Students envision a "youth-led future" for Providence Public Schools
“We are hopeful that this event will elevate youth priorities as the foundation for the City’s planning for a return to local control.”
“In 2019, John Hopkins University, hired by the State of Rhode Island, released a report on Providence Public Schools, and it said five major things,” said Nya Isom-Agazie, an 11-grader at Providence Career and Technical Academy and a youth leader at ARISE and Providence Student Union. “The report was used to justify the State takeover of PPSD and brought decision-making power from the community.”
The five major things?
The majority of students are not learning on, or even near, grade level.
Teachers are demoralized and feel unsupported.
Most parents feel shut out of their children’s education.
Principals find it very difficult to demonstrate leadership.
Many school buildings are deteriorating across the City, and some are even dangerous to students’ and teachers’ wellbeing.
Isom-Agazie and her fellow students, Julianna Espinal and Milia Odom, were emceeing an OurSchoolsPVD1 community conversation entitled Envisioning A Youth-Led Future late Tuesday afternoon at the Elmwood Community Center on Atlantic Avenue. Over 100 people, including students, parents, community members, and elected officials, attended to “share their visions and priorities” for the Providence Public School District.
In their press release, OurSchoolsPVD explained, “Youth leaders hope to see the experiences and priorities of current PPSD students set the foundation for the City’s approach to preparing for local control of Providence schools. As a component of stakeholder engagement for the City’s Return to Local Control Plan, staff from the Mayor’s Office will be in attendance in a listening capacity.”
[Youth, parents, and staff members from the OurSchoolsPVD alliance will also attend Providence Mayor Brett Smiley’s Community Conversation on Education on Saturday, December 14, to uplift youth and community priorities for the future of PPSD.]
Notably, the conversation on Tuesday afternoon was youth-led and youth-centered. Young people were encouraged to use the space to voice any concerns, comments, or questions about their School District, and the adults in the room were there to listen.
The last part of the community conversation was a “Political Education Session” that presented a history and critique of the State of Rhode Island’s takeover of the Providence Public School District.
One slide read:
The following slide diagnosed the root causes of the problems facing our schools.
The people most affected by problems don’t have the power or influence to change the conditions in schools and communities (lack of Democracy)
Equitable funding to fix the problems either does not exist or is not allocated based on the priorities of students and families (lack of Dollars)
Systems are dehumanizing. People within those systems are disrespected. The curriculum is irrelevant and insufficient (lack of Dignity)
Systemic Racism & White Supremacy: We live in a country that was founded on genocide and slavery. White supremacy and anti-Blackness exist at every level [and] in every system of our society. Our schools are not separate from this legacy.
The solution?
To help address these issues, the youth have chosen to campaign for Ethnic Studies and Anti-Racist Curricula at a Youth Organizing Power meeting as OurSchoolsPVD’s next fight. At an ARISE-led political education workshop, ethnic studies was defined as “a field of study that critically examines the pervasiveness of race and racism in all aspects of American society. It centers on the history and experiences of BIPOC and other racialized groups in the United States. It also promotes critical thinking on the intersectionality of identities in relation to power, privilege, and oppression.”
Students have been fighting for Ethnic Studies in Providence for a long time.
The Providence Student Union’s advocacy and partnership with PPSD led to the piloting of Ethnic Studies in 5 high schools during the 2016-2017 school year and a full-credit social studies Ethnic Studies course in six high schools by Spring 2018. [I covered this at RI Future here.]
ARISE piloted an Ethnic Studies course focused on Southeast Asian History at Alvarez High School from April 2018 - June 2018. It has since been offered at Woonsocket and Classical High Schools.
As part of the OurSchoolsPVD Ethnic Studies Campaign, the following demands were outlined:
Adequately trained & supported Ethnic Studies teachers
More teachers of color each year (20% annual increase)
Ethnic Studies curriculum that is integrated into K-12
Expansive curriculum, not repetitive
Ethnic Studies course as a High School graduation requirement
Project-based, not test-based curriculum
Students have leadership roles in designing, teaching, and evaluating curriculum
Turning back to taking PPSD back under local control and ending the State takeover, “We are hopeful that this event will elevate youth priorities as the foundation for the City’s planning for a return to local control.”
I expect to hear more about the Turnaround Plan (TAP) at the Mayor’s “Community Conversation” on Saturday. For now, I’ll leave it with the observation that the students at Tuesday’s meeting were not enthused about some of the metrics used to judge the timing of the return to local control. They emphasize Democracy, Dollars, and Dignity - not just test scores and attendance numbers - to improve schools and student outcomes.
About OurSchoolsPVD: OurSchoolsPVD is a community alliance of Providence youth-led organizations and allies, including the Alliance of Rhode Island Southeast Asians for Education (ARISE), Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM), Youth In Action (YIA), Young Voices (YV), RI Center for Justice (CFJ), Providence Student Union (PSU), and the Center for Youth & Community Leadership in Education (CYCLE), working towards education justice in PPSD. OurSchoolsPVD came together in 2019 with the goal of ensuring that State control of the Providence Public School District (PPSD) results in an educationally just and equitable system that adequately serves and centers the voices and leadership of all students and families. Grounded in our collective work, which for decades has pushed for asset-based, youth and community-driven visions for our public schools and communities, OurSchoolsPVD is excited to bring together an intergenerational alliance of grassroots organizations and allies to build the power we need to create the school system Providence youth and families deserve.
