EDUCATION

The Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy came out with a report in 2019, detailing the numerous ways that Providence public schools are failing. Most students are not learning, teachers feel demoralized, and parents felt isolated from their children’s education. Rhode Island has taken action, issuing a school takeover of these schools to control the district. Around the country our students are suffering, with lack of investment in public education, lack of adequate pay to attract or keep teachers, and a premium placed on standardized testing. Only 84% of the class of 2018 managed to graduate in four years in the state of Rhode Island. In Providence, that number was far lower, at under 75%.

Low-income students are particularly at a disadvantage, with graduation rates 15% below non-low income students. The porous nature of Providence, and Rhode Island, public schools have hurt all of Rhode Island’s youth, especially minorities and low-income students who quite often become trapped in a cycle of poverty when offered inadequate education.

The costs of public colleges are extraordinarily high. Rhode Island College costs over 23,000 dollars for in-state students per year, meaning that students have to spend almost 100,000 dollars for a degree from a public Rhode Island school. In addition, public colleges at Rhode Island have a tuition of 5,000 per year more than the national average. And community colleges, traditionally a cheaper option, still cost over 7,000 dollars per year. While not as expensive as private universities, public colleges are still failing in their mission, which should be to provide free, quality, education to everyone. Lower-income students should not be unable to attend an institution because of the price, especially a public one. At University of Rhode Island, 75% of students are receiving some kind of financial aid, in all likelihood not enough. The Community College of Rhode Island should be tuition free, as should both University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College.

These three colleges serve a total of roughly 40,000 students, and cost an average of 9,200 dollars. Without discounting for financial aid, making these colleges tuition free at current enrollment levels would cost $368 million a year. Tiara would also support making on-campus room and board free at Rhode Island College and Providence College, as that is often the bulk of student fees. That would cost the state another $313 million a year, bringing the total to $681million per year. In reality, as many students are on financial aid, the price would be far lower. This would be less than 6% of the total budget, and is a fraction (¼) of what Rhode Island currently spends on public schools. 

And by encouraging low-income students to attend college, Rhode Island will reap the benefits of greater future earnings in the form of higher taxes.

Our teachers are currently being severely underpaid in the United States. The teacher pay gap--the gap between teacher pay and comparable professions--reached an all-time high in 2017, as teachers are paid 23% less than other college graduates. In Rhode Island, average teacher salary is 10th best in the nation, and the teacher pay gap is negligible. However, we are still far behind Massachusetts and Connecticut in both average starting salary and average salary. In addition, Rhode Island is experiencing a teacher shortage, with 100 open positions just among Providence public schools. With more and more students expected to enroll in school in the coming years, a teacher shortage will severely impede our state’s ability to provide quality education to every student. It’s time to increase teacher salaries in this state to attract more new teachers and adequately compensate those who are already working hard to teach the next generation of Rhode Islanders.

We have a serious lack of diversity in the system. White teachers make up 98% of Providence public school teachers, which is a serious problem. Studies show that black teachers benefit black students. With students of color making up 91% of the Providence school district, this large majority is suffering from such a uniform teaching body. In addition, students of all races prefer having a teacher of color. In a school system where students feel no incentive to learn, the issue is only exacerbated by the backgrounds of many teachers. Students have voiced concerns that white teachers, who do not recognize their own bias, have expressed shock or suspicion when black students perform well. While people rightly support affirmative action and pushing for minorities to get into schools, we need a similar movement on the teaching side. In Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, the US District Court of Louisiana instructed the school board to fill vacant positions with qualified black applicants. This order was not carried out for 35 years, until 2010, but its effects were striking, with new hires being far more likely to be black compared to the rest of the state.

It’s time to implement a similar policy in our Rhode Island schools. In Philadelphia, a new program, Aspiring to Educate, is being instituted to recruit good high school students of color with an interest in teaching, and have them take some college level courses in high school. These students will then enroll in a partner institute of higher education for college, and be given full or partial financial assistance as well as training, in order to prepare them to be teachers after graduation. School boards across Rhode Island should fill vacant positions with qualified minority applicants to achieve a more representative group of teachers, and should also follow this Philadelphia model and provide incentives to students of color to become teachers. In addition, we should look to recruit teachers from neighboring states like Massachusetts or Connecticut through teacher reciprocity. Tiara will also fight to require Rhode Island to take certifications from teachers certified in other New England states, with no other prerequisites.

Sex education is a vital part of the educational experience for any student. It is supported by almost every major public health and medical organization, and teen pregnancy rates are lower among students who receive sex ed. In addition, given how impactful teachers can be on students, teaching students about consent, sexual orientation and identity, and contraception will help students be more knowledgeable, comfortable, and safe. Rhode Island is currently one of many states that does not require the importance of consent to be covered. Every student in the country should understand what consent means, that it is affirmative and voluntary, that it cannot be given by someone who is being threatened, is drunk, or has not expressly given consent.

Tiara supports a bill that would mandate consent to be taught in schools, so that students understand how to approach sexual encounters. It is important to note that teaching sex education does not make adolescents more likely to have sex. It simply means that those who are already engaging in these activities are able to do in a more safe manner. In addition, there are students who might not be aware of their sexual orientation or identity. Sex education will simply give every student the knowledge and resources to understand and feel comfortable with who they are, with no exceptions.