PROVIDENCE, RI – Today, Governor Dan McKee and the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) highlighted the agency’s accomplishments and commitment to advancing educational equity, supporting mental health, and improving academic outcomes for all students across the state in 2024. Through initiatives and programs that support the whole student, educator, and school system, RIDE continued to drive a unified, strategic approach to leading and supporting school districts. By prioritizing collaboration and efficiency across all offices, RIDE strengthened its focus on policy, advocacy, and governance, creating an environment that expands opportunities for all students.

“From improving school attendance through Learn365RI programs to expanding literacy and math supports across the state, Rhode Island is committed to addressing the unique needs of all learners and promoting academic excellence,” said Governor Dan McKee. “I applaud RIDE for their work over the last year to create programs and support systems that will benefit students, educators, and communities throughout the Ocean State, bringing us closer to our goal of improving student outcomes and reaching Massachusetts levels by 2030. Every home, every day, learning matters, and I’m pleased we are continuing to make progress.” 

“As we reflect on RIDE's accomplishments in 2024, I am proud to share we have made significant strides in supporting our students, educators, and communities, and have positioned Rhode Island as a national leader for our efforts in reducing chronic absenteeism, expanding pathways to college and career, and prioritizing student and educator mental health,” said Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green. "As we continue the 2024-2025 school year, we remain focused on four key areas: attendance, high-quality teaching and learning, college and career readiness, and equity. Together, we will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that every student can thrive.”

RIDE’s accomplishments in 2024 include:

Creating Excellence in Learning

• Through a competitive grant process, the U.S. Department of Education awarded RIDE a $40 million federal grant to support high-quality literacy instruction. The Comprehensive Literacy State Development grant, distributed over the course of five years and contingent on federal funding, complements $5 million in state funding for instructional coaching in mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) for more than 20 schools and districts across the state, with $4 million earmarked for staffing and the remaining $1 million going towards professional development.
• RIDE supported schools and districts in efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism through on-the-ground technical assistance, data dashboards, a new professional development course, the nationally recognized #AttendanceMattersRI campaign, and more. During the 2023-2024 school year, 89% of school districts improved their chronic absenteeism rates, some – including Providence and Newport – significantly. Statewide chronic absenteeism fell to 24.7%, representing a nearly 10-point decline from the height of the pandemic.
• RIDE launched a new partnership with Khan Academy, offering a no-cost opportunity to all local education agencies across Rhode Island to enhance SAT preparation and student success through the integration of Khan Academy Districts and Khanmigo tools. The pilot program will be available for the remainder of the 2024-2025 school year and the full 2025-2026 school year and will provide districts with access to impactful resources that support college and career readiness and broader learning outcomes in their high schools.
• Affirming the hard work of students, educators, administrators, and the state, the U.S. Department of Education named three Rhode Island elementary schools National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2024. Garvin Memorial in Cumberland and Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary in Providence are Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools, while Sowams Elementary School is an Exemplary High Performing School. This marked Providence’s first National Blue Ribbon Award earned by an elementary school.
• Reflecting Governor McKee and the State of Rhode Island’s commitment to extended learning, RIDE awarded a second round of Learn365RI grants to 29 municipalities, whose programs focus on improving attendance, FAFSA completion rates, and academic achievement, among other efforts. The investments around out-of-school learning follow $3.3 million in Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Grants to support community-based organizations and LEAs that provide high-quality afterschool and summer learning programs for students. Contingent on continued federal funding, grant recipients will receive funds for the next five years, totaling more than $15 million in support.?
• RIDE earned the top spot in the nation in a U.S. Department of Education study of career readiness pathways through its robust and innovative approach to preparing students for success in a dynamic workforce. The state met all 15 indicators within five categories: dual enrollment, work-based learning, workforce credentials, career advising and navigation, and an additional foundational category.
• Five Rhode Island school communities were designated as 2024 Green Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education: the Chariho Regional School District, Garden City Elementary School in Cranston, William D’Abate Elementary School and Frank D. Spaziano Elementary School in Providence, and Dunn’s Corners Elementary School in Westerly. The prestigious award is given to schools that have demonstrated their commitment to high-quality sustainability practices in their school facilities and environmental education. Rhode Island remains the top state in New England for Green Ribbon Schools and is the top state in the nation for Green Ribbon Schools per 1,000 schools.??
• To help ensure consistency and quality across school districts, and in alignment with RIGL§ 16.22.30-33, RIDE in collaboration with Rhode Island educators developed and published curriculum frameworks for world language, the arts, and social studies. These guidelines and standards outline goals, expectations, and methods for teaching and learning within schools, and follow the release of math, science, ELA/literacy, and early learning frameworks.

