Executive Director Warren Simmons to Attend White House Initiative Reception/Forum on RI Educational Excellence for Hispanics

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At the invitation of Providence Mayor Taveras, Warren will attend the upcoming welcome reception (1/24) for José Rico, the executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, which precedes a “Call to Action” summit entitled “Transforming Educational Outcomes for Hispanics,” at RIC the following day, hosted by the mayor and Governor Chafee.

The White House Initiative is the Obama Administration’s signature effort to improve K-12 education outcomes for Hispanics and increase the number of Latinos who go to college. Providence (62% Latino) is the ninth city to be selected by the White House to engage in a Hispanic Action Summit.

In selecting Providence, the White House Initiative cited the city’s vision for raising the bar on public education, contained in the recently released Educate Providence report, and by Governor Chafee’s commitment to transform education in Rhode Island and to attain high levels of student achievement.

“This visit is the first step in our engagement with the White House Initiative,” said Mayor Taveras.  “In the coming months, as we move forward with local efforts to engage parents in their children’s education and make sure all children are reading on grade level by third grade, we will work with the Initiative on a local community action plan that will enable Providence to pursue federal funding and share ideas with the Initiative’s national network of education reformers.”