We’re hearing a lot lately about how tough it is for state and district leaders to navigate the stormy seas of education budgeting in the post-COVID relief funding era (including recent musings from yours truly). Leave it to the Ocean State to steady the ship with a $5M investment in instructional coaches to support student learning in ELA and math – including a significant chunk for aligned professional learning. 

The RI Department of Education and Governor’s Office announced this effort last week, with funding coming from the new fiscal year budget to provide 35 coaches statewide, benefiting 20-plus schools and districts. $1M of the total will go towards support for implementing high-quality curricula – something teachers raise as essential for ensuring student success.

I’m especially impressed by Rhode Island’s reliance on data when charting a course toward effective instruction. I’ve previously written about the state’s efforts to document districts’ math and ELA curriculum selections each year. Building on reports that show widespread selection of high-quality materials, state leaders are now investing in the coaching support required to bring those materials to life with students. And with a separate annual survey offering teacher perspectives on curriculum implementation, Rhode Island has yet another way to test the waters and see how well materials are working in classrooms.

We need more of this kind of evidence-based approach to serving teachers and kids.