Promoting Equity

• To support the needs of students and assist families and school districts in reaching mutually agreed-upon outcomes, RIDE launched the Facilitated Individualized Education Program (FIEP)/504 Plan Service. This program, supported by state funding, provides neutral facilitation where disagreements may exist and reduces schools’ reliance on formal dispute resolution. The FIEP/504 Plan Service earned a 100% success rate in its first three months of service.
• RIDE received national recognition from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for its extensive efforts around mental health. Further, in line with RIGL § 16-21-41, RIDE presented an ambitious path toward fully integrating trauma-informed practices with its Trauma Informed Schools Commission Final Report: An Addendum to the Implementation Plan and Supporting Materials.
• In late 2024, RIDE began engagement with school districts statewide as they prepare to roll out a virtual mental health program in partnership with Hazel Health. The telehealth services will be available to approximately 130,000 students in school and at home and aims to complement current school- and district-level efforts.
• The Council on Elementary and Secondary Education approved Providence Public School District’s (PPSD) $400 million Phase 4 capital plan that will ensure 100% of students have access to new schools by 2030 – the first time in the City’s history. In November, voters overwhelmingly approved an additional $400 million bond to support school construction, bringing the total to an unprecedented $1 billion.
• The Department announced great strides in AP participation and achievement by being the top state in the nation for the largest 10-year growth in students scoring a 3 or higher on an AP exam during high school. Rhode Island is also sixth in the nation for the largest 10-year growth in the percentage of graduates taking the AP exam during high school, growing 9.8 percentage points since 2013.?Rhode Island also expanded AP offerings statewide with the introduction of AP African American Studies and other courses.  
• RIDE enrolled 49 career and technical education (CTE) teachers throughout Rhode Island in the inaugural Differently-Abled Students Professional Learning Series (DAS-PLS) aimed at building CTE teachers’ skills and knowledge to better serve their students with disabilities.  In the fall, 25 special educators joined the cohort to share their expertise.   
• RIDE continued its efforts to support multilingual learners through its work with the English Learners Success Forum (ELSF). The Department hosted professional learning sessions focused on examining needs and creating School Improvement Plans and LEA plans to support MLLs and offered individualized coaching sessions. 

Engaged Communities

• In 2024, RIDE convened the Chronic Absenteeism Working Group and successfully rallied statewide support for the #AttendanceMattersRI campaign, emphasizing the importance of regular school attendance as a foundation for academic success. RIDE engaged with a variety of stakeholders, building partnerships with leaders and organizations in business, healthcare, and more. Governor McKee and Commissioner Infante-Green highlighted efforts underway at the White House, in Chalkbeat, the National Assessment Governing Board, FutureEd at Georgetown University, with United Kingdom education leaders, and more.
• Ahead of the 2024-2025 school year, RIDE hosted its “Let’s Get Ready” Community of Practice Exhibition to celebrate and explore methodology used by local education agencies to implement the Readiness-Based Graduation requirements, which were passed in November 2022 and went into effect with the class of 2028. The event represented a culmination of significant efforts by school and district leaders, school counselors, teachers, RIDE, and community partners who collaborate to ensure that Rhode Island students are prepared for success after high school.
• The freshman class of the 2024-2025 school year will be the first cohort of students required to meet RIDE’s Readiness-Based Graduation Requirements. RIDE has extended the "Let’s Get Ready" Community of Practice into the 2024-2025 school year to continue providing comprehensive implementation support for every high school statewide. This Community of Practice offers free high school scheduling assistance, fosters statewide and regional collaboration for sharing best practices, and offers personalized one-on-one coaching for school teams across the state.
• As a highlight of its Menu for Success initiative, RIDE hosted its inaugural Student Food Truck Roundup, where student-operated food trucks and trailers served an array of sweet and savory dishes to hundreds of guests. This unique event showcased the entrepreneurial skills students developed through the Menu for Success program, offering them a real-world platform to demonstrate culinary talents, business acumen, and customer service skills.
• The agency conducted an Accountability Road Show, hosting dozens of customized sessions for LEA and school teams to unpack and understand accountability data and incorporate this data into school and district improvement planning.

