Opportunities for Community Engagement

Academic Support 

Program Name	Program Description	Contact Information
Providence Talks	Providence Talks offers a language enrichment program that brings parents, children, and educators together to build the skills and confidence needed to enhance language development and learning during the critical early years of 0-3.	Contact Federal Hill House to sign up for a play group or talk to your childcare provider about free professional development.
City of Providence Recreation Department Math Tutoring Program	Recreation Centers offer before and after-school tutoring, including for math.	Please contact the Recreation Center closest to you here.
City of Providence Recreation Department Math Homework Help	Recreation Centers offer Math Club and a Homework for Video Games program where students get 15 minutes of video game time for completing their math homework; grade-level math worksheets are available for students who do not have math homework.	Please contact the Recreation Center closest to you here.
City of Providence Recreation Department Math Enrichment Activities	Recreation Centers offer the Math Hoops board game that teaches students a fun way to learn math and to develop their math skills. The Recreation Department is hoping to have a Math Hoops tournament where multiple Recreation Centers may participate.	Please contact the Recreation Center closest to you here.
City of Providence Recreation Department ELA Homework Help	Recreation Centers offer various programs to help students develop their ELA skills, including ELA Homework Help.	Please contact the Recreation Center closest to you here.
City of Providence Recreation Department Academic and Self-Awareness Training	Recreation Centers have partnered with the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Initiative (JDPI) to offer trainings on academics and self-awareness.	Please contact the Recreation Center closest to you here.
City of Providence Recreation Department After-School Homework Help	Recreation Centers provide additional homework support through the Orton-Gillingham (OG) Approach. This approach focuses on the learning needs of individual students and scaffolds ELA and parts of speech for struggling readers and specifically, MLL students.	Please contact the Recreation Center closest to you here.
City of Providence Recreation Department Reading Programs	Recreation Centers offer various programs to help students read more. This includes Reading Time at their summer camps and book clubs at each Recreation Center.	Please contact the Recreation Center closest to you here.
Read to Succeed	The Read to Succeed Program is a summer literacy and college scholarship program that helps underprivileged students maintain their learning momentum and offers a $1,000 college scholarship award each year for up to six years.	You may learn more about Read to Succeed’s program here.
Teatro ECAS Te Quiero Program	The City of Providence supports Teatro ECAS’s Te Quiero program to offer out-of-school programming in Spanish throughout the year to help students to increase their literacy. Participants will create theater productions and will work in English to increase both Spanish and English literacy and expression.	You may learn more about Teatro ECAS Te Quiero Program here.
Volunteer as a Tutor at PPSD	PPSD has a program for interested adults to volunteer at PPSD schools.	You may learn more about PPSD’s volunteer program here.

  

Behavioral Health 

Program Name	Program Description	Contact Information
Family Matters	This is a family-directed program that provides parents / guardians / mentors with free training on how to speak with their youth about their expectations around not using alcohol and tobacco while they are under the age of 21.	Please contact Rachel Ferrara, Human Services Division Director  rferrara@providenceri.gov.
Free Youth Mental Health First Aid	Training for teachers, coaches, school staff, counselors, youth group leaders, parents and adults who work with youth.	Please contact Rachel Ferrara, Human Services Division Director rferrara@providenceri.gov
Health and Wellness Resource Fairs	Health and Wellness Resource Fairs support students and families in accessing necessary information, services, and programs (including Mental Health Fairs and Week of the Young Child Fair).	Please contact Rachel Ferrara, Human Services Division Director rferrara@providenceri.gov to learn more.
Partnerships for Success (PFS)	This program addresses citywide underage alcohol and tobacco/nicotine use and have an anticipated reach of at least 13,243 individuals ages 12-17 between August 2020 and July 2025.	Register your child by contacting Rachel Ferrara, Human Services Divison Director rferrara@providenceri.gov .
Providence Behavioral Health Program	Provides behavioral health outreach, homelessness support services, and supporting Providence Safe Stations programs.	Please contact Sil Nhongvongsouthy, Behavioral Health Program Manager  snhongvongsouthy@providenceri.gov
City of Providence Recreation Department Student Master Classes	Recreation Centers have student leaders facilitate Student Master Classes – these are casual conversations on self-care, including hygiene, proper sleep, and self-awareness.	Please contact the Recreation Center closest to you here.
City of Providence Recreation Department Tutoring Program with The Wheeler School	Recreation Centers have partnered with the Wheeler School to offer a tutoring program where students at Wheeler work with students enrolled at PPSD.	Please contact the Recreation Center closest to you here.

