Providence needs to renovate smaller schools, keep them open | Opinion
The Providence Student Union Leadership Team comprises12 high schoolers. Senior and team co-director Dexter Vincent, senior Yasemin Eksioglu and junior Naima Gnepa, both team members, and all of Classical High School, lead the group’s advocacy on Mount Pleasant High School.
At Classical High School, students have benefitted from school renovations. In 2022, Classical began interior improvements worth $34 million. Today the bubblers work, the stairwells and bathrooms no longer leak, and our classrooms are new and colorful. Renovations have made Classical a more comfortable, productive space for learning while maintaining a sense of continuity for students.
Classical, a disproportionately white, test-in school, is a rare example. Elsewhere, the Providence Public School District (PPSD) is closing and demolishing schools. 2023 was the last year for Broad Street and Carl G. Lauro elementaries. Gilbert Stuart Middle School closes in June. Mount Pleasant High School will be partially or completely destroyed. Why is Classical renovated and these schools are not? PPSD calls it “Newer and Fewer.”
“Newer and Fewer” means closing small schools with declining enrollment and replacing them with fewer, larger schools. Meanwhile hundreds of students are opting into (smaller) charter, private and suburban schools, threatening PPSD’s long-term funding. After the infamous 2019 Johns Hopkins report, the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) took control of the district. Conditions have barely improved. From 2019-22, student math proficiency remained at 10% and English Language Arts proficiency rose only .9% to 14.9%.
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Smaller schools could attract families back. Small schools increase scores for all by grouping students of diverse abilities and socioeconomic status. Larger schools are associated with a 12% increase in dropout rates. Researchers at the University of Oregon found that “large schools seem to be significantly less effective in producing student achievement.” Closing schools, bypassing necessary renovations, and consolidating in larger new-builds creates conditions for decreased student performance and accelerated disenrollment.
Both PPSD and RIDE have failed to clearly communicate their plans with the community; neither have shown results. Why should we believe in “Newer and Fewer”? RIDE and PPSD did not announce the 2023 closures of Gilbert Stuart, Carl G. Lauro and Broad Street. The Providence Teachers Union, a private association, broke the news. RIDE’s near-total defunding of these schools’ improvements budgets suggests that they had been planning closures since 2019.
In 2007, PPSD considered demolishing Nathan Bishop Middle School, whose enrollment and reputation had declined. After public opposition to demolition, the city chose renovations. The project cost $26 million, 35% cheaper than expected. Today, Nathan Bishop is a model Providence school; it’s energy efficient, accommodates modern learning, and preserves the historic structure. Renovating whiter and wealthier Nathan Bishop while ignoring the significant community desire to renovate Mount Pleasant is blatantly inequitable.
This summer PPSD announced three options for Mount Pleasant High: complete demolition, partial demolition and renovation. In August we attended a “public input” meeting; it felt like PPSD had already made up its mind. In September PPSD announced that renovations were off the table, citing a $190-million price-tag. However a 2017 assessment estimates renovations closer to $31 million. PPSD has not provided figures to substantiate this $160-million difference. In our interviews, Mount Pleasant students expressed pessimism about their school, but felt proud of recent updates to the gym and north wing.
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Complete renovation of Mount Pleasant could introduce modern learning amenities, be cost-effective and provide consistency for students. Renovations won’t expose the neighborhood to dangerous particulates or emit thousands of tons of carbon. Demolition and new-build will.
The district can still choose to renovate Mount Pleasant. Positive engagement with families and smaller schools can turn decreased enrollment and stagnant student performance around. The district and state need to learn to consistently care for their assets so our neighborhood anchors are never demolished. This stability, consistent care, and equitable treatment for our schools is what students want.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Smaller schools could attract families back and increase scores for all by grouping students of diverse abilities and socioeconomic status.
