Governor Gina Raimondo's Education Policy Legacy

Abstract

This issue was brought to light when the Honorable Gina M. Raimondo left the governorship behind and assumed office on March 3, 2021, to serve as the 40th U.S. Secretary of Commerce. Many asked, what would become of the initiatives she championed during her tenure? Rhode Island Universal Pre-Kindergarten (RI-UPK) was one of her signature policy goals and this research confirms the reasons behind the push, the progress made, and the challenges ahead. This thesis further highlights how the governorship plays a central role in effecting and steering education policy. Rhode Island’s state funded Pre-K has been steadily adding more seats and even before Raimondo, it has maintained the highest quality benchmarks for over a decade according to the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). Therefore, the smallest state in the nation demonstrates a bright spot in Early Childhood Education (ECE) within an otherwise regionally underperforming public school system. This is a dichotomy that beckons in-depth analysis and further explanation. I argue that RI UPK is a model for the rest of the country to follow based on its selection as the sole test site leading up to the 2020 Census. According to US Census data collectors, Rhode Island is a microcosm of the entire country, reflective of future demographic trends. Hence, a policy implementation strategy that proves either successful or unsuccessful offers valuable insights that are widely applicable across numerous states. This thesis also explains and clarifies some contradictions in the larger debate over UPK implementation as well as chronically examining its evolution in RI. After conducting an empirical comparison and evaluation of case studies, state reports, and scholarly articles, I assert that RI UPK has the potential to serve as a national model. Analyzing a segment of Madam Secretary Raimondo’s education legacy reveals that Rhode Island not only excels as a leader in providing consistent Early Childhood Education but also possesses unique characteristics that position it at the forefront of the nationwide Universal Pre-K (UPK) discussion.