Message from the Governor

Dear Fellow Rhode Islander,

Rhode Island is the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution. When Samuel Slater built his mill in 1793 on the banks of the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, he revolutionized the manufacturing of textiles and ushered in an era of unprecedented prosperity in Rhode Island. Today, at the beginning of this next millennium, our state is poised once again to become a center for innovation and a model for sustained economic growth for ALL of our citizens.

We have much to be proud of in Rhode Island, yet our most important resource is and always will be our children. Through focused investments in public education we can best assure that our young people are prepared for a lifetime of personal fulfillment, economic prosperity and social contribution. To keep pace with the dramatic growth and expansion of technological innovation in a rapidly evolving global economy, current and future generations of Rhode Islanders must be prepared to compete through ever higher-levels of knowledge and applied skills in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Over the past several years we have built a strong foundation across the K-16 STEM education system to enhance teacher preparation, improve student achievement and raise awareness and interest in STEM post-secondary majors and careers. Rigorous standards have been established and linked to the New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP), providing benchmarks of student performance against which we can measure the results of our reform initiatives. Innovative curricula such as “Physics First” have been introduced to improve how our students learn and to encourage them to pursue more advanced coursework in the sciences and mathematics. A teacher externship program, based on partnerships between K-12 schools and businesses provides professional development for middle and high school teachers connecting classroom STEM curriculum to authentic industry applications. And new graduation requirements have been enacted requiring three years of science and four years of mathematics, reflecting the level of knowledge required by companies from their 21st century workforce. Our hard work and strategies for improvement have received national recognition, evidenced by a recent $12.5M grant from the National Science Foundation to further enhance middle and high school science education statewide.

To engage ALL of our youth in pursuit of their personal STEM journey - to become informed citizens and contributors in our innovation workforce and economy - requires the encouragement and support of teachers, higher education faculty, family members, business leaders and community representatives. I encourage every citizen to explore the resources of the RI-STEM web-portal and learn more about current initiatives, events and planned programs to enhance STEM education in Rhode Island and prepare our children for an exciting and rewarding future.