Nicole Bucka for EG Schools

09/11/2025

We remember those who lost their lives on . We honor and pay tribute to their memory. If you're experiencing emotional distress, help is available ➡️ samhsa.gov/find-help

09/11/2025

What we SHOULD be talking about 💔 As of September 11, 2025, there have been at least 90 incidents of gunfire on school grounds in the United States, with definitions varying by source. Everytown for Gun Safety's K-12 School Shooting Database tracked 91 incidents through the same date, including events where guns were discharged but no one was shot.

A male suspect died of self-inflicted injuries after opening fire and critically injuring two students on the grounds of Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Colo.

07/09/2025

Congratulations to Dr. Kenworthy on his appointment! As a former School Committee member and parent of two children with special needs in EG public school system, I’m thrilled by this choice. I trust Dr. Kenworthy is a great fit and look forward to his engagement with families through SEAC and his commitment to moving forward our shared vision that All Means All.

Above: Tom Kenworthy and his wife, Elizabeth Kenworthy, with their children, from left, Tamsin, Victoria and Jackson. The EG resident has been superintendent in Portsmouth for the past 5 years The School Committee Tuesday night appointed Thomas Kenworthy as the district’s new superintendent, appro...

06/06/2025

This proposal would take money away from programs that support young children, train teachers, help families, and protect students’ rights, and shift it to a general special education fund with fewer rules. While it may *sound* like an increase in flexibility, it could lead to fewer supports and protections for students with disabilities.
https://exceptionalchildren.org/blog/budget-department-education-released-proposes-elimination-key-idea-programs

05/30/2025

Special ed families & educators - stay engaged. Impact isn't felt immediately, but it is coming.

(from CASE update) The House of Representatives has passed its “reconciliation” bill. As a reminder, reconciliation is a process that allows for expedited consideration of tax, spending, and debt limit legislation. Reconciliation is not part of regular “appropriations” (annual funding) and rarely touches discretionary funding for education programs, including IDEA. However, the House bill does touch some areas of deep concern for special education:

While the bill doesn’t specifically mention school-based Medicaid, it includes significant changes to the Medicaid program that could result in cuts to or elimination of funding for school services.

Changes to Pell grant eligibility, limits on and elimination of certain types of federal student loans, and changes in loan repayment could affect the serious educator shortage situation.

The bill includes the Educational Choice for Children Act, a tax credit for contributions to scholarship granting organizations which would, in turn, be given as private school vouchers – in short, using public funds for private education.

Other programs that support families, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also receive deep cuts and changes in eligibility.

05/30/2025

From the Institute of Education Sciences, a part of the U.S. Department of Education, is the nation's leading source for rigorous, independent education research, evaluation, statistics, and assessment.

Rhode Island has invested substantial resources in early college opportunities for high school students in an effort to increase college degree attainment. The Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast & Islands collaborated with the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) and the Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner (RIOPC) to investigate the impact and costs of participation in each of the state’s three early college opportunities—dual enrollment, concurrent enrollment, and Advanced Placement—on college enrollment and persistence. For each early college opportunity, researchers examined the costs associated with providing the program beyond the cost of a typical high school course, and the per-student cost associated with improved outcomes. To evaluate program impacts, this study used data for first-time grade 9 students in Rhode Island public schools who graduated high school on time in the 2014/15 school year. To examine costs, researchers drew on statewide administrative records and conducted interviews with staff from a sample of 12 local education agencies.

Key findings include the following:

Dual enrollment, concurrent enrollment, and Advanced Placement each had a statistically significant positive effect on college enrollment within one year of high school graduation, as well as on students’ being enrolled in college two years after high school graduation.
Average estimated annual incremental per-pupil costs for the early college programs in 2017/18 ranged widely both overall—from $900 to $6,400—and within each program.
The cost-per-outcome for each program also ranged widely, with the highest costs per outcome seen for dual enrollment.
Because dual enrollment in Rhode Island reaches a higher proportion of historically underserved students than either AP or concurrent enrollment, the higher costs may reflect the resources required to support these students successfully.
RIDE and RIOPC can use the findings from this study to inform policy decisions on early college opportunity scale up and expanded access. Policymakers nationwide can use the findings to make informed decisions about supporting students’ access to similar programs offered in their states.

Read the report at: https://ies.ed.gov/use-work/resource-library/report/descriptive-study/rel-report-cost-effectiveness-providing-early-college-opportunities-rhode-island.

05/22/2025

Families, RI's Math Extravaganza is just a few days away! Join us at the Rhode Island Nursing Education Complex (RINEC) on May 31, 2025, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. The celebration is free and open to all, but registration is necessary. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/math-extravaganza-math-matters-ri-count-us-in-tickets-1335400261129?msockid=2c21595290ca6adb33b54c4e91b86b34
We hope that you can join us and help us spread the word.
In addition to food, prizes, and fun games and activities, educators will be able to earn Professional Learning Units (PLUs) but must fill out this registration form for sessions as soon as possible.

