engagement and collective brainstorming will add and improve the process they’ve undertaken,” Steinberg said of the foundation’s education planning committee, which was created in 2018.
The 26-member committee includes R.I. Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green, other state education officials, members of nonprofits and David Driscoll, Massachusetts’ former education commissioner.
Although Providence schools have dominated headlines, the Rhode Island Foundation maintains that its plan encompasses the entire state and points out that its education committee was formed well before attention turned to the struggles in Providence.
Rhode Island’s schools are well-positioned for a turning point, Steinberg said. “To me the big message is this is the moment in time, we have to get together, work collaboratively and get 80% of the way there,” he said.
At least one education expert, though, hopes that the foundation’s plan ties other stakeholders’ ideas into one unified vision.
With many groups, including the General Assembly, Infante-Green’s office and others, aiming to improve public education, too many voices could ultimately cause inaction, said Brian McCadden, assistant provost for graduate programs in the secondary education department at Providence College.
“That may be one of the reasons why improvement is difficult,” said McCadden, who received an invite to the event. “I would hope that what the Rhode Island Foundation is doing is trying to move in that direction, to work with legislators, the governor and the commissioner to come up with a singular plan for reform.”
Elizabeth Graham is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Graham@PBN.com.