  

Community Participation 

Program Name	Program Description	Contact Information
Community Advisory Board	The role of the Community Advisory Board is to provide progress monitoring and accountability to schools with comprehensive school improvement plans. More information may be found here.	If you have a child at: Lima, Nathan Bishop, DelSesto, West Broadway, Central, Alvarez, Hope, Mt. Pleasant, JSEC, please contact the school administration about becoming involved.
Parent Advisory Council	The Parent Advisory Council (PAC) is a district-wide parent organization to ensure that parents have an organized voice and are involved in the decision-making process; and that parent needs, concerns, and issues are communicated and resolved regularly and effectively.	PAC meeting dates for each school year are listed on this page.
Parent Teacher Organizations (PTOs)	PTOs aim to facilitate parental participation at schools and oftentimes include parents, teachers, and other school staff. In Providence, PTOs represent parent voices at each PPSD school.	Please contact your child’s school for more information.
City of Providence Recreation Department	The Recreation Department invites parents and family members to participate in their programming and events.	Please contact the Recreation Center closest to you here.
Providence Promise	Providence Promise provides bilingual family and youth engagement programs to encourage and incentivize investing for post-secondary education.	You may learn more about Providence Promise’s programs here.
School Improvement Teams	School Improvement Teams are mandated by the Education Accountability Act (2019) and meet monthly to support schools in developing their annual comprehensive school improvement plan (CSIP).	Every school at PPSD has a school improvement team, please contact your child’s school administrators to enroll.

  

Family Support and Childcare 

Program Name	Program Description	Contact Information
Early Learning Infrastructure Support	Mayor Smiley has committed nearly $2 million for infrastructure support grants for early learning centers and providers. This program is facilitated by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and provides both planning and infrastructure grants to early childhood providers in Providence to improve quality, address health and safety concerns, and increase capacity of providers.	Please contact Kethu Manokaran, Policy Associate, kmanokaran@providenceri.gov.
Mt. Hope Learning Center	The Mt. Hope Learning Center (MHLC) provides before and after school care for students of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School (MLK) on Camp Street. Additional programming includes spring and summer camps, STEAM activities, homework assistance, a lending library, nutritious breakfasts and healthy snacks, and family engagement and support.	You may learn more about Mt. Hope Learning Center’s before and after-school programming here.
City of Providence Recreation Department Drop-Off Programs	Recreation Centers offer drop-off programs that provide parents with the flexibility to drop-off their children before work to help reduce student tardiness, absences, and hunger.	Please contact the Recreation Center closest to you here.
Shared Services for Family-Based Early Learning Providers	In partnership with the SEIU Education and Support Fund (ESF), the City of Providence provides family-based childcare providers with free access to shared technical and administrative support, including tax preparation, marketing services, and substitute teachers.	If you are a childcare provider wanting assistance, contact Kethu Manokaran, Policy Associate,  kmanokaran@providenceri.gov.

  

Recreation 

Program Name	Program Description	Contact Information
City of Providence Recreation Department Public Library Card Program	Recreation Centers help students get library cards for public libraries in Providence.	Please contact the Recreation Center closest to you here.
City of Providence Recreation Department Historical Preservation Club	Recreation Centers offers the Providence Historical Preservation Club to help students further their knowledge of the history of Providence.	Please contact the Recreation Center closest to you here.
City of Providence Recreation Department Community Time Club	Recreation Centers offer Community Time Clubs that address school attendance, testing, and school suspensions. Participating youth also engage in service hours at the Recreation Centers.	Please contact the Recreation Center closest to you here.
City of Providence Recreation Department Book Clubs	Recreation Centers offer Book Clubs to help MLL students develop their reading skills.	Please contact the Recreation Center closest to you here.

