Mayor Brett P. Smiley today released Community Voices on Providence Public Schools, the 2024 Community Engagement on Education Report, a comprehensive overview of feedback from nearly 1,200 community members, including families, students and other community partners on the state of education in Providence five years since the State intervention first began. The feedback, gathered from June to December 2024 through surveys and community conversations will inform the development of the City’s plan to resume management of the Providence Public School District (PPSD), ensuring that the City’s educational priorities align with community needs.
“The responses we received underscore the critical need for Providence to take back our schools,” said Mayor Brett Smiley. “Every student deserves access to a high-quality education that sets them up for success and this report is an essential step in ensuring that our efforts align with the priorities of students, families and educators. We remain fully committed to working with the community to make meaningful improvements that will benefit every student in our city.”
The report highlights four key messages from the community:
- Frustration with the quality of education: Community members expressed that they are broadly frustrated with the quality of education in Providence, citing challenges such as misaligned curricula, inadequate funding and insufficient support for both students and teachers.
- Collaboration and engagement failures: Many individuals noted that the State intervention led to confusion and distrust, with community members feeling that leaders are not effectively collaborating or providing clear pathways for involvement.
- Feeling unheard: Community members, especially students, feel their concerns are ignored by decisionmakers, leading to deep sense of frustration and a loss of trust.
- Hope for a brighter future after returning to local control: Despite the challenges, there’s optimism for local control, with families and students hoping for greater opportunities to influence school decisions and increased autonomy at the school level.
The results of the City’s annual community satisfaction poll mirrored the community engagement results in expressing the concerns of residents. A full 60% of community members were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the quality of public education in Providence. Only 18% of respondents were very or somewhat satisfied with the general management of PPSD whereas 61% were very or somewhat dissatisfied. Community members were similarly uneasy about the level of funding for PPSD (25% satisfied, 50% dissatisfied).
“City Council has worked in partnership with the administration to engage our communities directly about their priorities as we prepare for our schools to return to local control,” said Council President Pro Tempore Juan Pichardo. “The mayor’s report reinforces what I and my colleagues hear from every corner of the city: our students and families are frustrated and exhausted by the uncertainty surrounding the future of their schools. Council remains committed to working with the mayor and all of our partners to build a public school system that will prioritize students and families. Listening closely to the community is a critical step to making that a reality.”
The insights from this community engagement will be used to guide the City’s plan for transitioning PPSD back to local control. The City will continue to prioritize community engagement throughout the process, ensuring that feedback from students, families and teachers shapes the efforts to improve Providence’s schools.
“The efforts from the City to be transparent through this process have been encouraging,” said Facilitator and Community Liaison Wole Akinbi “I appreciate Mayor Smiley and his team’s effort to be inclusive of residents from all our neighborhoods in our city! I look forward to seeing how community engagement continues once we regain control of our school department!”
The Smiley Administration will release a transition plan in April that will detail the City’s steps to prepare for PPSD to return to municipal management and the immediate next steps after the District is back under local control. The plan will include key strategies for improving student outcomes, governance, finances, operations and facilities, in response to the goals of the 2019 Turnaround Action Plan (TAP) and concerns highlighted in the John Hopkins Report. The transition will also focus on strengthening collaboration between the City, District and State.
The full report is available on the City of Providence website: www.providenceri.gov/TAP