The OurSchoolsPVD Alliance press release:
100+ Providence Students and Community Members Join Youth-Led Conversation on the History of State Takeover, Future of PPSD
On Tuesday, December 10, more than 100 Providence students and community members gathered for a youth-led conversation about the future of Providence schools. The event included a youth-led political education session on the State takeover of PPSD and two rounds of breakout sessions for students to share their experiences in schools.
“The people who came learned about the Turnaround Action Plan (TAP) metrics and the State takeover extension. They seemed engaged and eager to learn about the event and the conversation. I hope the decision-makers that were present at the event take what was said into deep consideration to help fix and rebuild our school system,” said Milia Odom, event emcee and OurSchoolsPVD Youth Leader, who is an 11th grader at Central High School and youth organizer at ARISE.
Youth facilitators highlighted the history of the OurSchoolsPVD alliance, which formed in 2019 after the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) took over Providence schools. To address the root causes of issues facing PPSD, the alliance is fighting for a broader platform called the 3Ds–Democracy, Dollars, and Dignity. As a part of this vision, OurSchoolsPVD is leading a campaign to implement Ethnic Studies infrastructure in all Providence schools.
“Our Ethnic Studies campaign reminds us to center the youth and communities who are directly impacted by the violent racializing systems we are operating in. We need PPSD back under local control, and we also need PPSD to be led by youth and adults with lived experience and knowledge of how to support a school District with over 90% BIPOC. We need more structures for hiring and supporting teachers of color, curriculum that reflects students’ communities, and youth partnership in PPSD decision-making,” said Belinda Hu, a staff coordinator for OurSchoolsPVD.
Policy staff from the Mayor’s Office supported the event as a stakeholder engagement component for the City’s Return to Local Control Plan. Elected officials from Providence City Council, the Providence School Board, the State Legislature, and leaders from PPSD attended the event to listen to student perspectives.
Youth leaders hope to see the experiences and priorities of current PPSD students set the foundation for the City’s approach to preparing for local control of Providence schools. Participants elevated issues like school building infrastructure, school climate, the importance of more teachers of color, Ethnic Studies, students’ rights in schools, and school discipline policy.
“Before the event, our group didn’t know much about the political aspects of our school system, such as the Turnaround Action Plan (TAP) metrics and the funding lawsuit the City was facing. Many in our group were concerned about money making it into schools. Students talked about how the schools are old and falling apart, which leads people in the schools to get hurt. Overall, everyone had opinions, whether they were students of PPSD, students in other districts, or teachers and adult allies,” said Jesslynn Melendez, breakout facilitator and OurSchoolsPVD Youth Leader, a former student of Central High School.
“A student in my group shared that it is impossible for them to feel comfortable in school when the history they’re learning isn’t being told by the voices they want to hear. When what we are learning isn’t relevant, it makes it hard for students to take school seriously,” said Mariah Ajiboye, breakout facilitator and OurSchoolsPVD Youth Leader, who is a 12th grader at Classical High School and youth leader at Young Voices.
“My breakout group talked about how they don’t like the current school system because of how mentally draining it is. Students’ rights and powers are being taken away from them, and they are threatened by suspension and tardiness on their school records. Youth are taking action, and we want to be heard,” said Timmy Soeung, breakout facilitator and OurSchoolsPVD Youth Member, who is an 11th grader at E-Cubed Academy and youth organizer at ARISE.
Student leaders appreciated the intergenerational space and the chance to share their experiences with adults during breakout groups.
“We were listening and gaining each other’s perspectives, from students to the adults. It felt like the past was hearing the future at the same time, meeting in the present. We were there in the space to listen to each other and walk out with the message we are trying to spread,” Timmy said, reflecting on the event.
Facilitators invited participants to join the OurSchoolsPVD alliance at the Mayor’s Community Conversation on Education on December 14, 2024, to uplift youth and community priorities for the future of PPSD.
For more information about OurSchoolsPVD, you can visit @OurSchoolsPVD on Instagram.
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About OurSchoolsPVD: OurSchoolsPVD is a community alliance of Providence youth-led organizations and allies, including the Alliance of Rhode Island Southeast Asians for Education (ARISE), Providence Youth Student Movement (PrYSM), Providence Student Union (PSU), Youth In Action, Young Voices, Rhode Island Center for Justice, and the Center for Youth and Community Leadership in Education (CYCLE), working towards education justice in PPSD. OurSchoolsPVD came together in 2019 to ensure that State control of the Providence Public School District (PPSD) results in an educationally just and equitable system that adequately serves and centers the voices and leadership of all students and families. Grounded in our collective work, which for decades has pushed for asset-based, youth and community-driven visions for our public schools and communities, OurSchoolsPVD is excited to bring together an intergenerational alliance of grassroots organizations and allies to build the power we need to create the school system Providence youth and families deserve.
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