Rhode Island
About Us
Rhode Island is perhaps best known for its miles of coastline and centuries of history. As one of the oldest cities in the nation, Providence, Rhode Island’s capital, continues to function as a cultural hub of greater New England. Today, in addition to its sandy shores and autumn leaves, Rhode Island is renowned for its delicious cuisine, vibrant communities, and a culture of arts and innovation. Rhode Island is a small state, but it packs a big personality.
We are looking for leaders who are not afraid to tackle challenges that are steeped in nuance and tradition. Once the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution, Rhode Island is now struggling to find its identity in the 21st century. The educational landscape has failed to adjust as jobs moved from manufacturing to the service industry, and as a high school diploma and college degree have become increasingly necessary to start a career. Today, educators are embracing innovative learning strategies, including the use of technology, to fully prepare students for careers in an ever-evolving future.
With currently one third of students in the Providence Public School District identifying as English Learners, we have a huge opportunity to educate the next generation of leaders in Rhode Island. However, current education results for English Learners remains disproportionately low. We need leaders who are committed to ensuring that all students in Rhode Island have access to a quality public education.
Since its founding in 2010, Teach For America Rhode Island has worked to empower both corps members and alumni to work towards the day when all students in our community have access to an excellent education. Informed and inspired by their students, many alumni choose to teach in high-need schools and communities beyond their two-year commitments. Others lead from sectors that shape the context and conditions in which schools operate—as school and district leaders, policy makers, founders of advocacy organizations, social entrepreneurs, and business, philanthropic, and civic leaders working to make change. Whether you choose to study policy at the Brown University Education Policy Program Program, or explore your leadership in other ways, as a Rhode Island corps member you will work alongside a community of leaders who are passionate about creating opportunities for Rhode Island’s students.
Teaching Here
With an area of just 1,214 square miles, Rhode Island is our nation's smallest state, but that means your impact can be large. As a corps member working in partnership with veteran teachers, community organizations, and local universities, you’ll be part of a powerful movement to expand educational opportunities. You'll experience firsthand that change is possible, and scalable, across the Ocean State.
As part of Teach For America Rhode Island you will be part of a community building upon almost a decade of partnerships with Providence and Central Falls public schools, as well as charter schools serving students from Providence, Central Falls, and Pawtucket. This year, more than 50 corps members and over 200 alumni are demonstrating what leadership looks like across the state. You’ll join teachers like Erlin Rogel, who, after graduating from Roger Williams University School of Law, returned to teach at Gilbert Stuart Middle School, the same school he attended while growing up in Rhode Island; Jenna Spencer, who worked with her students to launch the state’s first high school chapter of the NAACP; and Ammar Zia, who discovered, after moving across the country for his first year of teaching, that his students are partners and leaders in creating a more inclusive and equitable future for all of us.
The majority of corps members teach in Providence, which places you just an hour’s drive from Boston and three hours from New York City. In Providence you’ll find great, affordable housing, food, and entertainment options. From this vibrant city, you’ll find it easy to explore Rhode Island’s beaches and countryside, with 400 miles of coastline and more than 100 public and private beaches that offer a beautiful place for after-school reflection and activity.
Core Cities
Providence
Providence
Known as the Creative Capital, Providence is often considered the state’s cultural, economic, and educational hub. From a lively arts and culture scene, to phenomenal restaurants, world-class college and universities, Providence is a place where you can always find something new and exciting. Come experience all that Providence has to offer.
Pawtucket
Pawtucket
Pawtucket is a city with a special place in the industrial history of the United States. The city of Pawtucket today includes major residential areas, and convenient links to the other major metropolitan areas via Interstate 95.
Photo Credit: Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Central Falls
Central Falls
Central Falls has an area of 1.3 square miles and claims to be the nation’s smallest city. It is filled with rich culture and thriving small businesses.
Photo credit: John Phelan, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Woonsocket
Woonsocket
Woonsocket, Rhode Island is a vibrant, urban community that offers the right blend of exciting city life and cozy small town comfort.