Attracting World Class Talent

• RIDE continues to promote www.educate401.org, a website designated to attract and recruit educators, and has held multiple virtual and in-person statewide job fairs to promote and provide individuals with direct access to open opportunities in a wide range of education-focused areas. The job fairs included more than 30 employers, including LEAs, higher education institutions and preparatory programs, and afterschool organizations. In-person fairs included transportation and food service professionals.
• The agency launched www.wellinitiativeRI.org, a systems-oriented resource hub to support educator wellness and the development of supportive and collaborative school communities. The website launch follows the 2023 Wellness in Education Leads to Learning (WELL) grant program, which provided $3 million in funds for the creation and development of school wellness rooms and accompanying professional development. 
• RIDE launched the Rhode Island Registered Apprenticeship Principal Program (RIRAPP) for Educator Preparation Providers (EPPs) to offer a high-quality, affordable program for aspiring principals to enter the profession through registered apprenticeship. 
• RIDE offered a free Praxis preparation program to additional cohorts of teacher candidates looking to pass Praxis tests. The program supported participants with Praxis preparation offerings worth an estimated $1,000 and aimed to ease the financial burden on educators and address the teacher shortage impacting Rhode Island and the nation. The program worked to improve Praxis first-attempt pass rates and mitigate the bias related to inequitable exam preparation.

Enhancing Governance Structures

• In collaboration with the White House, Rhode Island announced it will become the first state in the nation to adopt a key cybersecurity tool across K-12 schools. 64 school districts from across Rhode Island signed a pledge to implement Protective Domain Name Service (PDNS), a free, effective cyber service that will better protect the data and systems of their schools by the end of the school year. RIDE and National Cyber Director Harry Coker made the announcement alongside local, state, and federal officials at the Cybersecurity Education Summit: Preparing Schools for a Digital Future.
• RIDE worked alongside Rhode Island House Education Chair Joseph McNamara and the Chronic Absenteeism Working Group on legislation that is now serving as a model for statewide attendance regulations. The Attendance for Success Act outlined amendments to existing state laws around student attendance; defines terms related to the subject; establishes criteria for excused and unexcused absences; outlines procedures for reporting absences; and requires schools to develop intervention plans for students who are chronically absent. 
• The Council on Elementary and Secondary Education approved $1.3 billion in school construction projects at 59 schools in 10 LEAs, which includes the construction of 18 new and like-new school buildings in Barrington, East Greenwich, Johnston, Middletown and Providence. This will impact more than 30,000 students and come at a historic time in Rhode Island school construction. Since 2018, the Council has approved $5.2 billion in hundreds of school construction projects in every municipality. 
• To bolster districts’ arts programming, RIDE through the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education launched the $5 million ARTS Initiative – Act II. Supported by the School Building Authority (SBA) Capital Fund, ARTS is providing grants between $10,000 and $930,000 to 52 LEAs on a per-student basis. 
• To strengthen the capacity of RIDE’s ongoing work to ensure equitable access to modern learning environments, the agency is leveraging $5 million in the U.S. Department of Education’s Supporting America’s School Infrastructure grant program. Rhode Island is one of only seven state education agencies to receive this funding. 
• RIDE awarded nearly $2.7 million in “Get the Foam Out” grants to 26 LEAs and 101 schools.?RIDE launched the “Get the Foam Out” initiative to help eliminate single-use Styrofoam materials in schools. The program was made possible by RIDE’s SBA and is in line with state, agency and legislative priorities. It will also support schools in complying with the newly enacted Styrofoam ban which goes into effect January 1, 2025.?? 
• RIDE simplified and streamlined the Uniform Chart of Accounts data so that this information can be used by decision-makers during the budget process. Data is summarized in a new annual report, as RIDE is focusing on engagement and outreach efforts to showcase this valuable data to stakeholders. 
• The Department developed guidance documents and tools to support continuous improvement planning, strategic resourcing, and use of federal funds available to LEA/building leaders and School Improvement Teams. This comes in addition to the creation of the School Improvement Plan (SIP) Review Tool and accompanying resources to self-assess and give feedback on SIPs.  
• RIDE created a Federal Program Monitoring system and resources, provided ongoing technical assistance and training to school districts selected for Title I-A, III-A, & IV-A, and McKinney Vento monitoring. RIDE also assisted in the revamping of Title II monitoring and created parallel online system for document collection to align across programs.