Lee a champion of education

Sharon Lee, former director of the Office of Multiple Pathways at the Rhode Island Department of Education, was honored with the 2016 Champion Award from the New England Secondary School Consortium for her contributions to the effort to raise graduation rates, lower dropout rates and send more students to college and postsecondary-certification programs in Rhode Island.

How did you first come to be an educational advocate?

As a respiratory therapist treating young cystic fibrosis patients, I worked with some kids who, though they had the same dreams of going to college as other kids, would probably not get to go to college and were therefore never encouraged to apply. I advocated through the hospital social services and parents to ensure that these children be supported to apply to college. During my years of teaching science at the high school and college level, I worried that we were not meeting the needs of all students.

What are some of the steps you and the Office of Multiple Pathways took to equip students for success?

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First we worked to raise the expectation that all students can succeed when they receive the support and personalized learning opportunities to best develop their skills and talents. We accomplished this through state policies that require all students to have personalized learning plans, which support goal setting, reflection and student-centered learning opportunities.

The focus of your work was developing policy frameworks and implementation strategies to provide students with high-quality, personalized learning environments. Could you explain this?

A crucial first step in the development and implementation of high-leverage policies in R.I. was to identify and build on the great work that existed across the state. For any policy to be successful, it is crucial to build up local champions from those who are innovating in their own districts to help develop and support new state policies. We also greatly benefited from the collective expertise of education leaders in New England and across the country, including our long-standing partnerships with the New England Secondary School Consortium and the Center for Collaborative Education. •

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