Raimondo's Roundup
July 10, 2015

Good evening,

 

My top focus is on creating opportunity for Rhode Island families.

Education is one of the best investments we can make because it is a ladder to success.


On Wednesday, I announced a former middle school principal and current New York Deputy Commissioner as my choice to be our next Commissioner of Education.

Ken Wagner will provide the expertise and steady hand we must have to build consensus around the best ideas to promote student learning. You can learn more about Ken's background and plans for Rhode Island here

 

In leading up to this announcement, we led a four month process that included eight listening sessions across the state and involved over 150 Rhode Islanders. The conversations did not end there - teachers, parents, and school leaders continued the robust discussion online.

 

Thank you to all those who participated. Your input was invaluable and guided us to this announcement.

 

Education is more than just the ladder to success. Great schools and a pipeline of trained workers will also attract companies to invest and grow jobs.  

 

Recently, we also took the first steps forward to improve opportunity for all Rhode Island kids with the passage of my jobs plan. The Plan hits every rung of the ladder:

  • Makes record investments in K-12 education
  • Invests in early childhood education, tripling the number of state-sponsored pre-k classrooms by 2019
  • Achieves universal all-day kindergarten 
  • Creates new scholarships to help students afford college
  • Creates a new pilot project to stop the brain drain by helping some students pay back their loans
  • Creates a new School Building Authority to put people to work while modernizing schools

The Council on Elementary and Secondary Education and the Board of Education will consider Dr. Wagner's  nomination on Monday, July 13.

 

I have utmost confidence that Ken has the leadership skills and experience Rhode Island needs to implement these education initiatives and set our students, teachers, and schools on a path of opportunity.
 

Best wishes,


Gina
 
Working Group Launches to Improve Criminal Justice System, Reduce Costs

As part of her efforts to foster innovation and accountability across state government, Governor Raimondo signed an Executive Order establishing the Justice Reinvestment Working Group. This data-driven approach, in collaboration with the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center will help to improve our public safety and reduce costs.

 

Reinventing Medicaid Plan Strives to Increase Quality, Coordinate Care

 

 

The Governor believes that reinventing Medicaid is a vital part of Rhode Island's comeback and a centerpiece of our effort to bring more innovation to state government. The recently released Working Group plan outlines a progressive vision to improve the quality and coordination of care in a way that is sustainable and affordable for Rhode Island taxpayers and businesses. This plan sets our state on a path to achieve the predictability all Rhode Islanders deserve.

 

The group outlined four principles to transform Medicaid to achieve the "triple aim" of improving patient care, improving outcomes and reducing cost. Those principles are:

 

1. Pay for value, not volume;

2. Coordinate physical, behavioral and long-term health care;

3. Rebalance the delivery system away from high-cost settings;

4. Promote efficiency, transparency and flexibility

 

To read the final report please click here. To learn more about the Working Group to Reinvent Medicaid please click here.

In This Issue

The Governor and her family had a great time marching in the Bristol 4th of July Parade.

The Governor was excited to see U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer in Rhode Island as they celebrated L'Hermione's stopover in Newport.