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Raimondo: Providence Public Schools are in crisis
Source: WJAR-TV/NBC 10
Raimondo: Providence Public Schools are in crisis
by NBC 10 NEWSWednesday, June 26th 2019
Gov. Gina Raimondo on Wednesday described Providence Public Schools as "broken" and "in crisis" in response to what she said was a "devastating" independent report.
"It's much worse than I realized," she at a State House news conference. She was joined by state Education Commissioner Angelica Infante-Green and Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza.
Raimondo said that the state will have to become more involved in the city's school system, but she did not call for a takeover.
She said the school district needs "a complete redo."
-snip-
by NBC 10 NEWSWednesday, June 26th 2019
Gov. Gina Raimondo on Wednesday described Providence Public Schools as "broken" and "in crisis" in response to what she said was a "devastating" independent report.
"It's much worse than I realized," she at a State House news conference. She was joined by state Education Commissioner Angelica Infante-Green and Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza.
Raimondo said that the state will have to become more involved in the city's school system, but she did not call for a takeover.
She said the school district needs "a complete redo."
-snip-
Read more: https://turnto10.com/news/local/city-state-leaders-to-address-scathing-report-on-providence-public-schools
______________________________________________________________________
Source: Providence Journal
Heartbreaking dysfunction: Investigation reveals chaos in Providence schools
By Linda Borg
Journal Staff Writer
Posted Jun 25, 2019 at 5:15 PM
Updated Jun 25, 2019 at 8:26 PM
PROVIDENCE — Students in the Providence public schools aren’t learning much, bullying and fighting are rampant, bad teachers are nearly impossible to fire, and a thicket of bureaucracy makes it difficult to know who is in charge.
Those are some findings of a scathing review of the city’s public schools released Tuesday afternoon.
Angélica Infante-Green, the state’s newly arrived education commissioner, said the city schools are so dysfunctional that she will not send her own two children there. She said she doesn’t know where she will enroll them.
The report is the result of a deep dive into the state’s largest school district ordered by Gov. Gina Raimondo and Mayor Jorge Elorza in the spring after students scored alarmingly low on the state’s newest standardized test.
Almost two dozen educators spent several weeks visiting 12 schools and conducting dozens of interviews. Their findings, included in a 93-page report by the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy, conclude that everyone — from the school district to the teachers union to the state Department of Education — is failing the city’s students.
By Linda Borg
Journal Staff Writer
Posted Jun 25, 2019 at 5:15 PM
Updated Jun 25, 2019 at 8:26 PM
PROVIDENCE — Students in the Providence public schools aren’t learning much, bullying and fighting are rampant, bad teachers are nearly impossible to fire, and a thicket of bureaucracy makes it difficult to know who is in charge.
Those are some findings of a scathing review of the city’s public schools released Tuesday afternoon.
Angélica Infante-Green, the state’s newly arrived education commissioner, said the city schools are so dysfunctional that she will not send her own two children there. She said she doesn’t know where she will enroll them.
The report is the result of a deep dive into the state’s largest school district ordered by Gov. Gina Raimondo and Mayor Jorge Elorza in the spring after students scored alarmingly low on the state’s newest standardized test.
Almost two dozen educators spent several weeks visiting 12 schools and conducting dozens of interviews. Their findings, included in a 93-page report by the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy, conclude that everyone — from the school district to the teachers union to the state Department of Education — is failing the city’s students.
https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20190625/heartbreaking-dysfunction-investigation-reveals-chaos-in-providence-schools
______________________________________________________________________
Source: Washington Post
Blistering report details abject dysfunction and dangerous schools in Providence, R.I.
By Valerie Strauss June 26 at 3:18 PM
A blistering report on the state of the Providence, R.I., schools finds many teachers and students do not feel safe in their classrooms, principals struggle to lead and deteriorating school buildings have become health hazards. Most students, the report concluded, are not learning on grade level — or even near grade level.
The picture of systemic dysfunction in the 24,000-student Providence Public Schools was painted by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy, who were invited by Rhode Island officials to take a hard look at the school system.
Some conditions were so dreadful that seasoned members of the Hopkins team broke into tears while visiting crumbling school buildings, the 93-page report said. In one school, rodents and asbestos were evident, along with lead paint “peeling in sheets” from the ceiling and lead in the water, which was brown and stained the sinks. Kindergartners were not allowed on the floor with the falling paint, but fourth-graders were, the report said.
Many of the documented problems in Providence reflect difficulties faced by urban school systems struggling to meet the needs of students who live in poverty and speak English as a second language. Years of school policies that focused on raising standardized test scores and expanding charter schools have failed to help many districts improve, and in some cases, coupled with a lack of funding, have made things worse.
Providence spent millions of dollars on what is widely known as “school reform” in the past decade. But the nearly two dozen Hopkins researchers — who visited 12 schools and spoke with hundreds of students, teachers and parents in May — reported “unusually deep” problems “that clearly, and very negatively, impact the opportunities of children.”
-snip-
By Valerie Strauss June 26 at 3:18 PM
A blistering report on the state of the Providence, R.I., schools finds many teachers and students do not feel safe in their classrooms, principals struggle to lead and deteriorating school buildings have become health hazards. Most students, the report concluded, are not learning on grade level — or even near grade level.
The picture of systemic dysfunction in the 24,000-student Providence Public Schools was painted by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy, who were invited by Rhode Island officials to take a hard look at the school system.
Some conditions were so dreadful that seasoned members of the Hopkins team broke into tears while visiting crumbling school buildings, the 93-page report said. In one school, rodents and asbestos were evident, along with lead paint “peeling in sheets” from the ceiling and lead in the water, which was brown and stained the sinks. Kindergartners were not allowed on the floor with the falling paint, but fourth-graders were, the report said.
Many of the documented problems in Providence reflect difficulties faced by urban school systems struggling to meet the needs of students who live in poverty and speak English as a second language. Years of school policies that focused on raising standardized test scores and expanding charter schools have failed to help many districts improve, and in some cases, coupled with a lack of funding, have made things worse.
Providence spent millions of dollars on what is widely known as “school reform” in the past decade. But the nearly two dozen Hopkins researchers — who visited 12 schools and spoke with hundreds of students, teachers and parents in May — reported “unusually deep” problems “that clearly, and very negatively, impact the opportunities of children.”
-snip-
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2019/06/26/blistering-report-details-abject-dysfunction-dangerous-schools-providence-ri/