School Board members challenge school closures and the charterization of public schools in Providence
“We are asking the Commissioner and the School Leadership Team to immediately pause the school closure plans..."
Providence School Board members Night Jean Muhingabo and Ty'Relle Stephens joined State Representative Enrique Sanchez (Democrat, District 9, Providence) and Gary Dantzler of Black Lives Matter on Friday morning outside the Providence Public School Department (PPSD) offices on Westminster Street to speak out against the closures of several public schools, and what they see as an effort to replace public schools throughout Providence with corporate-backed charters.
The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) took over the operations of Providence Public Schools in 2019, even though no state takeover of a municipal school system has led to better results for students.
Commissioner of Education Angélica Infante-Green has announced the closure of three public schools, closure plans that were decided without input from affected parents and students. Carl G. Lauro Elementary School, Alan Shawn Feinstein (ASF) Elementary School and Gilbert Stuart Middle School are all slated to close. Further, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley is pushing the Providence City Council to approve a lease agreement with Achievement First, a charter school, to move into a space currently occupied by Fortes Elementary School,
“We are holding this press conference to ask the Commissioner of Education and the School Leadership Team to immediately pause the school closure plans,“ said Providence School Board member Night Jean Muhingabo.
“If you remember last year, there was a leak that the School Department had plans to close two elementary and one middle school,” continued Muhingabo. “The decision was made by the Commissioner and the School Leadership Team. They didn't involve parents, teachers, students, community members, or the school board.
“This shows that the Commissioner doesn't care about our community and the School Board's opinion. I learned about the school closure on Twitter. [There was a] lack of community inclusion. Closing our schools without involving parents and teachers is unacceptable.
“Since they made this decision, parents at Lauro and Alan Shawn Feinstein have asked to meet with [the Commissioner] and the School Department. I am disappointed that they are refusing to meet with them. Parents are asking questions like: Where are they going to send my kids? They are wondering if their children will be in the same school. And the teachers are asking if they will lose their jobs.
“The students at these schools have been getting services they might not receive elsewhere. These students have created bonds with their teachers and administrators and I think it is unhealthy to break them. Closing these schools will hurt students.
“I have been talking to refugee parents that have children attending Gilbert Stuart Middle School. When I told them this month that the School Department has plans to close Gilbert Stuart Middle School, they were surprised. Most refugee youth at Gilbert Stuart Middle School are new to the country and struggling to integrate into American society while at the same time learning about American culture and trying to make friends. Closing this school and moving them to another will hurt them.
“We are asking the Commissioner and the School Leadership Team to immediately pause the school closure plans.
“We are asking the Commissioner and the School Leadership Team to meet with parents at the two elementary schools and Gilbert Stuart Middle School.
“We are asking the Commissioner and the School Leadership Team to release minutes and attendee list from the secret school closure meetings.
“We are asking all School Board members to speak up against school closure and address the Commissioner and School Leadership Team immediately. Because if we don't speak up, they will start closing public schools one by one and turning them into charter schools.
“Lastly, I want to address this: If you remember last year, we received anonymous letters from eight district leaders regarding allegations of toxic leadership and abuse of power. RIDE and the School Department told the School board and community members that they were conducting an investigation and we trusted their words.
“This week, I learned that the district never did an investigation and this is not okay. Joan Jackson, the senior advisor to the Superintendent, has helped create a retaliation culture in Providence Public Schools. I am asking the School District to launch an investigation and to look into these allegations.”
Representative Enrique Sanchez
“We have been facing a state takeover here in Providence Schools that has not been delivering for our communities, our youth, our parents, or for students, and things have just gotten worse,” said Representative Enrique Sanchez, who is also a teacher. “We have heard about retaliation against administrators of color - administrators who are doing their jobs and working with the community. I want to echo Night Jean's words about the senior advisor, Joan Jackson. I have not heard positive things about her. I have witnessed the cultural pushback she has created with administrators, teachers, and folks who are trying to do the right thing.”
“This is coming from an elected official who has been paying attention, observing, and analyzing the situation here in the school district. I understand the schools are under state takeover right now,” continued Representative Sanchez. “I understand, as board members, state representatives, senators, and city council members that we can't do much because RIDE has taken control of the schools, and RIDE is supported by the Governor. The Governor supports the Mayor. The Mayor supports the state takeover, et cetera.
