January 24, 2002

Present:

Chairman DiPrete, P. Guida, M. Mancieri, Rep. Crowley, G. Grove., V. Perez, Sen. Gallo, and J. Gaines

Public Remarks:

Rodolfo A. Vargas, President of the Latin American Professionals Organization of Rhode Island, Inc., and member of the Children's First Coalition, addressed the Board with concerns regarding the Providence school system as follows:

• Central High School lost accreditation under Diana Lam's leadership. Parents are very concerned about what kind of diploma their kids get in three years;

• More than 40% of students in 6th to 12th grade have missed at least 40 days of school during the school years 1999 - 2001;

• Diana Lam requested that the Board of Regents create a Waiver for certification for administrators that are not qualified when there are minorities that are qualified and already certified in and out of the system.

• Diana Lam has no assessment program developed for the school system.

Mr. Vargas urged the Board to continue thinking about taking over the Providence School System.

• Steven Fishback, Parent and member of the Children's First Coalition, thanked Commissioner McWalters for a quick response to a request for a meeting. He also addressed the Board with regards to problems in the Providence School System, i.e., the compact with the city of Providence no longer exists; the Department of Education and the Providence School System need to establish benchmarks. Mr. Fishback said that the state needs to assist Providence with reform efforts. There is definitely a need for greater intervention by the state in Providence. Last year, the Children's First Coalition urged the General Assembly to tie funding to specified reform efforts, such as the lengthening of the school day, the development of a plan to reduce class size, and a plan to address the drop-out rate.

• Bloddom D. Kirschenbaum, a parent of children formerly in the Providence School System, also addressed the Board about problems with education in general and specifically in Providence. She urged members of the Board to keep closer "tabs" on Providence schools.

Chairman Remarks:

Chairman DiPrete reported that there would be briefings for various education, community, and business people on the school performance categories. A schedule of the rollout sessions was distributed and the Chairman urged members to attend as many as possible.

Approval of Minutes:

The minutes of the Board of Regents meeting of January 10, 2002 were approved as presented.

School Performance Categories: 1998 - 2001:

Commissioner McWalters reported that on Saturday, January 26, staff from the Department and the Regents will meet with Superintendents and School Committee members to talk about the process used to categorize schools and how those reports would be distributed statewide. The Commissioner emphasized the impact that the school categorizing reports will have on ongoing, statewide discussions about school accountability, expectations, and capacity.

Deputy Commissioner Todd Flaherty reviewed, in detail, the process that will be used to "roll out" the reports. The Superintendents are scheduled to receive the information on their schools on February 5, 2002, along with an eight or nine-page technical assistance document. The schools will then have thirty days to review the groupings before they will be scheduled to respond.

Regent Guida urged that the message continue to be focused on cooperation between and among all of the stakeholders to improve education. He also urged the Department to encourage members of the public to come forward and request a presentation so that everyone will understand the process. Representative Crowley requested that the Department investigate the authority of the Commissioner and the Board to impact school improvement initiatives. The Commissioner assured the Board that aggressive action would be taken to ensure that everything possible is being done to improve education.

Update on Special Education Regulations - Personnel:

Director of Special Education, Tom DiPaola, told the Board that under the Chairmanship of Representative Paul Sherlock, the Children with Disabilities Study has conducted studies looking at Rhode Island's special education personnel requirements and has released its recommendations. The Department met with Doctors Sherlock and Dickson to discuss the findings and recommendations will be brought before the Regents for consideration sometime in the near future.

Dr. DiPaola said that for the second year, Rhode Island is the leader in the nation with regards to identifying children with special education needs. The group requested the Dr. DiPaola come to the Board with a progress report in a couple of months.

Approval of Member to the Wm. M. Davies, Jr. Career and Technical High School Board of Trustees:

RECOMMENDATION: THAT, The Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education approve the appointment of Mr. Guy A. Medaglia to fill the vacancy left by Rosemarie Hayes on the Wm. M. Davies, Jr. Career and Technical High School Board of Trustees.

VOTE: Approved unanimously

Committee Reports:

Progressive Support and Intervention: Regent Guida briefly reviewed the work of the Progressive Support and Intervention committee (as outlined previously). The group then discussed how the work of the Department/school intervention was lining up with the newly enacted federal legislation on failing schools, testing, and AYP. Commissioner McWalters outlined the legislation and told members that the Department would continue to monitor it closely.

Commissioner's Report:

The Commissioner reported on his trip to Singapore and Japan, giving the group a short overview of the school system and resources, as well as a review of the school day.

Executive Session:

As per R.I.G.L. 42-46-5, the meeting adjourned at 6:45 pm for Executive Session.

The meeting reconvened to open session at 7:50pm.

MOVED AND SECONDED: THAT, the Board of Regents Approve an Extension of Leave without Pay to RIDE Employee, Zawandi Hawkins through June 30, 2002.

VOTE: Approved Unanimously

Adjournment:

The meeting adjourned at 7:55pm with no objections.