The Pawtucket School Committee passed the school budget for the 2016-2017 unanimously on May 10th, and the City Council approved it on May 25th. Without any dissension, the city of Pawtucket seems to be in agreement that additional funds totaling…
Smith Hill Report highlights, May 2016
Empowerment Schools The RIFTHP urges members to let the Assembly know of their opposition to the Governor’s Empowerment Schools proposal by using the following link: (petition). The proposal would impair school district funding, entangle RIDE in member ratification votes, and…
Smith Hill Report, 5-13-16
May 13, 2016 Changes at The Assembly After the abrupt resignation of Representative Raymond Gallison, the Speaker appointed Representative Marvin Abney to Chair the important House Finance Committee. Since the resignation was late in the legislative year, there will not…
The Case Against VAM in New York
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of the State of New York sided with educators in the fight against VAM (value-added modeling), calling an algorithm-based teacher evaluation “arbitrary and capricious.” Long Island fourth-grade teacher and union member Sheri Lederman bravely took…
Pawtuket School Committee Meeting, Tuesday, May 10th
Educational Meetings about Medicare Planning
To assist our members with the daunting task of “Medicare Planning”; we have aligned with the trusted team at Legacy Benefit Advisors (LBA). Their assistance is available at NO CHARGE, and they describe the folks that can benefit from attending as being in one of…