PROVIDENCE — Responding to complaints from teachers’ unions, Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist and her staff are making changes to the state’s application for millions of dollars in federal money awarded to states that embrace education reform.
Gist said Wednesday she is willing to compromise, but is unwilling to water down changes she considers crucial to boosting student achievement.
“We are working around the clock to make the changes,” Gist said. “We are adjusting language.”
Unions were given until Wednesday to decide if they would sign on to the state’s effort to get as much as $100 million under the competitive Race to the Top program. That deadline has been extended, Gist said. Now, education officials will fine-tune the document over the next several days and she will hand-deliver it to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 19.