SOUTH KINGSTOWN -- Critics of state Education Commissioner Deborah A. Gist were out in force at a state Board of Education hearing on Thursday night, when the board also met in closed session to discuss her future.
Renee Chaves, a Bristol parent, said her third-grade son came home crying because he was told he would be sent back to second grade if he didn't pass the NECAP, the state assessment. "He felt like a failure."
Members of a progressive group called Coalition to Defend Public Education said Gist was part of a corporate-driven campaign to privatize public education.
"The commissioner wants to replace public schools with charter schools," said Edward Benson, a coalition member.
Gist has come under increasing fire for the new teacher evaluations, the new graduation graduation requirements and a federal grant called Race to the Top, which ushered in $75 million in federal dollars.
A union-sponsored forum on Monday afternoon drew 700 educators, most of whom expressed their displeasure with Gist's policies.
On Thursday night, the board only heard more of the same, as about 130 people packed the meeting room at URI's Ryan Center, and another 130 watched the meeting on a monitor in an overflow room.
On Wednesday, Mancuso said the board would not vote Thursday night on extending Gist's contract. Shortly before 9 p.m., the board remained in closed session on the subject.