This is Not a Drill -- Evacuate Providence Students Now: Guest MINDSETTER™ Maxwell

This is Not a Drill -- Evacuate Providence Students Now: Guest MINDSETTER™ Maxwell

Natural disasters often call for mass evacuations until stability and safety can be restored to affected areas.  In Providence, the man-made disaster with that city’s school system should result in a similar evacuation of students until safety and scholarly order can be restored.  Yes...I do mean a convoy of yellow school buses exiting Providence each day beginning this September to our 35 other school districts until order is restored for 25,000 of Rhode Island’s most vulnerable - the innocent students of Providence.  At 17k per Providence pupil, these resources can be reallocated - perhaps more efficiently - to other school districts who may welcome the added income to fill the void - although temporarily - of declining enrollment.

We have just 60 days to put this plan in place - to set up the logistics, negotiate with accepting school districts, determine what Providence schools, if any, can remain open, and which Providence teachers will be reassigned to the accepting the school districts to assist with the increased student rolls.  Some will be laid-off, reassigned to other jobs, or simply let go.  Such is often the unfortunate case where there is widespread disorder, chaos and mass casualty.  

With the added burden of the ineffective and inefficient daily teaching and operations lifted, the extremely capable Ms. Infante Green can roll her up sleeves and get to work to build a model school system for the victims of the current failed system (and they are victims) to return to.  Perhaps it will take a year or two - maybe less.  Perhaps we can begin readmitting students as soon as certain benchmarks are met and schools are rebuilt in an expedited fashion not feasible if occupied. Whatever it takes.  But the quickest and most effective pathway is to rebuild from this disaster without the distractions, the noise and the responsibilities of the failed status quo.  

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And for those stakeholders who attempt to stand in the way for the same self-serving interests put the Providence school system, I say stand down and step aside.  You’ve had your turn and have failed.  You’ll have your say at a time of the commissioners choosing and only after considerable strides toward cleaning up the disaster and righting past wrongs have been attained.  

The state’s crisis begins in Providence, and a complete overhaul of that city’s school system is a critical step toward restoring Rhode Island prosperity.  

Chris Maxwell resides in Warwick and hosts the radio show "Changing Gears"