PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — The Rhode Island Foundation announced $1.2 million in grants to help improve student performance in four school districts.
The grants will go toward increasing the number of teachers of color in Providence, Pawtucket, Newport and Central Falls.
Roughly $300,000 will go to each of the following organizations:
- The Equity Institute for work with Newport schools
- Rhode Island College’s Feinstein School of Education and Human Development for work with Providence, Pawtucket and Central Falls school districts
- The University of Rhode Island’s Teacher Preparation Program at Highlander Charter School
- The Central Falls School District’s “Learning Pods Program”
Rhode Island Foundation President and CEO David Cicilline said the grants will go a long way to help close achievement gaps in education.
“The benefits of a diverse faculty are very well documented,” Cicilline said. “When taught by a teacher of color, students of color experienced higher reading and math test scores, higher graduation rates, decreased dropout, and discipline rates, and increased enrollment in advanced courses.”
This Tuesday marked Cicilline’s first media briefing since taking over as president of the Rhode Island Foundation.