Sep
9
Written by:
Elizabeth Roberts
9/9/2010 1:56 PM
As the heat of August subsided and the end of the month approached, I
found myself wishing I had a few more weeks to prepare to become an
empty-nester! Even though everything was in order for Nora’s
departure—clothes packed, toiletries stocked, photos and favorite books
chosen for the trip—I was still in a bit of denial that we were
preparing my youngest daughter for her first year at college.
The day seemed to creep up on us all, and then suddenly we were in the
car heading to a leafy town in Massachusetts that Nora soon would call
home for the next four years. (My husband Tom assured me that she would
be back before we knew it for Thanksgiving, but November seems a long
way away.)
The ride home gave me time to reflect on the importance of educating our
kids, from their first day in kindergarten right through high school
graduation, and then on to college. We have a lot of work to do here in
Rhode Island, but we are taking some real steps to make every student's
future brighter. The federal Race to the Top award brings us a vision and the
resources to make real improvements in our schools. I’m also reassured
we will have more effective spending with the recently enacted public
education funding formula. This new law will better reflect our
priorities to give every student a good education while closing
achievement gaps. It’s not a perfect system, but it will help to level
the playing field for all of our kids, and help to ensure we are
preparing them well for college, and to compete for a position in their
chosen field in an ever-changing economy. Everyone should have the
bittersweet excitement of sending their child off to college and
seeing them well launched into an exciting and challenging future.
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