Guest MINDSETTER™ Dan Lawlor: Providence Schools are Broken. Literally.
Saturday, February 04, 2012
This article is not about failing public schools. This article is about falling public schools. There are several temples of democracy in the great City of Providence, namely our public middle schools, that are falling down, like Humpty Dumpty.
Gilbert Stuart Middle School, located off Elmwood Avenue between the Knight Memorial Library and the West End Community Center, has exit doors surrounded by scaffolding to prevent bricks from falling onto the heads of children as they leave the building. The scaffolded exits have been in existence for several years now.
The defunct Oliver Hazard Perry Middle School, whose students now attend the overcrowded Del Sesto Middle School (built on a formerly toxic site), was notorious for its enter through the backdoor policy in its last year or two of existence. Due to the danger of crumbling stones, parents and students were advised to enter the building from the back, as the front entrance was seen as too dangerous. Now the school is a bible studies institute.
Back in 2004, the Providence Housing Authority issued a report on resident services stating, "As has been the case for nearly 20 years, the design and scope of our programs and services depends more on the restraints of available funding than necessarily on the needs of our residents." In 2011, similar claims can be made for many of the buildings our children, particularly our working class and immigrant children, attend.
I am ecstatic that quality public school buildings exist in Providence. Yet who do they exist for? The West End neighborhood deserves school buildings that aren't falling apart, and the Olneyville neighborhood deserves schools that are not overcrowded. These are hardly revolutionary propositions.
I remember talking with a friend after we had visited a successful public school in Boston - and realized that the "success" we were amazed by simply that the adults followed basic protocols, procedures and a calendar. Basic functioning appeared exceptional because for so long the bar has been so low. Similarly, I am impressed by the renovations of Central, Nathan Bishop, and PCTA. Yet, I should not be.
Quality public school buildings in the United States of America should be a baseline, a non-exceptional baseline for all our children. The only connection between Humpty Dumpty and our schools should be during story time.
Dan Lawlor is a Providence resident and a teacher in Fall River.
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Comments:
barnaby morse
8:22am on Saturday, February 04, 2012
Take a look at any of the charter school buildings and you won't find this disrepair. Gist claims charter schools are 'public' schools but the disparity is glaring. Education is touted as the new civil rights issue but diverting public money to charters is another form of segregation. The charters turn in to "the haves" and public schools "the have nots." Until every public school has the same private/public donations as the charters, students will not have equal access to a "quality education." Does anyone really believe that Acheivment First will be housed in a facility like Gilbert Stuart?
David Beagle
10:53am on Saturday, February 04, 2012
Isn't this a no-brainer? Ofcourse buildings will suffer when the lion's share of tax payer money goes to salaries and benefits for the union members. Teachers will wear hard-hats in the classroom before they give up a dime for maintenance.
Gary Arnold
10:53am on Saturday, February 04, 2012
Ask yourself who has been running the schools for the last 75 years, same old Democrats and Unions, if you don't change that, nothing will change.
Ed Venture
4:18pm on Saturday, February 04, 2012
The mayor who presided over half of the last 50 years was a republican, then an independent. He placated to the unions as much, if not more so than the other guys. As for the democrats. If only there was an alternative here is RI. I know there is this thing called the Republican Party, but last I heard they had no money to run anybody when they actually found anyone who would run.
Michael Trenn
12:20am on Sunday, February 05, 2012
None of these coomentary arguments dissuade me from my point that the West End does, in fact deserve better schools that what they have now. Achievement First will present an alternative. If it is not a better alternative, then replace Achievement First. Those of us who come from there are watching.
anthony sionni
9:25am on Sunday, February 05, 2012
Perhaps the city should invest in the public schools,I know they dont have the money ,they could cut out the mayors police detail which costs 500,000 a year and use that money for repairs and upgrades.
tom brady
11:12am on Sunday, February 05, 2012
Hey Michael Trenn, the West End had a middle school that was making AYP, they closed it. Bridgham Middle School was the only middle school making progress. Now the poor kids are packed into DelSesto on the Johnston line. Where were you when this happened???????? Obviously not watching. In your perfect world, the West End could have had more options...
john paycheck
12:01pm on Sunday, February 05, 2012
some of the schools are an outright disgrace. the parking lots full of potholes.litter all over the grounds.
i also take exception to spending a fortune on providence technical when the city could have spent less and accomplished the same and spread more money around to other schools for things like book.s
i had a daughter in high school in providence. they had plenty of calculators but no money for batteries.
i bet first achievement never runs out of batteries.
Joseph Fazio
6:54pm on Sunday, February 05, 2012
Wow, this is great, blame the teachers....for everything. Crime, disease, potholes, mayors with personal security details, train crashes.
My advice to all you would-be teachers at RIC, URI, and Brown...run away from teaching as fast as you can. These simple folk will be grabbing a rope and stringing you up. Find another profession, or better still, if you feel like teaching, lie down and rest until the feeling passes.