CUMBERLAND — Mayor Daniel J. McKee, along with a team of elected officials and educators, will hold a meeting Friday with senior-level staff at the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C.

McKee, chair of the board of directors for Rhode Island Mayoral Academies (RIMA), will discuss charter initiatives with Education Secretary Arne Duncan in order to help the state become eligible for the “Race to the Top” fund.
“Our goal is to apprise Secretary Duncan’s office of the progress made in the expansion of charter school options in Rhode Island,” said McKee. “Because of the support charter schools, like Democracy Prep Blackstone Valley, received from leaders in the General Assembly and Governor Carcieri, Rhode Island is positioned to compete for millions of dollars in federal funding under the Secretary’s ‘Race to the Top’ fund.”
The more than $4 billion “Race to the Top” fund was created as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus bill, which was signed by President Barack Obama in February.
The Department of Education announced in March that access to the fund would be limited to states who improve education quality and results statewide, while also making reform gains by creating new charter schools.
Accompanying McKee will be House Majority Leader Gordon Fox; House Majority Whip Peter Kilmartin; Reps. Kenneth Vaudreuil and Douglas Gablinske; Central Falls Mayor Charles Moreau; Michael Magee, CEO of RIMA; Progreso Latino President and CEO Ramon Martinez; and Brown University professor Martin West.
The delegation will meet with Jim Shelton, head of the Office of Innovation, and Gabriella Gomez, assistant secretary for the Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs (OLCA). The team will brief Shelton and Gomez on steps the state has taken toward enacting new charter initiatives.
“Expansion of new charter school initiatives was one of Secretary Duncan’s stated requirements to become eligible for this crucial funding,” Fox said. “I look forward to discussing the funding process during our visit with representatives from the Department of Education.”
The Board of Regents for Primary and Secondary Education approved two new charter applications this year for the Mayoral Academy, Democracy Prep-Blackstone Valley, and the Segue Institute for Learning in Central Falls. The General Assembly made appropriations for both.
“This is about renewing our commitment to providing a rigorous education to the children of Rhode Island, which will prepare them for whatever path they choose,” said Kilmartin. “We need to ensure the next generation is offered educational opportunities for a productive life.”
“I am proud Rhode Island is at the forefront of the education reform community,” said Vaudreuil. “Our commitment will make us eligible for a funding designed to foster further innovation and help us to keep the promise of a great future based on a solid educational foundation.”
The delegation will also meet with Congressman Patrick Kennedy and Senator Jack Reed’s education advisor, Seth Gerson, to discuss ways they can support education reform efforts.
RIMA is a nonprofit umbrella organization that will oversee the new Mayoral Academies education model in Rhode Island. Authorized during the 2008 legislative session, Mayoral Academies are a new form of charter school combining  school operators with a mayor-led, local-governance structure.
The first RIMA school, Democracy Prep Blackstone Valley (DPBV), will open in the fall at the former Our Lady of Fatima School building in Valley Falls.
The inaugural class will consist of 76 kindergarten students from Central Falls, Cumberland, Lincoln and Pawtucket. Students were selected via an enrollment lottery process on June 30.