May 9, 2012
Hear about a student's positive experience in a Teach For America corps member classroom at Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School in Providence.
Get to Know Brown's Master of Urban Education Policy Program
Brown University and Teach For America formed a graduate school partnership in urban education policy in 2011. Teach For America teachers in Rhode Island who are accepted to Brown's Master of Urban Education Policy (UEP) program can enroll in the program part-time and earn their degrees while teaching full-time in Rhode Island's highest-need public schools. This partnership provides a unique opportunity for Rhode Island corps members and alumni to both inform discussion based on practice, and understand the impact of policy in their classrooms on a daily basis.
The UEP program is a 12-month, master's-level program leading to a master of arts in urban education policy. The program is dedicated to the study of policy analysis, planning, and development in urban public education. The tightly-focused academic curriculum, integrated with a nine-month internship, is designed to impart a set of core skills and competencies that are necessary for successful careers in urban education policy. The UEP program also provides a solid foundation for those anticipating advanced study in areas related to urban education policy.
At least one Teach For America corps member accepted to the UEP program each year will serve as a UEP Urban Education Fellow, committing to serve in Rhode Island's urban public schools for at least three years in exchange for loan forgiveness from the university. Over the past two years, three Teach For America corps members have been selected as Urban Education Fellows: Kate Bubrick '10, Drew Milligan '10 and Tara Zimonjic '11. Kate, Drew and Tara will all continue to work in their schools next year.
Region Timeline
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Influenced by the Quakers, Rhode Island enacts a law that both frees slaves and stipulates that all of their children be taught to read and write.
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Residents form the Rhode Island Institute of Instruction (later called the National Education Association Rhode Island) to advocate for schools. The Association becomes the oldest and largest professional non-profit education organization in continuous service to Rhode Islanders.
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George Downing, George Henry, and other members of the African American community wage a campaign to outlaw school segregation in Rhode Island. In 1866, after a decade of petitioning, the Rhode Island State Legislature makes it illegal to deny students admission to public schools based on race.
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Maritcha Lyons, a refugee of the 1863 New York Draft Riots, becomes the first African American to enroll at Providence High School.
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The enactment of the School Teachers' Arbitration Act—or Michaelson Act—gives teachers the right to negotiate with their school committees, and obligates school committees to negotiate with their teachers. This marks the beginning of a new era, and a new Association role as a labor organization.
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Bruce Sundlun, the newly appointed governor, announces the closure of 45 banks and credit unions in the state due to the collapse of their private insurer, the Rhode Island Share and Deposit Indemnity Corporation (RISDIC). The impact of the credit union crisis on the economy leads to significant cuts to education and social welfare programs.
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Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist identifies five Providence schools and Central Falls High School as the persistently lowest-achieving schools in Rhode Island. These schools are subject to state intervention, and the superintendents have 45 (business) days to convene a stakeholder group and select one of the models for school reform.
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Following their $75 million Race to the Top grant the previous year to transform education across the state, the U.S. Department of Education selects Rhode Island as one of nine winners of the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge grant for $50 million over four years.
Overheard
As a man of color, I represent academic success for my students. I am not only pushing my students to strive academically but my mere presence in the classroom tells them academic success is possible.
Rhode Island Corps 2010
Press
May 2, 2012
"An astounding 14 percent of Brown University seniors graduating later this month applied to the Teach For America (TFA) program this year..."
