Who We Are
We are parents, educators, advocates, and community leaders. We believe that by amplifying parent voices we can successfully advocate for the best educational landscape for our children.
What We Do
We empower parents to be front-row advocates in their child's educational journey. Through training programs and other critical investments, we focus on building collective power, and amplifying the voices of our community. We advocate for a family’s right to make educational decisions for their children. We demand transparency, public accountability, and real investment in underserved communities. And we work toward an education system that gives every child the opportunity to succeed.
Why We Do It
Because we cannot keep asking families to wait. The children of Rhode Island deserve access to every opportunity we can give them. Not five years from now. Today. Rhode Island—especially Providence—has the longest charter public school waitlist in the entire country. And this is not a zero sum game. We can give families more options based on what they want for their children, and continue to support critical investments in all of our public schools.
Mission
Amplify parent voices, build community power, and successfully advocate for the conditions that will create the best educational landscape for our children.
Vision
Ensure that every child in Rhode Island can attend a school that proactively meets their social, emotional, and educational needs.
Stop the Wait RI’s Guiding Principles
Students First
Our work must be guided by the needs of our kids, and not by partisan interests. Together we can center students and focus our efforts on creating the conditions that help improve outcomes.
Solving for Equity
It’s not right or fair that Latino and Black families in Rhode Island have faced persistent barriers to a high-quality education. We need to level the playing field.
Accountability
Greater family engagement and advocacy will enable real public accountability and ensure that our leaders are responsive to and reflective of the needs of our community.
Relationships Matter
Our work is rooted in listening, learning, and working with allies to establish a unified voice for change and a clear path forward for increasing access to quality public schools.
Community Empowerment
An investment in community engagement means getting people the information they need, creating opportunities for impactful action, and developing leadership over time.
