Providence Releases Plan to Fix Struggling School System
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Laying the groundwork for what it calls a “cradle to career” initiative, a committee of local education experts Monday offered Providence Mayor Angel Taveras recommendations for turning around the city’s troubled public school system, which had a 23.4 percent dropout rate in 2010.
The Education Opportunity Working Group (EOWG) was formed by Taveras in June to meet with educators, community members and other stakeholders to collect data and make recommendations for improving public education in Providence.
The group identified five top priorities for the city’s students.
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1) All children will enter kindergarten ready to learn and prepared for school;
2) All children will have access to a portfolio of high quality schools, teachers and district supports;
3) All children will be supported intellectually, socially and emotionally, in and out of school;
4) All children will succeed academically and graduate from high school ready for college, career and/or credential;
5) All youth will obtain a college/post –secondary degree or credential and enter career.
Accountability is Key
The goals are “big and lofty” according to Angela Romans, the Mayor’s senior advisor on education, who said the city has shown pockets of excellence in its schools but too many inconsistencies. Romans called for stronger systems to allow educators to get more done in the classroom and more flexibility in order to move away from a one size fits all model for students.
The report offered few specifics on how the city should implement systems to achieve the stated goals, but it did include targeted outcomes for students over the next year. They include making sure every pre-kindergartener participates in a “summer learning activity to prepare for school,” twice-per-year parent teacher meetings, a 25 percent reduction in middle school chronic absenteeism, raising NECAP test scores and ensuring that 53 percent of the class of 2012 enrolls in college.
Both Romans and Mayor Taveras said the city should be held accountable for achieving these goals. Taveras said the report includes indicators for each goal and that he thinks it is “important for you to be able to look and say ‘he accomplished seven out of the ten, he accomplished nine out of the ten.’”
“I would expect over the never several years, three quarters of our schools will be doing better in terms of reading and a majority of kids are proficient in reading, especially in the elementary level,” Taveras said.
Not Concerned With Contract
The city faces an uphill battle. In October, the Rhode Island Department of Education identified five Providence schools as “persistently low achieving,” on top of the four schools that were labeled as failing in 2010. Acting Schools Superintendent Dr. Susan Lusi has said that number could grow to “14 or 15” by February.
But Taveras has consistently said failure is not an option in the school system. He said he is not concerned that the perceived lack of flexibility within the recently signed teachers contract will affect the ability to implement reforms within the city’s schools. He acknowledged that finances will play a role, but said many of the organizations the city already partners with “don’t need very much and some of them already do it on their own.”
In the coming months, Taveras and Lusi will hold a series of community conversations focused on the vision rolled out Monday. The results of the forums will be turned into a plan for the school district and other community partners in the upcoming year.
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