EXCLUSIVE: Which Providence Schools Might Close?

EXCLUSIVE: Which Providence Schools Might Close?

In deciding which schools to recommend for closure, Providence Mayor Angel Taveras will be looking at a wide variety of factors—including school performance, space needs, the impact of a closure on the surrounding neighborhood, and the ability of the school district to relocate students, according to spokeswoman Melissa Withers.

“There are a lot of factors that go into a school closure. It’s not done arbitrarily,” Withers told GoLocalProv. “At the end of the day, this is about making the numbers work. That’s why every factor is on the table.”

Providence has four of lowest performing schools in RI

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The performance of the school could be one factor among many. “I think the quality of the school—I would imagine that would be part of the considerations—how is the school performing?” she said.

“School performance is a factor in the sense that you don’t want to make it worse,” she added.

Providence has four of the five lowest performing schools in Rhode Island, Central Falls High School being the fifth.

The four Providence schools are: the Charlotte Woods Elementary School, Lillian Feinstein Elementary School at Sackett Street, Roger Williams Middle School, and the William B. Cooley, Sr., Health & Science Technology High School, according to the Rhode Island Department of Education.

Taveras will not choose one factor over another—in other words, he won’t simply take the list of lowest performing schools and recommend closing all of them, according to Withers. She said a number of other factors will come into play as well, such as the size of school facilities, the cost of any major repairs, and the location of the buildings in the neighborhood.

“We’ve been looking at a variety of resources for our recommendations on school closures,” Withers said.

2010 study recommended 7 schools for closure

One such resource is a 2010 study of school facilities which recommended the closure of seven schools, due to declining enrollments. The study, which was done by a private consultant, noted that enrollment peaked in 2003 at 27,900 students before dropping to 23,484 students in 2009—a loss of about 16 percent of the student body. Over the same period, the size of the teacher staff has under gone a steady attrition of about 50 employees a year.

As a result of the declines in enrollment, the study recommended the following schools for closure:

■ Lillian Feinstein Elementary School at Sackett Street
■ Messer Street Elementary School Annex
■ Windmill Elementary School
■ Bridgham Middle School
■ Perry Middle School
■ Feinstein High School
■ Ninth Grade Academy

Three of the schools were approved for closure—the Ninth Grade Academy, Perry Middle, and Feinstein High. That leaves four others recommended for closure just months ago. One of them is also on the list of lowest performing schools—the Lillian Feinstein Elementary School. One of the schools that has already been closed also was on the lowest performing list—Feinstein High.

Other factors: community impact, feasibility of relocating students

In addition to school performance and space needs, the city will examine the impact that a closure would have on the local community, Withers said.

Another key piece of the puzzle is the ability to accommodate the educational needs of the students at a school slated for closure. Withers said the district has to come up with an accommodation plan that shows it has the ability to find a seat for each of those students at another school—in a way that serves their needs and is also fiscally responsible.

“I think we can do this in a way that does not penalize students,” Withers said. “The goal here is to not hurt kids. In fact, the goal is to help kids.”

Not only does the district hope to close an estimated $40 million budget gap—but it is hoping to do so all the while moving forward with improvements to its school system, Wither said. She said top city and school administrations are confronted with a key question: “How do we save a ridiculous amount of money and make this better for our kids?”

The list of schools recommended for closure will be released next Monday. In the meantime, Taveras’ senior staff is poring over the relevant data with the school district. The final recommendations will be presented to the school board by Superintendent Thomas Brady. Then, the recommendations will have to go through a community hearing process before the city makes any final decisions about which schools will actually be closed.

Councilmen express skepticism

Providence city councilmen yesterday expressed skepticism over the process the city says it is using to decide which schools should be closed.

Councilman Miguel Luna said there are so many factors at work it is too soon to draw any conclusions about the process. “The criteria could be used against any of the schools … to justify closing these schools or keeping them open,” Luna said. “It’s too soon to tell how these criteria are going to work.”

Councilman Kevin Jackson said the district should be using one factor over the others. “We should be closing the schools where there are empty seats,” Jackson told GoLocalProv.

He said school performance should not be a factor. When told that it would be just one among many, Jackson was still skeptical. “I will believe it when I see it,” Jackson said. “I want to see all these factors they put into play and how they weigh it.”