Police called to another 360 High School merger meeting as tensions rise

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Police were called to another meeting in which community members made their pitch to save 360 High School.

The latest incident occurred on Tuesday night at the Rhode Island Department of Education’s council meeting on elementary and secondary education.

A handful of officers responded after some parents, teachers and students were told they could not speak during a public comment section of the meeting.

ABC 6 News crews saw community members chanting “let them speak” in an overflow space after public comment had closed.

Staff with the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) told ABC 6 the sign up for public comment closed at 5:30 p.m. Monday night.

Now, the clock is ticking to save 360 High School in Providence, as an end-of-school year deadline for their school to merge with Juanita Sanchez moves closer.

“It’s so messed up that…when you think about it…it’s like, what am I going to do?” said Shania Pena, a sophomore at 360 High School. “I don’t want to go to any of these schools. I don’t want to do any of that. I want to stay at 360, and it’s crazy to think I won’t even be able to graduate with my class.”

360 was not on Tuesday’s agenda for the RIDE council on elementary and secondary education, but it was a focus for community members.

“I’m a public-school parent as well. I live in Providence, and 360 is just the type of school I want as a taxpayer,” said Dr. Ellen Folley, a teacher at 360 high school. “As a community member, because it helps students learn and speak for themselves, and that’s what you see them doing here.”

Like the meeting held at Providence Public Schools earlier this month, the room was filled, spilling out into an overflow space.

There was also a similar outrage that community voices were not being heard.

“So you tell me, I’m not on the list, and I show you where I applied for this sign-in,” said Ana Vargas, a 360 parent and Ward 7 Councilwoman in Providence. “And he says this is not our website, this does not belong to us. I said, but 360 sent this to me, and another person sent it to me, so why is this not the same? So I have to come here and speak.”

Councilwoman Vargas, a parent of multiple students at 360 High School, was turned away when she registered to speak about the sudden closure of her child’s school.

“They never asked the parents, they never asked the community, they never ask if the students like it or not,” Vargas said. “And this is my frustration.”

“My ward doesn’t have any high school,” Vargas continued. “So, if you don’t want 360, bring it to another ward, and then we’ve got a solution.”

Her son, a senior at 360, says this is not surprising.

“They’re all just switching out these schools without informing the teachers, or informing the students, or informing the families,” said Michael Isom, a senior at 360 High School. “They really want to shut us up.”

“They want to do what they want,” Isom added. “They think that shutting down a school is going to make it better for the community, but it’s not. It’s going to make it worse.” 

A spokesperson from RIDE sent ABC 6 a statement, saying, in part: “While we understand the support and emotion shown this evening, this decision considers the needs and wellbeing of the entire district and aims to expand access to educational offerings for students.”