PROVIDENCE REPUBLICAN
CITY COMMITTEE
NEWS RELEASE
| Release Date | 2021-02-04 |
| Subject | State Senate Committee Vote To "Pause" New Or Expanded Charter Schools |
| 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 blasted the State Senate Education Committee, for voting to "pause" any new or expanded Charter Schools, including 6 that have already been approved by the state Board Of Education in December. The Senate Education Committee voted for this moratorium last week, by an 8 to 1 vote; with all Democrats voting in favor, and the Republican voting against.
Talan and Ricci called on the full Senate to reject this bill; and for the House Education Committee and the full House to also reject it. They added, "And if the Legislature is foolish enough to pass this horrible bill, we call on Governor Dan McKee to emphatically veto it". They called on Gov. McKee to veto both a moratorium on the 6 schools already approved; and also any moratorium on any additional new or expanded Charter Schools in the coming years. The GOP leaders pledged that any Providence Legislators who vote for this pause will be targeted for defeat in 2022.
Ricci and Talan said that "This is the civil rights issue of our time.The Providence school system is made up of 91 percent minorities. Many families feel 'trapped' in this failing school system. They want an opportunity for their children to create a better life for themselves, by getting a good education."
As proof of parents' unhappiness with the Providence schools, they noted that there were 12,000 applications, just for Providence students, this year, to get into a Charter School. Only a small fraction of them will "win this lottery", and the rest will be trapped in a long waiting list. "Even if all the proposed Charter Schools are allowed to open to full capacity, we will not come even remotely close to wiping out the waiting list."
In December, the state Board Of Education voted to allow 2 existing Providence-based Charter Schools to expand.
- Achievement First (now grades K to 8; eventually K to 12)
- R.I. Nurses Instititute (RINI) (grades 9 to 12)
They also voted to allow 3 new Charter Schools to open in Providence.
- Excel Academy (K to 12)
- Providence Preparatory Academy (grades 5 to 8)
- Nuestro Mundo Academy (dual language K to 8)
In addition to Achievement First and RINI, there are 8 other existing Charter Schools, that serve primarily Providence students.
- Highlander (grades K to 12)
- South Side (K to 4)
- Paul Cuffee (K to 12)
- Times 2 (K to 12)
- Hope Academy (K to 8)
- Charette (9 to 12)
- Nowell Leadership (9 to 12)
- Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts (TAPA) (grades 7 to 12)
Talan recently served on state Education Commissioner Angelica Infante-Green's Community Design Team, that helped plan the state takeover of the Providence schools. He is also on the Education Committee of the citywide Coalition Of Providence Neighborhood Associations. Talan and Ricci praised the work that Infante-Green and Providence School Superintendent Harrison Peters are doing, to improve the city schools. They pointed to the common rigorous reading and math curriculum they have installed in all the Elementary schools; their work to provide equitable computer resources to all students; and their plans to speed up repairs to school buildings in the worst condition.
But the GOP leaders noted that "It is going to take 5 years for Infante-Green and Peters to fix the mess that they inherited.Parents, whose children are already in school now, can not wait 5 years for the Providence schools to improve, to the point where they would choose them over high-performing Charter Schools."
Talan and Ricci called on the State Legislature to "do what is best for the children". Legislators need to "get out of the way", and allow Infante-Green and Peters to do their job, and allow all Providence children the chance to go to a good school.