Providence Public School Board votes to take back control by 2025

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — The Providence School Board has unanimously voted for local control of their schools.

In 2019, the state took control over the district following a report that the Providence school district was one of the worst in the country.

The report released last Friday included a review from SchoolWorks and an academic analysis by the Harvard Graduate School for Education’s Center for Education Policy Research of PPD schools.

The report stated that there was progress in the past couple of years, but still potential for improvement.

In a statement, Providence School Board President Erlin Rogel said:

“This decision is rooted in our focus to protect the best interests of Providence students, parents, and educators.The turnaround was initiated because the status quo was failing our students. We were promised accountability and meaningful change. While some progress has been achieved, the reality is that our school system still underserves a vast majority of our students. The intervention has operated in a silo and has become impossible to evaluate due to a lack of checks and balances. A top-down approach to education does not best serve our students. The Providence community deserves a district that invites fresh ideas, partnerships, and honest feedback, not one that discourages discussion and balks at critique.

I am ready to work collaboratively with Commissioner Infante-Green, Superintendent Montañez, Mayor Smiley, and Council President Miller to ensure that a transition of our school district back to local control learns from pre-intervention mistakes and sustains the elements of the intervention that contributed to student growth and success. Relatedly, I am ready to advocate to our general assembly for amendments to the Crowley Act based on my experience here in Providence. Enshrining absolute power of a school district onto one person could pose severe consequences in future cases of state intervention where the state and municipality are ideologically at odds. We must act proactively and swiftly to ensure we safeguard our families.”

In a statement, School Board Member Ty’Relle Stephens said:

“I am proud to announce that the Providence School Board has unanimously voted 9-0 to recommend ending state intervention and returning Providence Schools to the governance of the Providence School Board by the end of the 2024-2025 school year. This decision reflects the countless hours I, as a board member, have spent listening to community public comments, where concerns were consistently raised, and the call to end the state takeover was loud and clear. I firmly believe that the progress made under state oversight can not only be maintained but surpassed once our schools are back under the control of the newly Hybrid (Elected) School Board in 2025. Data has shown that our schools performed better before the takeover than they do under the current state intervention.” 

According to the latest report on the state’s intervention, it’s ultimately up to Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green to exit PPSD from the intervention, and create a new plan or renew the intervention.