Groundbreaking Plan to Transform Providence Schools Released

Published on Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Students-First Plan Reflects Input from Broad Range of Community Stakeholders

PROVIDENCE, RI – United in their goal to transform Providence public schools, Rhode Island Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Angélica Infante-Green and Providence Public School District (PPSD) Superintendent Harrison Peters today released Turning Hope into Results: A Turnaround Action Plan for the Providence Public School District.



Rooted in the foundational belief that Providence students deserve much better, the Turnaround Action Plan (TAP) is an ambitious, five-year roadmap for working with students, families, school leaders, teachers, support staff, and the entire community to create a world-class school system that prepares every student to succeed. The plan comes one year after the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy presented its heartbreaking report on PPSD to the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education, which led to state control of the district on November 1, 2019.



“The changes that this plan lays out have been driven by students, teachers, parents, and community members who know Providence students deserve better. Thanks to the hard work of so many, we now have an actionable plan to make meaningful reforms that will better serve students for generations to come,” said Governor Gina M. Raimondo. “I applaud the efforts of Commissioner Infante-Green, Turnaround Superintendent Peters, and the entire community for developing this collaborative plan for transformational change in the Providence public schools.”



The TAP is the product of a more than six-month planning process that started in December 2019, when the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) named 45 members of the Community Design Teams (CDTs) to develop a set of recommendations for change. Twenty-six (26) of the 40 recommendations in the TAP came directly from the CDTs. Numerous other stakeholder groups, including parents, students, transformation experts, and national organizations, contributed to and enriched the final plan.



“This is a day for celebration, a day that would not be possible without the parents, students, educators, and community groups who have been committed from the start and worked with us on this plan – our plan – for change,” said Commissioner Infante-Green. “When the transformation is complete, Providence students will attend schools that treat them with respect and dignity, educate them with rigor and depth, and prepare them to succeed in whatever path they choose after graduation.”



The TAP follows a Five-Four-Three structure:

• Five Promises that embody the collaborative commitment to improving PPSD.
• Four Core Values — Students First, Equity and Access, Transparency, and Results — that infuse all education work in Rhode Island.
• Three Pillars, which are fundamental to transformation, guide the work: 
  • Engaged Communities
  • Excellence in Learning
  • World-Class Talent
  • These pillars are supported by the foundational principle of Efficient District Systems.

At its core, the TAP contains a set of ambitious initiatives with concrete metrics for Years 1, 2, and 3, aligned to the three pillars and foundational principle. Initiatives for Years 4 and 5 will be developed based on lessons learned and progress made over the first three years.



“This plan is a bold, public promise to the students and families of Providence to build a world-class school system for our city,” said Superintendent Peters. “We will work tirelessly to deliver on the targets and timelines in this plan. Our entire PPSD team — school leaders, teachers, and support staff — will work with focus and discipline to turn this promise into reality for the students who attend our schools.”



Both PPSD and RIDE will engage in rigorous, initiative-based progress monitoring. A public review of the plan’s progress will be presented two times a year; RIDE and PPSD staff will internally review and grade the plan on an annual basis; and the TAP team will review the following year’s initiatives at the end of every school year.



Learn more and get involved at www.4PVDKids.com.