A Year After Providence Schools Named Among Worst in U.S., Raimondo Administration Rolls Out Plan
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Almost a year to the day of the release of the Johns Hopkins report that called the Providence Schools among the worst in the country, Governor Gina Raimondo’s administration is now rolling out a plan to improve the Providence Public Schools.
The Wall Street Journal had called Providence “An Education Horror Show.”
The Wall Street Journal editorial wrote, “No surprise, then, that only 5% of Providence eighth-graders on average scored proficient in math in the 2015 through 2017 school years. That compares to 21.3% in Newark, N.J., where students have similar socioeconomic backgrounds. Low-income students in Worcester, Mass., not far away, were twice as proficient as those in Providence.”
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTNow, education officials say in their announcement that they are “united in their goal to transform" Providence public schools.
Rhode Island Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Angélica Infante-Green and Providence Public School District (PPSD) Superintendent Harrison Peters on Tuesday released Turning Hope into Results: A Turnaround Action Plan (TAP) for the Providence Public School District.
The announcement of the reform is drenched in adjectives like “groundbreaking,” “transformational change,” and “bold.”
“The changes that this plan lays out have been driven by students, teachers, parents, and community members who know Providence students deserve better. Thanks to the hard work of so many, we now have an actionable plan to make meaningful reforms that will better serve students for generations to come,” said Raimondo. “I applaud the efforts of Commissioner Infante-Green, Turnaround Superintendent Peters, and the entire community for developing this collaborative plan for transformational change in the Providence public schools.”
A 2018 GoLocal editorial outlined the dismal performance of Providence schools and the lack of equity between school districts:
Here are seven alarming data points from Providence schools, but sadly seventy or seven hundred statistics could be extrapolated -- each more disappointing than the next:
— Just 3 percent of 8th graders are proficient in math.
— At Mount Pleasant High School, 9th grade English proficiency is just 7 percent and Algebra I proficiency is just 3 percent.
— At Central High School, Algebra I proficiency is 2 percent.
— Hope High School’s proficiencies are 1 percent in Algebra 1, 3 percent in English and 5 percent in geometry.
— And, at the new Evolutions High School — a “small, tight-knit learning community built upon personalized learning and restorative practices,” realized no student proficient at Algebra I.
To contrast, at Barrington High School, 79 percent are proficient at English, 54 percent in Algebra, and 93 percent at geometry.
New Union Agreement
According to the plan, “The District will be establishing a new collective bargaining agreement with the Providence Teacher’s Union (PTU) and will negotiate a more flexible personnel decision process, additional substantive professional development opportunities, and will work to remove other barriers created by the contract.
It will include the ability to hire the best candidates for positions and dismiss the lowest performers, highlight additional professional development days to support staff development, including at least seven days of District and school PD, and help the District create the necessary environment for student learning.”
It is unclear if the union has agreed and if there is are any additional cost.
Testing
The plan lays out a number of milestones including goals to:
Increase the percentage of students Meeting and Exceeding Expectations on the 8th grade Math RICAS from 7.4% to 50% over five years.
Increase the percentage of students Meeting and Exceeding Expectations on the 8th grade ELA RICAS from 14.7% to 63% over the five years.
Increase the percentage of students Meeting and Exceeding Expectations on the Math DLM (all grades) from 5.6% to 49%,
Increase the percentage of students Meeting and Exceeding Expectations on the ELA DLM (all grades) from 15.4% to 63%.
TAP Structure
“The TAP is the product of a more than six-month planning process that started in December 2019, when the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) named 45 members of the Community Design Teams (CDTs) to develop a set of recommendations for change. Twenty-six (26) of the 40 recommendations in the TAP came directly from the CDTs. Numerous other stakeholder groups, including parents, students, transformation experts, and national organizations, contributed to and enriched the final plan,” said the RIDE announcement.
According to the announcement the initiative has a “Five-Four-Three” structure.
Five Promises that embody the collaborative commitment to improving PPSD.
Four Core Values — Students First, Equity and Access, Transparency, and Results — that infuse all education work in Rhode Island.
Three Pillars, which are fundamental to transformation, guide the work:
Engaged Communities
Excellence in Learning
World-Class Talent
These pillars are supported by the foundational principle of Efficient District Systems.
Both PPSD and RIDE will engage in rigorous, initiative-based progress monitoring. A public review of the plan’s progress will be presented two times a year; RIDE and PPSD staff will internally review and grade the plan on an annual basis; and the TAP team will review the following year’s initiatives at the end of every school year.
Learn more about the plan at www.4PVDKids.com.
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