This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

There is a solution to Rhode Island being "Ranked in Bottom Half of Country in 'Kids Count' Report"

There is a solution to the state of education in Rhode Island.  It is quite apparent that we are not meeting standards and that our children are in need of more support when it comes to their educational success.  So where is this support going to come from?  Jason Claffey, Editor of the MiddletownPatch has quoted in the article, Rhode Island Ranked in Bottom Half of Country in 'Kids Count' Report,  "The fact that more Rhode Island children are living in families without a full-time employed parent shows that the negative economic impacts of the recession continue to be felt among Rhode Island families." This idea of economic distress has plagued us for some time now, even with the slight decrease in unemployment rates, we are still not setting up our children and our future for success.

A call to attention of the success of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Ocean State must be made.  Their continued mentoring efforts pair successful, dedicated mentors with boys and girls throughout Rhode Island between the ages of 7-15.  This year alone, 100% of the boys and girls in our mentoring program that have successfully completed the program and are now high school seniors, graduated, most of whom graduated top of their field and class.  Not only does having a mentor increase a child’s success but it minimizes the stress that comes along with having parents who are not gainfully employed.  It gives the child an opportunity to get out of that everyday environment and allows them to live and experience something they normally wouldn’t have.  They are given an opportunity to grow a new professional network and gain new and useful life skills they may not have had without their mentor. 

The organization proves that taking the 6-8 hours a month to enrich the life of a young person really works and is incredibly effective.  Looking to the future of the organization, we are seeing more and more educational success each year.  Next year the numbers of boys and girls who will be graduating seniors will grow considerably and they will all be set for success because of their mentors.   In reality, this is the answer to our educational prayers.  It is a proven method to ensure the success of our future.  This is the time, now more than ever, for the men and women of Rhode Island to step up and become the change that these children and our state desperately needs.

Find out what's happening in Woonsocketwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?