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Kristine Frech[/caption]
As a society, we cannot underestimate the impact of teachers on all of our lives.
Every day, teachers are shaping our future. But are we doing enough to support them in this cause?
During this year’s Education Awareness Week, April 8-12, we think it is important to bring focus to the incredible work of educators who lead Rhode Island’s classrooms and schools with passion and purpose.
Potential is equally distributed across lines of race and class, but opportunity is not.
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Lee Lewis[/caption]
Only 14 percent of children growing up in poverty will graduate from college within eight years of graduating high school. Twice as many children of color are born into poverty than white children. In Rhode Island, nearly 40 percent of children live in under-resourced communities.
While these statistics may be alarming, we at Teach For America Rhode Island and Junior Achievement of Rhode Island remain committed to providing support to educators in underserved communities throughout the state.
Since our inception in 2010, TFA has partnered with Rhode Island’s educational community to find outstanding leaders who commit to expanding educational opportunity, beginning with at least two years of teaching in an under-resourced public school.
While no single solution is enough to bring about an equitable and excellent education for all children, TFARI has learned that dramatic progress is possible. Lasting change takes bold, grounded leaders working together, inside and outside of schools, fighting for the aspirations of children and their families.
At JA of Rhode Island, we are focused on helping students make the connection between what they learn in the classroom and how it applies to the world outside of the classroom. We bring volunteer role models from the community into schools to help students better understand how to work with money, to learn what’s involved in starting a business and to make the connection between education and their ability to one day find a rewarding job or career.
The impact of our two organizations is being felt throughout Rhode Island. To date, TFA has brought to our state a network of more than 250 people, all of whom began by teaching in some of the state’s highest-need schools, and who have collectively reached more than 20,000 students. TFARI’s alumni, who are classroom, school and district leaders, policymakers, founders of advocacy organizations, social entrepreneurs, and business, philanthropic and civic leaders, are working together and with members of their communities to shape the context and conditions in which schools operate.
Today, TFA serves as Rhode Island’s only alternative teacher-preparation program. As a result of strong partnerships with local school districts, committed family and persistent community organizations, such as Junior Achievement, student outcomes are making consistent and steady progress. An example of this is the high school graduation rate, which now reaches 80 percent, an all-time high for the state.
For its part, JA of Rhode Island will reach 13,000 students in grades K-12 with the support of the state’s business community. This support allows JA to provide programs to schools free of charge. Our organization’s goal is to reach 10 percent of Rhode Island’s students with lessons that promote critical life skills by 2021.
Every child across the state … deserves access to an excellent and equitable public education. Eradicating educational inequity requires a broad and diverse coalition of leaders united around common purpose and shared values. TFARI and JA are proud to partner in service to families and communities across the state. As our networks of passionate and innovative leaders grow, we remain energized and inspired by the many ways local organizations are preparing our next generation of young leaders.
This Education Awareness Week, we encourage each of you to support Rhode Island’s classrooms in becoming a place where students learn to thrive academically, socio-emotionally, socio-politically and financially.
When we invest in education, and in diverse, innovative leaders, we invest in the future of our children and of Rhode Island.
Kristine Frech is executive director of Teach For America Rhode Island. Lee Lewis is president of Junior Achievement of Rhode Island.