June 23, 2017
Opportunity to Comment on Rhode Island's ESSA State Plan
As of June 1, 2017, the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) has posted a draft of its State Plan under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the federal education law that replaced No Child Left Behind. The Plan includes several references to student-centered learning and personalized learning, and Student-Centered Learning Experiences is one of the five categories included in the state's proposed accountability system, along with Ambitious Expectations for Student Achievement, Safe and Supportive Learning Environment, Strategic and Flexible Use of Resources, and High Quality Educators.

Educators, families, and all Rhode Islanders are invited to review the draft plan and provide feedback through June 30, 2017. The draft plan, a comprehensive companion guide, and links for submitting public comment can be found here: www.ride.ri.gov/ESSA. Questions can be directed to ESSA@ride.ri.gov.
Rhode Island's Blended Learning Efforts Featured in The Hechinger Report
Across Rhode Island, schools are experimenting with new ways technology can help teachers tailor lessons to the unique needs of each student. To help share, implement, and scale these practices, the Highlander Institute's Fuse RI program is building teacher leadership by supporting educators to mentor teachers outside their own school districts and serve in leadership roles on administrative teams. To learn more about Fuse RI and Blended Learning efforts in Rhode Island, please see Light a Fuse: How one state's teachers are sparking digital innovation, published in The Hechinger Report.
Nominate a Teacher for the 2017 Lawrence W. O'Toole Teacher Leadership Awards!
For the past five years, the Nellie Mae Education Foundation has honored inspiring individuals, school districts and community organizations that have worked to advance student-centered approaches to learning in their districts through our annual Lawrence W. O'Toole Awards. This year, the O'Toole Awards will focus exclusively on classroom educators who are working on the ground every day to advance and advocate for student-centered approaches at scale. 

From now until July 14th, 2017, the Nellie Mae Education Foundation is accepting nominations for New England public high school teachers who have worked to advance and advocate for student-centered approaches to learning not only in their own classrooms, but at scale. Maybe you know a teacher who has led professional development or coaching around student-centered learning, or a teacher who has advocated for policy change to advance student-centered learning. Up to 12 teachers will be selected to receive $15,000 grants to continue their work of advancing student-centered approaches to learning at scale.
Join Our Mailing List!
Are you interested in specific areas of child well-being? Rhode Island KIDS COUNT publishes E-Newsletters on specific areas related to child well-being: 
  • Children's Health and Health Insurance 
  • Child Welfare/Juvenile Justice 
  • Early Childhood/Early Learning 
  • Student-Centered Learning
  • RI Campaign for Grade-Level Reading 
  • Rhode Island KIDS COUNT also publishes a general interest E-Newsletter. 

Please click here to start receiving these updates today!
For more information about the Student-Centered Learning Initiative, please contact Senior Policy Analyst Stephanie Geller at (401) 351-9400 or sgeller@rikidscount.org.