“I want to echo the ASF school closure stuff. The Governor, the Mayor, RIDE, and other folks on the school board weren't bringing light to the school closures. Everyone was quiet about those school closures. And now there's a lease agreement before the City Council being settled between Achievement First and the City.
“That negotiation was tabled till next week. It's funny that the Mayor decided to speak up and advocate for the youth and parents at Achievement First but is completely silent on the school closure at ASF Elementary School. He went on WPRI two days ago and he stated that he put pressure on the city councilors to extend the lease agreement at Forte Elementary School. To me that is hypocritical. If we're going to advocate for parents, students, teachers, and community members, it has to be for public, private, and charter schools. Everyone [should be] equal at the same time.
“We are here as not just people in these positions, but people who care about our communities, people who we reflect the youth from the community. We've been here, our families have been here, for decades. We've lived the injustices that institutional racism and poverty generation after generation. We're tired of it. We want to see our youth flourish. We want to see our youth do well in school, advocate and become future leaders.
“The state takeover is run by people who want to charter up our schools, who want to privatize our school district, break unions, and break the public education system. We're being run by a school district that has created a working space of toxicity and racism and has pushed out many school leaders who have been putting in the work, for our youth, for years.”
Ty’Relle Stephens
“I just want to state on the record that I believe there is some fishy business going on,” said Providence School Board member Ty’Relle Stephens. “I am not liking what I'm seeing, from the appointments of board members to the current situation with the school closures. I have reached out to the Mayor to meet with him and have not gotten a response.”
“I don't know what's going on behind the scenes, but it has to stop,” continued Stephens. “The reason the school department is continuously on the news is that they're not doing what they need to do as it pertains to transparency and retaliation. We need to stop that.
“We need to ensure that our students and families are put first and that's something that I don't see. I don't like to get into race, that's not what I do, but the majority of this district is Black and brown students and families. And when I look at [the School Department's] central office and I look at who's hiring [and being hired], I don't see the same. That's a concern as well. We need to ensure that we have transparency on all forefronts.
“As my colleague Night Jean said, the school closures need to stop immediately. It is just that simple. There's no way that the school should be closed in the way that it was. I'm concerned with the overall way that the district is functioning.
“I'm upset with how things are going. I'm upset that it's the last day of school and we are here speaking about the same thing: lack of transparency. Something needs to give. I'm calling on the Mayor to do something. I'm calling on the mayor to meet with me. It's upsetting that I have to, as a board member, come here to ask the Mayor to meet with me about what's going on. At the end of the day, the Mayor needs to do his job. I don't want to call him out, but I have to call him out. We need to do our job. We need to be transparent. That's the reason why the residents voted him in as Mayor. It's no longer a Commissioner and Superintendent thing. The mayor is highly involved with what's going on and I need the Mayor to speak up and advocate for the students and families.”
“The State Takeover of Providence Schools is slated to end in September of 2024," said Representative Sanchez. “We are going to make sure that this is enforced. If there are plans to extend the state takeover past that, we're going to make sure that we take aggressive action and prevent that.
“The Governor is an advocate for charter schools. The Mayor has been an advocate for charter schools. The Commissioner has been an advocate for charter schools ... There is a pro-charter agenda and let's stop ignoring the fact that that's what they want to do. They want to charter up and privatize the school education system. There's nothing wrong with the current charter schools. The problem is when they're defunding public schools and sending Providence Taxpayer funds, Rhode Island state taxpayer funds, and other investments into private entities, corporations, and charter networks that are run by wealthy, white, elite folks.”
I hate to say it, but I'm starting to believe that the state takeover was strategically done and it was strategically done to give RIDE all the authority to do what they want to do, which is to bring in more charters, make any kind of decisions that they want for our families and students. and there'd be no accountability,” said School Board Member Stephens. “It's starting to seem as if it was all strategically planned.
“Honestly, I don't see too many Black and Latino people at PPSD and RIDE. I want to see people that look like us, who understand the materialistic conditions and the issues that our schools and community members have been living through for years. [Instead] we're just seeing a bunch of nepotism and we're tired of it.
“At RIDE there are a bunch of people there who are from out of the state, who didn't grow up in Providence schools, who didn't go to Providence schools, who don't have kids in Providence schools. You have people up there who are completely disconnected from the reality that thousands and thousands of Providence families, youth, and teachers have been living through for decades.”