BREAKING: 24 of 38 Providence Schools Labeled Failing

BREAKING: 24 of 38 Providence Schools Labeled Failing

The list of Providence public schools in need of an intervention more than doubled today when 15 additional schools were added to the list, according to a letter sent to city employees by Mayor Angel Taveras and Superintendent Susan Lusi.

24 of the city’s 38 public schools are now considered persistently low-performing by the state.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

The announcement comes on the heels of the Rhode Island Department of Education releasing its first statewide set of classifications under the new Rhode Island Accountability System. The system separates the state’s public schools into six categories (Commended, Leading, Typical, Warning, Focus, or Priority). Focus and Priority schools are considered the lowest-achieving schools in the state and are subject to state intervention and Warning schools must develop and implement plans for improvement, but on a lesser scale and without intensive RIDE oversight.

In Providence, the newly identified Focus schools include: George J. West Elementary; Harry Kizirian Elementary; Frank D. Spaziano Elementary; Nathan Bishop Middle; Esek Hopkins Middle; Providence Career & Tech Academy; Hopes Arts; Central High; and Hope Information Tech.

The new Priority schools include: Mary Fogarty Elementary; Robert Bailey Elementary; and DelSesto Middle.

The new Warning Schools include: Asa Messer Elementary; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary; and Alan Shawn Feinstein Elementary.

Following a diagnostic screening process of the Focus and Priority schools, one of three intervention models will be selected: Closure; Restart, where the school district would converts or reopens a school new management; or Flex, where the district must select a comprehensive package of strategies from RIDE.

The letter says the city does not consider closing any more schools an option.

“With more than half of our schools identified as needing bold and swift intervention, we are reminded that there is an urgency to fix a broken system,” the letter states. “We must concentrate efforts and resources in our neediest schools, promote district-wide improvements, and maintain a relentless focus on results. We are encouraged by the progress that we are seeing in the district’s Innovation Schools through the implementation of several critical reforms: more learning time for students and staff; robust partnerships that support students’ academic, social, and emotional development; and teacher assignment based on student need, to ensure the best teachers in front of the classroom.”

It continues: “Today’s announcement, while disappointing, is not surprising and it provides a new opportunity to build on recent reforms and implement a district-wide, K-12 reform plan that improves educational outcomes in every school. We must simultaneously invest in the district’s most struggling schools, while also building district capacity and infrastructure to promote excellence system-wide.”