RI Dept. Of Education Takes Over Providence Schools

PROVIDENCE, RI — The state Department of Education officially took over Providence Public Schools on Friday, a day Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green called "a new chapter" for the troubled district.

"It will take all of us working together to develop and implement a meaningful, sustainable plan for transformational change in our schools," she said. "We will remain engaged with the community every step of the way, and we will work with our teachers and staff to ensure they are empowered to help lead the way. The stakes are high and so are our aspirations for Providence students. Together, we can and will achieve great things."

Infante-Green spent the day focused on Providence schools, speaking with principals in the morning before meeting with administrators and then visiting a school to speak with students and teachers.

At this time, the day-to-day operations are being overseen by Interim Superintendent Frances Gallo, who stepped into the role in August.

The move comes in the wake of a bombshell report that painted a grim picture of Providence schools, outlining crumbling infrastructure, insufficient learning and poor learning environments. 2019 RICAS assessment scores showed that only 12 percent of Third through Eighth Grade students met or exceeded expectations in math, while just 17 percent met or exceeded the standard in English-Language Arts. SAT results weren't much better, with 15 percent meeting or exceeding expectations in math and 25 percent in English-Language Arts.

"Providence students deserve the best, and all of Rhode Island will benefit from the work we do here," Infante-Green said. "With the full support of the state and city leaders, students, educators, and families, I have no doubt that we can make great strides in creating a school system that will be the envy of the entire nation. Let’s get to work."

The department officially announced the planned takeover earlier this month, when Commissioner Infante-Green issued her final order of control and reconstitution.

The department is working to develop a Turnaround Plan for the district. A new website, launched by the department, is meant to be a hub for Providence students and families, providing a message from the commissioner and encouraging the community to stay informed and get involved. The plan will be developed in part by Community Design Teams, which will include community members such as teachers and parents. Their ideas will be built into the five-year plan, the department said.

Three Community Design Teams will be formed: one each to focus on "world class talent," "excellence in learning" and "engaged communities." Nominations went live on Friday, with final selections set to be announced next month.

The community can get involved in the turnaround plans in several other ways, the department said. These include:

• Community Design Teams: A formalized, community-led structure for helping to develop the Turnaround Plan. There is a nomination process and significant time commitment for this group, with members meeting multiple times between December and February for at least two hours each. The mission of this group is to help develop the Turnaround Plan.
• Community Advisory Boards: Under Rhode Island’s ESSA State Plan, CABs are required for federally identified low-performing schools. Providence currently has three CABs broken down by grade level – elementary, middle, and high school – and those groups started last year under ESSA. The mission of this group is to write and approve school improvement plans for this particular subset of schools.
• Providence Parent Advisory Council (PAC): A group of Providence parents that meets monthly. As part of the state intervention, RIDE will now assume the support role for the PAC from PPSD. The Providence Parent Action Group that the Commissioner convened in the fall will be absorbed into PAC. These are open meetings that community members can join. The mission of the group is to solicit feedback on turnaround efforts, share information about and beyond the turnaround, and serve more broadly as an advocate liaison for Providence students and families with PPSD and RIDE.