PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — A highly anticipated review that will help to determine if the struggling state-run Providence Public School District can be returned to local control is now in the hands of Rhode Island’s top education official.

R.I. Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green sent a letter to the district on Friday announcing the release of two reports evaluating the progress and capacity of the state takeover that began in 2019, and saying the next phase of the review process is underway.

“The findings should not surprise anyone,” Infante-Green wrote. “They show the district is moving in the right direction towards meeting the ambitious goals we set, but more work remains.”

In May, Infante-Green informed the district that “ an independent midterm review ” would assess the district’s progress five years into the state’s takeover, as well as evaluate the city’s “capacity and readiness for a return.”

What did the SchoolWorks review consist of?

A Massachusetts-based consulting firm, SchoolWorks, said in its report that over 280 stakeholders were interviewed, including approximately 40 students, 40 family or community members and 85 educators.

SchoolWorks said it interviewed district-level leadership, school-level leadership, teachers, parents, students, members of Mayor Brett Smiley’s office, members of the Providence City Council and staffers in Gov. Dan McKee’s office.

The site visit team also said it observed over 30 classrooms across two elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools. The report also said the team reviewed over 100 documents submitted by RIDE, PPSD, the city and the Providence School Board.

How much progress has been made?

SchoolWorks analyzed the district’s current performance data against the goals listed in the Turnaround Action Plan (TAP) .

“A review of documentation indicated a shift in data and timelines outlined in the TAP due to the disruption of school during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the report said.

In all, the report found 23 metrics from the TAP were not on track, but that 12 were on track and seven had already been met.

While SchoolWorks said “notable progress” had been made, the review of documents found several issues, including:

• The number who have a favorable perception of the district has decreased
• There is still work to be done to improve the percentage of students meeting and exceeding expectations on all assessments
• The number of teachers of color are still below the identified TAP goal
• The number of school leaders who have a favorable perception of the PPSD has decreased

Does the district have the capacity to go back to city control?

In regards to the district’s capacity to return to local control, the report again said that “notable progress” had been made.

The report found there had been significant progress in improving the condition of facilities; high-quality instructional materials for English language arts (ELA) and math had been adopted; improvements in HR systems increased efficiency; and student-based budgeting “afforded school leaders more flexibility to contextualize staffing models aligned with their programmatic needs.”

However, the report found the district has not yet set clear expectations for instruction; teachers have reported that data improvements have not led to strategic improvements; and there was a “consistently shared concern about the district’s fiscal health and the impact of budget-related teacher layoffs as well as uncertainty about the future of support positions.”

The report also said concerns about “a lack of transparency and collaboration between and among the district, teachers, families, and communities emerged from all stakeholder conversations.”

“Of note was the perception of limited opportunity for meaningful engagement for families and community groups and a consistent lack of clarity about who is responsible for decision making at the district level,” the report stated.

Is the city ready to regain control of the schools?

The city has been preparing to regain control ahead of any decisions.

Mayor Smiley named a new working group last year tasked with helping the city figure out what needs to happen before the city regains control.

Smiley has previously indicated that he feels the city needs at least a year to prepare for schools to be able to return to local control.

Finances are a big focus in the report, including the city’s willingness to commit to fully funding the school district at the level required by state law.

“There is both current discord and pending litigation regarding the city’s funding requirement, and it is unclear whether the city is fully meeting its stated and/or committed obligations,” the report said.

A spokesperson for Smiley’s office said the mayor had received the report on Friday morning, but that he had not reviewed it in full.

How does the school board fit into this?

The report found the Providence School Board “lacked a shared vision of governance for the district,” and also “does not consistently act as a single cohesive body.”

Board members also told SchoolWorks there was a “lack of consistent communication with RIDE, PPSD, and city leadership (both the mayor’s office and the City Council) has precluded them from building trust and systems of collaboration with these stakeholders.”

School Board President Erlin RogeL issued a statement about the report on Friday afternoon.

“Namely, I take issue with the report’s complaint that the Board does not act as a single cohesive body,’ which is reflective of RIDE’s belief that the Board exists to silently rubber stamp their agenda and not to represent the diverse views of the community members we represent,” Rogel said in part.

The school board will look different next year.

The City Council passed an amendment, later approved by Providence voters, to create a hybrid school board at the beginning of 2025. Under the new system half the board is elected, while the other half is appointed by the mayor.

How does PPSD compare to schools in CT, MA and RI?

An analysis from the Harvard Graduate School for Education’s Center for Education Policy Research also evaluated the district’s academic performance during and after the pandemic, but compared it to similar New England districts. (Infante-Green said this report came at no extra cost.)

Between 2019 and 2022, authors of the report found, PPSD had incurred less learning loss in reading compared to all three states, and less learning loss in math compared to Massachusetts and Connecticut, while it remained the same as Rhode Island’s comparison district average.

While the Harvard report said results suggested PPSD was “moving in the right direction,” authors said they could not draw conclusions based on having only two years of “reliable student assessments post-pandemic (and a single year change in annual scores) by which to judge.”

Additionally, the Harvard report found an apparent shift in enrollment from district schools to charter schools, independent schools and parochial schools since 2019.

“Between 2019 and 2023, enrollment in PPSD declined by roughly 2,900 students,” the report said. “Meanwhile, there was a rise in enrollment in the Providence area charter schools, Catholic schools and independent schools of a similar magnitude (3,000 students).”

What happens next?

There are three possible outcomes Infante-Green could recommend to the state’s Council on Elementary and Secondary Education: renewal of the existing turnaround plan, creation of a new turnaround plan, or return to local control.

“The district is on the right track, but it remains at a vulnerable point where progress can be easily reversed if the right conditions for long-term success are not in place,” Infante-Green said.

The education commissioner also wrote Friday that she does not yet have a final recommendation, but plans to submit one “soon after” a Providence School Board meeting being held later this month. (The next regular board meeting is scheduled for Aug. 21.)

“I want to be clear that RIDE does not and never intended to have oversight over PPSD in perpetuity,” Infante-Green said. “It is now time for everyone vested in the future of PPSD to come together to review the findings and work collectively to continue to propel the district forward. ”

Sep. 3 is the first full day of school for Providence Public Schools.

Alexandra Leslie ( aleslie@wpri.com ) is a Target 12 investigative reporter covering Providence and more for 12 News. Connect with her on Twitter and on Facebook .

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