PROVIDENCE REPUBLICAN
CITY COMMITTEE
NEWS RELEASE
| Release Date | 2019-08-20 |
| Subject | Outraged By Mayor's Proposal To Close Charter School |
| Contacts | DAVID TALAN < DaveTalan@aol.com > |
| WILLIAM RICCI < ProvidenceRepublican@gmail.com > |
The Co-Chairs of the Providence Republican Party, David Talan and William Ricci, have expressed outrage at Mayor Elorza's proposal to close one charter school in Providence, in return for giving his support for the high-performing Achievement First school to expand. Elorza made the proposal on Monday, at a Board meeting of Achievement First (as reported by the Boston Globe).
Instead, the GOP leaders called on Elorza to give immediate approval for Achievement First to expand eventually to 3,100 students. They also asked him to support all the other existing public charter schools in Providence; to assist them in expanding to serve more students; and to welcome more public charter schools to form in the City.
Achievement First has had amazing results, with student test scores that outperform those of students in East Greenwich and Barrington. (This, while traditional public schools in Providence have been a disaster, as outlined by the recent John Hopkins report). Achievement First currently has 2 Academies, with 1,300 students (about 1,100 from Providence), up to grade 7. There is a long waiting list for children to get into Achievement First (800 children for kindergarten; 500 kids for 1st grade). They eventually plan to expand, by the year 2026, to 3,100 students (about 2,600 from Providence), with 3 Academies and a High School.
This plan was approved in 2016, by the state Board of Education. The only thing holding it up is final approval by Mayor Elorza. The GOP leaders said, "We demand that Mayor Elorza sign off on this expansion immediately".
The GOP leaders also called on Mayor Elorza to support all the other excellent public charter schools in the city (Highlander, Paul Cuffee, Times 2, South Side, Academy For Career Exploration, among others), and not try to close any of them. He should also welcome additional charter schools in the City. Talan and Ricci estimated that there are 5 times as many families applying to get into charter schools, as there are available spaces for. "Mayor Elorza needs to listen to these parents, and give them what they want and need."
The Mayor should also make use of the excellent public Charter Schools in Providence, to help all the other schools. The original intent of Charter Schools was to develop innovative techniques for teaching, and then share those ideas with other traditional public schools. In Central Falls, former Superintendent Victor Capellan (now a top assistant to Commissioner Infante Green) willingly accepted help from the Learning Community Charter School, to assist the other public schools. In Providence, the teachers union has adamantly resisted accepting help from Charter Schools. They must be forced to accept this help.
For instance, the Achievement First Mayoral Academy, with a demographic of students that looks like the City of Providence, has developed a system, where English Language Learner (ELL) students are able to transition into traditional classes in a matter of months, instead of years; and perform very well. Providence needs to let Achievement First mentor the other Providence schools on how to use their successful system.
The Mayor should support the expansion of successful existing Charter Schools in Providence. At least 2 successful Charter Schools wanted to expand in Providence (where most of their students are from), but were forced to expand elsewhere, when the city was unwilling to help. Highlander Charter School (at Lexington Ave. & Broad St.) wanted to add a Middle School and High School, right next to their Elementary School. They wanted to take over the operations of the Elmwood Community Center (on Atlantic Ave.), which is currently non-functioning. The city was unwilling to help, so instead Highlander acquired the former Fatima School in Warren, and now buses students every day to Warren.
Achievement First has outgrown its building on Hartford Ave., and needed another building to move its Illuminar Academy into. Providence has empty former Elementary School buildings available (Flynn in South Providence and Windmill in the North End), but was not helpful. So instead, Illuminar is moving its students (mostly from Providence) to Cranston, into the former Katherine Gibbs School property off Cranston St.
These, and other Charter Schools, will be expanding again in the future. We need to make facilities in Providence available to them, said the GOP leaders.
Finally, Talan and Ricci rejected Elorza's suggestion, at Monday's meeting, that Providence public schools lose money every time a student picks a charter school. Currently, state aid makes up about two-thirds (2/3) of the city's $396,000,000 school budget. State aid follows the students to wherever they attend public school. But, the GOP leaders noted, the expenses of the Providence public school system are also reduced, whenever a student leaves to go to a charter school. There should be fewer teachers in the traditional public schools; fewer teachers aides; fewer buildings; less administrative overhead. "If this is not happening, then why is it not happening?", they asked.