The Ocean State Current has obtained the testimony below, as submitted earlier today by Mike Stenhouse from the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity … **** March 23, 2023 TO: House Committee on Education FROM: Mike Stenhouse, CEO, RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity SUBJCET: My […]
Developing … The lead plaintiff in the lawsuit against Governor Dan McKee and the RI Department of Health, among others, has informed The Ocean State Current that a major break in the case may be close at hand. Rich Southwell, one of over 3 dozen parent plaintiffs, was advised by their attorney, Gregory Piccirilli, that […]
EDITOR’S NOTE: We last reported on Josh Mello’s story in December, when his request for his daughter NOT to participate in school surveys was purposefully circumvented by school officials. Since then, The Current has learned that Josh and Rachel have been homeless for many months, living out of van, in large part due to the […]
Intrepid parent activist and head of Parents United RI, Laurie GB, weighs in on Twitter with her thoughts on Tuesday’s press conference announcing the launch of the federally-funded Courageous RI org. . Mike Stenhouse, CEO, for the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity calls the group’s mission a scam intended to further indoctrinate students, teachers, […]
Originally published by the Providence Journal, March 4 (online version not available) America’s upcoming 250th birthday should be a patriotic celebration of our inalienable rights and recognition of our American birthright of liberty. Instead, we find that patriotism has systematically been de-institutionalized across our country. Regrettably, the RI Department of Education and the RI Board […]
Well-known parental rights activist, Bob Chiaradio, is raising awareness about yet another controversial public policy failure in his town of Westerly, Rhode Island. PROGRAMMING NOTE: Chiarado will be Sten’s guest on his popular In The Dugout video podcast, which can be viewed anytime after 4pm today at: oceanstatecurrent.com/in-the-dugout-february-27-2023/ Per his Facebook post: Just got off […]
In a disdainful and dishonest act last evening, the Council for Elementary and Secondary Education, part of the RI Board Of Education, unanimously passed the inaccurate and overly-politicized social studies standards, as proposed by Commissioner Angelica Infante Green and her RI Department of Education. Despite overwhelming public opposition, and without any discussion at all, the […]
Last week, the Principal of Veterans Middle School in Warwick issued a public appeal on Facebook to school parents about the increasing violence that is occurring among its student body (the full appeal is below). It is clear to me – based on common sense and on the many conversations I’ve held with child psychologists […]
The following excerpts were provided to The Current by the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity. They represent actual commentary from concerned citizens who have emailed the RI Board Of Education, encouraging them to REJECT the inaccurate and overly-politicized social studies standards, proposed by RI Department of Education and its Commissioner, Angelic Infante-Green. A vote […]
by David Randall, author of “Taken for a RIDE” The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) has just issued its final draft of the Rhode Island Social Studies Standards. RIDE made cosmetic changes in response to the critiques of Taken for a RIDE: How Rhode Island’s Social Studies Shortchange Students (Civics Alliance and Rhode Island […]
DEVELOPING … see Mike Stenhouse’s video commentary on this issue on his Feb 15 In The Dugout podcast (click here) The Twitter string copied below has been taken directly from the Parents United RI @ParentsUnitedRI social media page. These revelations raise some very disturbing questions: Are these grant funds from the federal Department of […]
These images were part of a presentation on February 11 by concerned North Kingstown mom, Ramona Bessinger, who is also a suspended Providence teacher for blowing the whistle on inappropriate curricula in Providence schools. The photos are examples of the inappropriate content that is being pushed upon North Kingstown students in school curricula or by […]
Originally published by By Jamie Reed February 9, 2023 on The Free Press as: I Thought I Was Saving Trans Kids. Now I’m Blowing the Whistle. There are more than 100 pediatric gender clinics across the U.S. I worked at one. What’s happening to children is morally and medically appalling. Jamie Reed at home in Missouri. […]
A rare, but major victory for parental rights was won in the highest court in the state of Rhode Island, albeit the victory may only be temporary. In the Ocean State and across America, state and federal courts have routinely ruled against families, citizens, and employees who, for religious, moral, or medical reasons have opted […]
After the so called ‘presentation’ in the North Kingstown school library, a 15 minute intermission was given so people could talk amongst themselves and then reconvene for more discussion. I took that time to search the library for the very books (and others) that you are parents are trying to remove from Westerly and other […]
