Teachers of Color in RI Limited Due to Discrimination at Providence College, Says New Report

Teachers of Color in RI Limited Due to Discrimination at Providence College, Says New Report

The Providence College Coalition Against Racism (PC-CAR) is calling on the administration to take action and end discrimination in the Department of Elementary and Special Education.

The PC-CAR charges that the department “discriminates against students of color, denying many of them access to the major and contributing to the deficit of teachers of color in the Providence and other Rhode Island school systems.”

“I noticed these problems before my first semester working in the department. When I voiced concerns, they were brushed aside as coincidental.  Later, when pressed further, I was told that other people in the department had acted inappropriately for decades, but it is not them.  When I continued to ask questions, I was roundly silenced by the dept and the administration - this act of silencing students has been a theme for a long time,” said Dr. Anthony Rodriguez, who PC-CAR credits as a whistleblower.

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Rodriguez adds, "In the past 7 years, beginning formally on March 21st, 2013, I have been subjected to open and unyielding harassment and retaliation by members of my department and beyond, of which the university has done nothing to stop.  The goal was to silence my voice and bury the truth. I have paid the price for my advocacy."

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PC-CAR notes that some actions have been taken such as removing the Department Chair, but the real problems are the discriminatory practices.

“I’ve been told by my advisers, supervisors, and professors that I “should choose a new major because the work may end up being too hard for me,” before the work even began, that…“if I ask myself whether or not I want you to teach my grandchildren, I would have to say no. I have never truly felt the support and encouragement that I was expecting as a growing teacher within this program,” said former PC student Kai Burton in a statement. 

Burton adds, “I’ve been insulted, ignored, underestimated, belittled, dismissed, reprimanded, and more. While I’ve watched other students make the same mistakes that I have, and struggle with the same content, they receive a, “that’s okay, hand it in next week if you can,” while I lose a full letter grade or simply get denied a chance to make up the work at all.”

Department of Elementary and Special Education Discrimination

According to PC-CAR, the most recent graduating class of 2019 had two students of color in a graduating class of 53, a percentage of 3.8%. This percentage compares to the 17.8% students of color at Providence College as a whole.

There were only 4 students of color in a class of 59 (6.8%) in 2018.

PC-CAR also points out that only 23% of Providence schoolteachers are teachers of color in a system that enrolls 91% students of color.

Only 11% of teachers statewide are teachers of color.

The Providence College Coalition Against Racism charges the following:

• When white students face difficulties, they are encouraged and given positive advice on how to stay on track. Students of color facing similar problems are told they don’t have what it takes, are given extra classes and are encouraged to give up their dream to become teachers.
• Initial assessments in the sophomore year until recently featured essays that were evaluated based on grammar. Bi-lingual students using non-traditional grammar were forced to rewrite their essays many times or were denied access to the major.
• Students of color are assumed to be from poor neighborhoods and from families who do not support their academic work. White students are assumed to be from upper-middle-class neighborhoods with supportive families.
• White students are placed in positive student teaching classrooms while students of color are placed in deficit-focused classrooms and are required to take non-college credit courses.

 

Fixing the Issue

PC-CAR demands that the administration takes whatever actions are necessary and that they set targets for the graduation of students of color from the department and take the necessary actions to meet those targets.

The targets are as follows:

2021 = 15%, 2022 = 20%, 2023 = 25%, 2024 = 30%, 2025 = 35%, 2026 = 40%

PC-CAR adds that they are creating a Community Advisory Board with the help of the Providence NAACP.