Photo credit: Marcbela, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Certification and Graduate School
Teach For America Rhode Island is currently the only approved Alternative Certification Program in the state of Rhode Island. You can read more about program completers and the percent hired after program completion here and here. Additionally, you can read more about Teach For America Rhode Island’s program in our Performance Report, where we were approved by the Rhode Island Department of Education for 5 years with no conditions. You can read our full report here.
The partnership with Rhode Island College (RIC) was developed with input from 2010 and 2011 corps members and is taught by professors from RIC. During the year, corps members take four or five courses that lead to initial certification as either an elementary teacher for grades 1-6 or a secondary teacher for grades 7-12 in a specific content area (math or biology, for example).
The region supports a yearly cohort of secondary corps members in special education roles. If you are interested in supporting this incredibly important and hard-to-fill placement, let us know. We are happy to help you pursue certification as a special education teacher.
Providence and the greater Providence metropolitan area is home to a growing community of immigrant families from around the world. In fact, the students and families of Providence Public Schools speak 55 different languages and hail from 91 countries of origin. Many Teach For America Rhode Island corps members support our incredible community of multilingual learners, and support students as they learn English as a second language (ESL). If you are interested in supporting students in ESL and are placed in an ESL or dual language classroom, we will support you in applying for an emergency permit and help you map out a pathway to full ESL certification, if you would like to complete the pathway. This will likely include taking additional coursework during the summer after your first year through a local university. You do not need to complete the ESL pathway to fulfill your corps commitment, and we are happy to support you through a process that does not require you to take additional coursework if that is what you prefer. The same process is true for candidates who are interested in teaching middle school (grades 6-8).
Your certification classes with Rhode Island College meet weekly and cover educational topics including curriculum and assessment, teaching literacy across the curricula, education for all students, and integrating theory and methods.
Certification classes meet weekly and cover the following topics: curriculum and assessment, teaching literacy across the curricula, education for all students, and integrating theory and methods.
Brown offers a part-time, two-year program for corps members to obtain a master's degree in urban education policy (UEP). This program starts between year one and year two of teaching and many corps members choose to continue teaching for a third year as they finish the UEP program. The program admits a number of corps members each year and offers several benefits, including 25 percent discounted tuition, a reduced course load, and the potential for additional partial or full scholarships. Learn more here.
RIC offers an individualized master's degree in education that can be tailored toward a corps member’s specific interests in the education sector. Many corps members pursue this option each year as all of their coursework from their certification classes is included in this degree. Thus, they are able to finish this degree by the end of their two-year commitment. Learn more here.
Preparing Teachers to Meet the Right to Read Act Requirements
At Teach For America, Rhode Island (TFA-RI), we are committed to equipping our Corps Members (CMs) with the knowledge and skills necessary to deliver effective literacy instruction in alignment with the Right to Read Act (2019) and the guidance proposed by the Rhode Island Department of Education. Through a robust program of coursework and applied learning, TFA-RI ensures all CMs are prepared to meet the Act's requirements, particularly in the areas of Science of Reading and Structured Literacy instruction.
TFA's literacy training integrates the latest research-based practices from the Science of Reading. During Pre-Service training, Corps Members engage in asynchronous coursework and synchronous sessions focused on:
- Understanding conceptual models like the Simple View of Reading and Scarborough's Rope.
- Building a foundation in the five key components of reading as outlined by the National Reading Panel: phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
- Exploring anti-racist, culturally relevant pedagogies to provide equitable and rigorous literacy instruction.
TFA-RI prioritizes Structured Literacy to ensure systematic, explicit instruction in foundational reading skills with our partners at Rhode Island College. Corps Members learn to:
- Implement strategies for phonological awareness, decoding, and sight recognition.
- Design lessons using Universal Design for Learning principles to meet diverse learner needs.
- Integrate instructional routines that develop fluency and support comprehension.
TFA emphasizes literacy leadership across all grade levels and content areas. Corps Members synthesize their learning through:
- Practical application in real-world scenarios during regional placements.