Read the Report: “Taken for a RIDE” (click here) How Rhode Island’s Social Studies Standards Teach Radical Activism Instead of America’s Birthright of Liberty The RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity, in partnership with the Civics Alliance, today released a report entitled, “Taken For a RIDE“, which presents a detailed critique of Rhode Island’s Social Studies Standards […]
Ramona Bessinger, the Providence “whistle-blower” teacher who was suspended for truthfully raising awareness about divisive and inappropriate school curricula, along with co-leaders of the RI Chapter of the Independent Women’s Network, Geeta Chougule and Jean Lehane, will provide more information about their upcoming parents’ forum … as guests on In The Dugout with Mike Stenhouse, […]
EDITOR’S NOTE: The story below is based on number of different emails received by The Current from Melissa Dixon. The story is important because schools must fulfill their legal responsibilities to learning impaired students like Melissa’s son who are under an IEP or 504 plan. **** In Melissa’s own words … “Here’s what happened to my […]
Rhode Island Families for School Choice will be conducting its first ever “school choice fair” where parents and students can learn about the many opportunities available in Rhode Island, when considering the best educational path for K-12 students. With public schools in Rhode Island failing students, and as student achievement levels continue to fall, many […]
Rhode Island is receiving another tranche of federal funding to help expand mental health services for youth in the state’s public school system.
I ask that Mr. Fee show proof of his accusations or publicly apologize for his lies. And I would like to remind Mr. Fee that, as a private citizen, I have every right to take legal action in response to libelous claims.
by Bob Chiaradio from Westerly, RI Last Friday, RIDE released the 2022 district LEA scores for ELA, Math, and Science, and they were not pretty. Overall: 60% of those tested were NOT proficient in ELA, 67.2% were NOT proficient in Math, and 62.9% were not proficient in Science This comes out to an overall proficiency […]
EDITOR’s NOTE: Members and Candidates from the Parents United RI group in RI have been frequent guess on The Current’s popular In The Dugout with Mike Stenhouse video podcast. The editorial directly below was in response to a December 17 editorial further below that appeared in the Westerly Sun. *** To the Editor: After […]
EDITOR’S NOTE: It is the opinion of The Ocean State Current’s staff that the the Cranston School School Committee, its School Department, and certain of its employees and members continue to ignore and purposefully exacerbate its ongoing disputes with a parent of one of its students. The Current has documented much of Josh Mello’s contentious […]
The U.S. Department of Education on Monday abruptly disbanded a Presidential parent council that was ostensibly created to include families in federal decisions about public education. The subsequent announcements of obviously one-sided council members led conservative parent groups to file a lawsuiit in July against Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, arguing that his picks of members […]
The national coalition letter below, which was emailed yesterday to Rep. Jim Jordan, was co-signed by the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity along with 69 other national and state organizations. The letter requests that Report Language be added to the Department of Education Appropriations Bill that would bar the DOE from making proposed changes to […]
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Current has been warning Ocean State families that the RI Department of Education may be seeking to develop new rules that would justify government-run child protective service agencies to remove children from their families’ care if their parents impede the minor student’s “woke” or “gender” transition … and potentially house them in […]
Now, before the next campaigns begin and new legislation is crafted, conservatives must reevaluate some of the old-school conventional wisdom campaign tenets that often compel good candidates to make bad decisions that lead to their electoral demise, albeit unintentionally and unknowingly. In state after state, it’s become obvious that conservatives must break the liberal stranglehold on […]
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Anti-Racism Coalition (ARC), is a Westerly, Rhode Island based group, self-billed as the town’s first multicultural committee, whose stated mission is “Embracing multiculturalism to address racism through education and empowerment.” Concerned parents and ARC have regularly been engaged in a war of words – online and at public meetings – about what […]
Editor’s Note: For a first-time organization that did nothing more than post information on the web and ask candidates to take their pledge, with a 100% volunteer team, raising and spending no money at all, and raising awareness only via social media and word-of-mouth … the Parents United RI slate of candidates was an unqualified […]