Education
Why are Brown students leading the opposition to their university’s tax deal with Providence?
Niyanta Nepal arrived at Brown University eager to join what she believed was a “liberal, socially-conscious institution.” That excitement quickly waned. One turning point weeks into her freshman year came during a meeting of the Students for Educational Equity (SEE), in which a fellow student and club leader shared a shocking fact: Brown does not […]
It’s hazing season on college campuses. State safeguards are uneven.
Max Gruver spent the early morning hours of Sept. 14, 2017, heavily intoxicated and passed out on a couch inside the Phi Delta Theta chapter house at Louisiana State University. He had been forced to repeatedly chug 190-proof Diesel liquor in a hazing ritual called “Bible Study,” during which pledges are quizzed on fraternity facts. […]
Shaken by post-pandemic disruptions, some states take a harder line on school discipline
Parents in Boone County, Kentucky, were outraged this past January when a ninth grader who had been suspended a year earlier for threatening violence against his fellow students returned to class as soon as his punishment time was up. The parents packed a school board meeting, excoriating the county superintendent and other officials for the […]
Massachusetts wants updated MCAS to consider student ‘experiences’
Its future as a graduation requirement may be the subject of much back and forth, but the MCAS test is still in line for a refresh. Amid critiques that the standardized assessment can tend to further marginalize some students, the Healey administration seems to want to emphasize cultural sensitivity in designing the new test. How […]
How vital is Massachusetts’ MCAS high school graduation requirement?
When it comes to debate over the Bay State’s Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) high school graduation requirement, the monthly meeting of its Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on Tuesday, Sept. 19, may have been a preview of coming arguments. During public comment testimony, leaders of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the state’s largest teachers […]
Three R.I. higher education institutions make region’s top 10 on college rankings list
Providence College and Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) tied with Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, for the top spot among regional higher education institutions in the 2024 U.S. News & World Report College and University Best Colleges rankings. Brown University, the Ivy League school with a 5% acceptance rate, cracked the top 10 nationally, […]
Turnover plans on state school takeovers to take shape in coming weeks
PROVIDENCE — Rhode Island education officials Tuesday launched the process to establish regulations transitioning schools under state takeover to local control. The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education heard a presentation on the process by officials from the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) during its meeting at RIDE offices in downtown Providence. The meeting […]
R.I. Commerce approves property transfer required for Bryant University expansion
When Fidelity Investments Inc. announced in June it was gifting a building from its Smithfield campus to Bryant University, it left out one small but very important caveat. The financial services firm didn’t actually own the building at 100 Salem St., so it wasn’t theirs to give away. Now, it is. Rhode Island Commerce Corporation […]
Department of Human Services nets $5OOK for early child care
The Rhode Island Department of Human Services (DHS) is getting $500,000 in federal cash to support early learning providers looking to expand or enhance their spaces, U.S. Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) announced Friday. Money comes from an earmark in the $1.7 trillion fiscal year 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act passed by the […]
Bally’s donates $5 million to CCRI to develop casino-related curriculum
LINCOLN — Bally’s is hedging its bets that the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) will make the state New England’s gaming hub. The Providence-based casino giant on Thursday afternoon announced the donation of $5 million to CCRI to develop and launch new educational programs in the gaming, hospitality, and security industries. Bally’s investment represents […]
Hit the snooze button: States debate later high school start times
California and Florida have become the first states to require later public school start times, a response to reams of research showing significant advantages for high school students who can get more sleep by beginning their day at 8:30 a.m. or later. But such changes come with difficult ripple effects — upended bus schedules, later starts […]
Providence City Council starts vetting proposed PILOT agreements with higher eds
PROVIDENCE — City Council members have many questions about proposed deals unveiled last week by Mayor Brett Smiley in which Brown University and three other tax-exempt higher education institutions would voluntarily pay the city a combined total of $223.4 million over the next 20 years. But they weren’t satisfied by the answers they received from […]