- Training in text complexity and close reading strategies to engage students with complex grade-level texts.
- Collaborative discussions and formative assessment practices to support continuous learning and improvement.
TFA believes that literacy is the cornerstone of educational equity and liberation. Our program prepares teachers to lead with a strong literacy foundation, empowering students to succeed academically and beyond.
Our Impact
Our Impact
Rhode Island is making significant strides toward closing its opportunity gap. Graduation rates in Rhode Island have been climbing steadily, and for the class of 2017, the graduation rate reached an all-time high of 84.1%. Results released by the College Board showed a record number of Rhode Island students taking AP exams, demonstrating that more and more students in the state are on a path to college and career readiness.
While there is still much to be done, Teach For America Rhode Island’s 294 alumni and corps alumni are among the countless educators, activists, parents, and community leaders who have pushed to raise the bar for educational excellence in Rhode Island since 2010. And we remain committed to expanding the number of educators who are working to make educational excellence a reality for every student in Rhode Island.
Rhode Island's Alumni Leaders
Angélica Infante-Green, Commissioner of Education
Angélica Infante-Green, Commissioner of Education
Angélica Infante-Green (New York '94) began her career as a bilingual classroom teacher in the South Bronx where she was a Teach For America corps member before moving to Community School District 6 in the heart of Washington Heights in 1995. Since leaving the classroom, Infante-Green has served in a variety of roles focused on improving instruction for all students, and particularly for students learning English. She served as the Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Instructional Support P-12, before transitioning to her current role as Rhode Island’s Commissioner of Education. Infante-Green is the first Latina and the first woman of color to lead the Rhode Island Department of Education.
Julia Rafal-Baer, COO, Chiefs for Change
Julia Rafal-Baer, COO, Chiefs for Change
Julia Rafal-Baer, Ph.D (New York '94) joined Teach For America in 2004, where she began her career as a special education teacher in the Bronx. Julia went on to become Assistant Commissioner of the New York State Education Department where she was responsible for the strategy, management, and implementation of teacher and leader initiatives under the state’s Race to the Top grant, Teacher Incentive Fund grant, and other state-wide initiatives. Today, Julia lives in Rhode Island and serves as Chief Operating Officer of Chiefs for Change, a nonprofit network of bipartisan state and city education leaders.
Stephanie Downey-Toledo, Interim Superintendent, Central Falls School District
Stephanie Downey-Toledo, Interim Superintendent, Central Falls School District
Stephanie Downey Toledo (Los Angeles '03) joined Teach For America in 2003, where she taught in Los Angeles. During her time in the corps, Stephanie was selected as a Sue Lehman Regional Finalist. Before coming to Rhode Island, Stephanie served as the Deputy Chief Operating Officer for the Division of Students with Disabilities & English Language Leaders at the New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE). Stephanie currently serves as the Interim Superintendent of Central Falls School District in Rhode Island.
Approximately
85%
of our alumni work in roles impacting low-income communities.
8.4% or
28
of our total alumni work as education nonprofit leaders.
14% or
45
of our total alumni are school or school system leaders.
Approximately
85%
of our alumni work in roles impacting low-income communities.
8.4% or
28
of our total alumni work as education nonprofit leaders.
14% or
45
of our total alumni are school or school system leaders.
Local Leadership
Michael Broschart
Rhode Island '11
Executive Director
TFA Rhode Island
Michael began his career as a Teach For America Rhode Island corps member and teacher in Providence Public Schools. The passion, creativity, and tenacity of those working for change in the smallest but mightiest state continue to inspire him. He is committed to working with and for others to drive lasting change so that all kids can access an excellent education.
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Support Our Work
Our champions and friends are the ones to see us through steep challenges, and keep us focused on the great possibilities ahead. As a champion, you are helping a network of Teach For America corps members and alumni to educate more than 8,900 students every day. Thank you for seeing the possibilities and for choosing to invest in Rhode Island’s future.