Providence Teachers Union Wants to Address Behavioral Norms, Institutional Racism in State Takeover

Providence Teachers Union Wants to Address Behavioral Norms, Institutional Racism in State Takeover

The Providence Teachers Union (PTU) issued a report on Tuesday offering recommendations on how to rebuild Providence public schools during the state takeover.

This report comes a week after the state officially took over Providence schools following a 7-0 vote by the Rhode Island Council on Elementary and Secondary Education, as GoLocalProv reported.

“Like Commissioner Infante-Green, we educators have been saddened and outraged by the inaction and lack of resources of the past decades. We teach and work in these conditions every day, and we see the cost to our students,” said PTU President Maribeth Calabro.

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Union Recommendations

The PTU recommends the following priorities, with desired outcomes and action steps, to bring about changes in behaviors, ideas, and relationships.

• Behavioral norms. The PTU proposes to collaborate with the state, district, administration, teachers, parents, and students to develop a set of behavioral norms for all who enter school buildings and to identify appropriate responses for behavior outside those norms. The norms would be in line with other public venues and would create a safe learning, teaching and working environment.
• Greater communication. To increase communication with community partners, families and students, the PTU is committed to meeting with stakeholders at least monthly to build new relationships and strengthen existing ones.
• Addressing cultural competency/bias/racism. The PTU proposes to convene a working group dedicated to addressing systemic and institutional racism. The goal is to choose culturally accurate, relevant and meaningful curriculum and bring community partners into schools as leaders, teachers and resources to be part of the fabric of the school community rather than, for example, add-ons to Black History month, guest speakers, or helpers after a crisis.
• Partnerships for diversity. The PTU, the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals, and the district are committed to growing partnerships with colleges and universities, expanding on established relationships, and designing and developing systems to recruit and retain educators of color.
• Chronic teacher absenteeism. Recognizing the vital importance of having a certified teacher in school every day as well as the need for teachers to take legitimate sick leave, the PTU acknowledges teacher absences have been a problem. In those cases, the union is committed to working with the district to enforce language in the current collective bargaining agreement.  
• Union-sponsored professional development. The PTU, with the Providence Children and Youth Cabinet, will offer workshops for teachers and administrators on trauma, de-escalation in the classroom, self-care for teachers and administrators, grief and separation, and mindfulness. Additional workshops, with the American Federation of Teachers and the RIFTHP, will involve, for example, instructional strategies.

 

The PTU also urges the school district and the state to:

• Adopt K-12 social justice standards to be incorporated into current instruction and civics education at all high schools.
• Provide more counselors and social-emotional support systems for all grades. “Our children are in need of social-emotional support at a level and extent never seen before, requiring a concerted and collective effort,” Calabro said.
• Pilot a community school—similar to Agnes E. Little Elementary School in Pawtucket, R.I.—to provide a wide range of supports and resources to meet student needs, and to engage families and community partners. “We have a model, we have the will, we have many options, and believe we can and should make this happen,” Calabro said.