Guest MINDSETTER™ Sen. DiPalma: We Can Learn From 19th-Century Education Reform (“Committee of Ten”)
Guest MINDSETTER™ Sen. Louis DiPalma
Guest MINDSETTER™ Sen. DiPalma: We Can Learn From 19th-Century Education Reform (“Committee of Ten”)
In 1892, the “Committee of Ten,” led by Charles Eliot, the president of Harvard University, was established by the National Education Association to evaluate the existing form and structure of education and provide recommendations for the future.
The following year, in 1893, the Committee issued its report recommending that every public school student receive “… eight years of elementary education and four years of secondary education … “
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTUntil that point, public education across the country started at grade 1 and ended at grade 9 – yes, grade 9. This was the education we provided to the vast majority of American students. Only the elite – only families of means who were able to afford secondary education for their children – received more. Secondary education was the exception and not the norm.
Prior to 1893, nine grades of education was deemed necessary and sufficient. The Committee found that nine grades of education was still necessary, but it was no longer sufficient to address the labor demands and emerging economies of that era.
Education in 2017
Fast forward to 2017. As we’ve known for some time now, the economies of today and tomorrow require a workforce with post-secondary education. Since the economic recovery, which began in January 2010, approximately 11.6 million jobs have been created, and of those, greater than 11.5 million, yes 11.5 million, required a post-secondary education/degree. Such staggering figures force us to conclude that a high school education remains necessary, but it is no longer sufficient to meet the demands of today’s labor market.
For many years, we’ve told our students that they need to continue their education beyond high school, but we haven’t taken action to provide every student with the opportunity to do it. So, just like secondary education was at the end of the 19th century, postsecondary education is only available to the children of families with means.
It is my belief that we need to take the next, bold step and make free, K-14 education available to all Rhode Islanders. The Rhode Island’s Promise initiative put forward by Governor Raimondo seeks to address some of the challenges that prevent RI students from securing the needed education level demanded by RI employers. These challenges include high student loan debt and the need to work multiple jobs while going to school, amongst others. The Rhode Island’s Promise Scholarship is designed to help our students limit/overcome these sometimes, insurmountable hurdles.
As a member of the Senate Committee on Finance, I look forward to hearing and actively listening to the expected testimony, and having a robust dialogue on the proposal. I am eager to begin working with my colleagues to ensure the resulting proposal enables Rhode Island students to achieve the necessary and sufficient education they deserve.
As was done subsequent to the Committee of Ten, taking bold action to shape our country’s future, we must take action to ensure that all our students have access to an education that is both necessary and sufficient. This informed, bold proposal calls us to make the right investment so that our students are successful and Rhode Island is successful. The time to act is now!
Louis P. DiPalma is the Democratic state senator representing District 12, Little Compton, Middletown, Newport and Tiverton. He serves as the 1st Vice Chair of the Committee on Finance and a member of the Senate Education Committee.
The Power List - Health and Education, 2016
Inside Man
Russell Carey - A name few outside of Brown’s campus know, but Carey is the power source at the Providence Ivy League institution.
Today, his title is Executive Vice President and he has had almost every title at Brown short of President. Carey is a 1991 graduate of Brown and has never left College Hill.
While Brown’s President Christine Paxson — who is functionally invisible in Rhode Island — is managing alumni affairs and fundraising, Carey is influencing almost everything in Rhode Island.
Top Raimondo Appointment
Nicole Alexander-Scott - MD, MPH, and rock star in the making. As Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, she is fast developing a reputation as someone in the Raimondo Administration who can get things done. Her counsel and leadership on developing a strategy on opioid addiction has been widely been lauded.
In addition, she has handled the mundane - from beach closings to food recalls - with competency. An expert in infectious disease, it may be time for her to become a strong leader on Zika.
The CEO
Ronald Machtley - Bryant University's President rightfully deserves to be on a lot of lists, but what few understand is that Machtley’s influence extends far beyond Bryant’s campus in Smithfield. Machtley could make this list as a business leader or as a political force as much as for education.
Machtley is recognized for transforming Bryant University from a financially struggling regional college to a university with a national reputation for business.
Machtley serves on Amica’s Board and the Rhode Island Foundation, and also serves on the Board of Fantex Brands.
Power Broker
Larry Purtill - While Bob Walsh gets the face time as the Executive Director in the media for the NEA of Rhode Island, NEARI President Purtill tends to be the inside man who gets things done.
The teachers' largest union is formidable, but is still reeling from the beat down it took when Gina Raimondo’s pension reform cut the benefits of teachers disproportionately over other employee groups.
Make no mistake about it - not much happens in education in Rhode Island without Purtill's sign-off.
Visionary
Mim Runey - While Rhode Islanders wait, and wait some more, for development on the 195 land, Johnson and Wale's University's Runey is watching it come to fruition, as JWU is set to open the first completed building on the former Interstate on September 1, when it will host a ribbon cutting for its John J. Bowen Center for Science and Innovation.
Under Runey, JWU continues to establish its foothold as one of the country's top schools for culinary training. Now Runey will oversee the addition of the new building on the old 195 which will house the university's School of Engineering and Design and its biology program.
In 2015, students from the School of Engineering & Design participated in the construction of the Holocaust Memorial on South Main Street, a collaboration between the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island and the Holocaust Education Resource Center of Rhode Island.
A true community partner in every sense, JWU under Runey's watchful eye is expanding to an even greater presence in Providence.
Chairman of the Board
Edwin J. Santos - The former banker is Chairman of the Board of CharterCare, after having been a top executive at Citizens Bank. He has been a board leader for Crossroads, Washington Trust, Rocky Hill School -- you name it and Santos has helped to lead it.
His best work to date just might be at CharterCare, where he has helped the once fledgling hospital (Roger Williams Medical Center) into a growing hospital system.
Lion Tamer
Weber Shill - He serves as the Chief Executive Officer of University Orthopedics, or in other words, dozens and dozens of oh-so-confident docs.
Shill has a background in Engineering and a Masters in Business Administration from the Whitemore School at the University of New Hampshire. Experienced in managing medical groups, but this group is big and influential.
Boss
Timothy Babineau - President and CEO of Lifespan, Rhode Island's biggest healthcare organization, where financial challenges make the job that much more complicated.
Now, the critics (GoLocalProv included) are raising concerns about the multi- billion dollar organization's refusal to make any contribution to the City of Providence. Lifespan is like General Motors, big and hard to innovate the organization.
