Gist Says Good Bye to Rhode Island on Facebook

Friday, June 19, 2015

GoLocalProv News Team

Some called her the change agent that Rhode Island needed and others saw her as a misguided education reformer, and today Deborah Gist posted a good bye message to all of Rhode Island on Facebook. She will takeover as the Superintendent of the Tulsa School system.

A thank you and good-bye to Rhode Island

Dear friends,

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

The time has come for me to say good-bye to Rhode Island and to so many treasured friends, colleagues, and fellow educators. During the past six years, we have met many challenges. We have endured some adversity of course, but we have also enjoyed many moments of joy, pride, and accomplishment. I truly believe that, through our work toward transforming public education, we have improved the lives of thousands of Rhode Islanders and we have made a great contribution toward improving the economic and social well-being of the entire state.

This marks a time of transition for all of us. Five years ago, we put in place our strategic plan for 2010-2015, and I am proud to say that we have fulfilled virtually all of the strategies set forth in the plan. (The RIDE team is preparing a close-out report on our 2010-2015 plan, which will be ready later this month.) I am confident that the 2015-2020 plan, now in development, will be equally ambitious and will position Rhode Island well to be a leading state when it comes to public education in the 21st century.

I am so excited about the new responsibilities and new challenges I will face as the Superintendent of Schools in my home town of Tulsa, Oklahoma. As I leave Rhode Island, I know that I will remember the work we have done together, the friendships we have forged, and the thousands of Rhode Islanders who believe in our children, our schools, and our future.

Best,

Deborah

Related Slideshow: The Most and Least Diverse High Schools in Rhode Island

The data below reflects the 2012-13 academic year as provided by the Rhode Island Dept of Education. Values have been rounded to the nearest whole percent.

Gist Says Good Bye to Rhode Island on Facebook

Related Slideshow: The Most and Least Diverse High Schools in Rhode Island

#49 Ponaganset HS

North Scituate, RI

#48 Scituate HS

Scituate, RI

#47 Tiverton HS

Tiverton, RI

#46 Coventry HS

Coventry, RI

#45 Burrillville HS

Burrillville, RI

#44 Exeter-West Greenwich

West Greenwich, RI

#43 Chariho Regional HS

Wood River Junction, RI

#42 North Kingstown HS

North Kingstown, RI

#41 Mt. Hope HS

Bristol, RI

#40 Narragansett HS

Narragansett, RI

#39 Barrington HS

Barrington, RI

#38 Smithfield Senior HS

Smithfield, RI

Total enrollment: 772

#37 Portsmouth HS

Portsmouth, RI

#36 Lincoln Senior HS

Lincoln, RI

Total enrollment: 1,067

#35 North Smithfield HS

North Smithfield, RI

#34 Warwick Vets HS

Warwick Veterans Memorial HS, Warwick RI

#33 Toll Gate HS

Warwick, RI

#32 Pilgrim HS

Warwick, RI

#31 South Kingstown HS

South Kingstown, RI

#30 Cranston HS West

Cranston, RI

#29 East Greenwich HS

East Greenwich, RI

#28 Westerly HS

Westerly, RI

#27 Cumberland HS

Cumberland, RI

#26 West Warwick HS

West Warwick Senior HS, West Warwick, RI

Total enrollment: 982

#25 Johnston Senior HS

Johnston, RI

#24 Beacon Charter HS

Beacon Charter High School For The Arts, Woonsocket, RI

Total enrollment: 230

#23 Middletown HS

Middletown, RI

#22 East Providence HS

East Providence, RI

#21 Acad. for Career Exp.

Academy for Career Exploration, Providence, RI

#20 Central Falls HS

Central Falls, RI

Total enrollment: 838

#19 Cooley Health/Science

Cooley Health & Science Technology Academy, Providence, RI

#18 North Providence HS

North Providence, RI

#17 Times 2 Academy

Providence, RI

Total enrollment: 652

#16 Central HS

Providence, RI

#15 Mt. Pleasant HS

Providence, RI

#14 Prov. Career & Tech

Providence Career & Technical Academy, Providence, RI