04/21/2025

Interesting recent research on what investments a community should make with their limited local school funding for best impact

The debate over how influential financial resources are for schools and educational outcomes has been going on since at least the 1960s. One recent study, from a trio of researchers from Yale, the Public Policy Institute of California, and UC Santa Cruz, sheds new light on how resources directed towards school facilities can impact student achievement, which investments have the greatest impact, and for whom the impact is greatest.

This innovative study drew on a particular form of capital investments, bonds, which are typically issued by school districts and voted on by constituents in bond referenda items on election ballots. These bond referenda set out the intended use of the funds, project costs, and projected increases to local housing taxes. Bonds may set aside funding for classroom space, infrastructure (plumbing, roofs, furnaces, HVAC systems, etc.), IT facilities and labs, building adjustments to comply with health and safety standards, athletic facilities, land purchases, and vehicles procurement (school buses, for instance).

The researchers took data related to bond elections, combined with school district finances, school enrollment and demographic data, student academic achievement scores, and housing prices across the U.S. from as early as 1994 in some states, and 2003-2019 in most. Their dataset covered 12,370 bond elections across 29 states.

Overall, they found that bond authorizations raise capital outlays per student by about $1,500 in the first five years after authorization, with test scores increasing by +0.10 district-level standard deviations after eight years. In addition, they found that the positive impacts of bond authorizations on test scores were concentrated in districts with large shares of free- and reduced-price lunch eligible students or minority (Black and Hispanic or Latino/a) students.

The authors were also able to delve into differences in impact of different bond categories. Specifically, they found that only some expenditures had an effect on student test scores: HVAC (ES = +0.20 over 3-6 years post-election), renovations to plumbing, roofs, furnaces, or STEM equipment (ES = +0.17), safety and health improvements (ES = +0.16), and classroom space (ES = +0.12). These findings are in line with recent research on the negative impact of excessive heat and toxic materials in schools on student achievement and cognitive outcomes. In contrast, bonds for athletic facilities, land purchases, and transportation had statistically significant or near-zero impacts on student achievement. Using time-specific estimates, they were further able to estimate that the impact of HVAC bonds peaks 3-5 years post-election and then fades out quickly, while infrastructure, safety and health, and STEM bonds saw slower fade out effects.

In these times of lower school funding and loss of federal support, it is important for school districts and states to consider carefully how to spend their available funding. These findings point to some important types of funding that may be most beneficial and for whom the funds may be most meaningful. https://www.nber.org/papers/w32040

03/05/2025

2025 Parenting Matters Conference

Bradley Hospital presents its 34th Parenting Matters Conference on Saturday, March 22, 2025. This half-day event offers parents, childcare providers, social workers, and teachers a unique opportunity to learn from top child development and behavior professionals in a casual setting.

Keynote Presentation: Jacqueline Nesi, PhD, will present "Supporting Youth Mental Health in the Digital Age: Smartphones, Social Media, and Your Child."

Breakout Sessions: At the Parenting Matters conference, parents, caregivers, and professionals can benefit from the wisdom of additional top child development and behavior professionals. Breakout sessions will be chosen with the chat feature on Zoom. https://www.brownhealth.org/centers-services/parenting-matters/parenting-matters-conference

02/24/2025

Trinity Rep's Write Here! Write Now! Program Accepting Submissions!

Trinity Rep’s annual playwriting competition for high school students, Write Here! Write Now! is accepting submissions for this year's competition. Students in grades 9-12 living in New England are invited to submit up to two original short plays (6-10 pages) by March 3, 2025, at 11:59 PM. For more information, including a study guide with a five-day lesson plan, please visit our website. https://www.trinityrep.com/education/children-teens/write-here-write-now/

02/24/2025

Student Opportunity at Roger Williams Park Zoo

Join the Zoo Team! The Roger Williams Park Zoo is excited to be recruiting applicants for our teen volunteer programs for 2025. Any students interested in the environment and animals and enjoy being part of a team are encouraged to apply!

Play Partner Volunteers (ages 16+)

Play Partner volunteers facilitate and support children’s free play at Hasbro’s Big Backyard at the Roger Williams Park Zoo. In this space, Play Partners help families create memories through outdoor play experiences that connect them to the natural world. While this position doesn’t work with handling or caring for animals, the Big Backyard space is home to animal exhibits including our ravens, the natural wildlife of the neighboring wetlands, and outdoor play areas. This volunteer opportunity is a great way to grow skills and experience with play-based early childhood education and to explore the introduction of environmental education at the developmental level with infants through elementary ages. Deadline to apply is February 28, 2025.

For more information and to apply visit our website: https://www.rwpzoo.org/volunteer-teens/.