 

Mentorship and Career and Technical Education (CTE) 

Program Name	Program Description	Contact Information
AS220	AS220 offers multidisciplinary arts programming for youth.	You may learn more about AS220’s programs here.
Big Brothers Big Sisters Rhode Island	Big Brothers Big Sisters Rhode Island offers mentorship programs for youth ages 7-25.	You may learn more about Big Brothers Big Sisters Rhode Island’s programs here.
College Visions College Access Program	College Visions’ College Access Program recruits low-income, first-generation Providence youth who do not have access to the support, information, and resources they will need to prepare for college and careers.	You may learn more about College Visions’ program here.
Community MusicWorks	Community MusicWorks (CMW) offers music education, mentorship, and access to performances. CMW serves students ages 6-18 through ongoing instruction in violin, viola and cello, free instrument loans, chamber music instruction, and meaningful interactions with Resident Musicians.	You may learn more about Community MusicWorks’ Program here.
DownCity Design	DownCity Design provides free summer and after-school service learning programs to Providence teens as they design and build structures to improve public spaces in Providence. Youth participants gain academic and workforce skills, while learning that they have the capacity to make positive change for our community.	You may learn more about DownCity Design’s program here.
Everett School	The Everett School serves students ages 5-26 with an arts-focused curriculum that is paired with mentorship.	You may learn more about the Everett School here.
FirstWorks	FirstWorks brings high-quality arts education programs to 1,500 Providence students across the 2024-2025 school year. These programs connect low-to-moderate income youth with role-model global and local Artist Educators through in-school workshops, matinee performances, and out-of-school learning. All programs are tied to curricula-aligned themes of “Raise Your Voice” (celebrating diversity) and “EarthWorks” (promoting environmental stewardship).	You may learn more about FirstWorks programs here.
Generation Citizen	Generation Citizen partners with middle and high schools to provide an Action Civics experience to students in grades 6-12. Action Civics is a student-led and project-based approach that inspires civic participation by inviting students to engage directly with the local issues and institutions impacting their communities.	You may learn more about Generation Citizen here.
Mentor Rhode Island	Mentor Rhode Island pairs qualified mentors to youth and seeks to create a community of support for youth at both school and home.	You may learn more about Mentor Rhode Island’s programs here.
One Providence for Youth Summer Jobs Program	The City of Providence hosts a youth summer jobs program with a  focus on and investment in CTE and workforce development pathways for youth enrolled in PPSD.	Summer jobs will be posted on the Eat Play Learn website in April or May of each year.
New Urban Arts	Youth Mentorship in the Arts provides low-income high school students with free art education, mentorship, homework help, and post-secondary advising. The program takes place in their well-equipped art studio located within walking distance of three Providence public high schools and two charter high schools.	You may learn more about New Urban Arts’ program here.
Partnership for Providence Parks	Partnership for Providence Parks offers opportunities for Providence youth at the parks.	You may learn more about the Partnership for Providence Parks program here.
City of Providence Recreation Department Career Exploration Program	Recreation Centers offer Career Exploration Programs each quarter. In these programs, students learn soft skills to help them with college readiness and resume building; this includes a workshop to help students develop their interviewing skills.	Please contact the Recreation Center closest to you here.
City of Providence Recreation Department Girls Mentorship and Empowerment Group	Recreation Centers offers the Girls Mentorship and Empowerment Group that aims to help women of color achieve academically and become leaders in their community.	Please contact the Recreation Center closest to you here.
City of Providence COVID-19 Equity Fund Scholarship Program	Onward We Learn offers comprehensive services, including academic enrichment, social-emotional learning, financial literacy, career exploration, and direct postsecondary support. The program also offers tier-based scholarships to help cover the full cost of attendance at higher education institutions.	You may learn more about Onward We Learn’s programs here.
City of Providence Mentoring Program	The City of Providence will invest more than $1 million in expanding mentoring programs for high-school aged youth – more information about mentoring programs will be available in the second half of 2024.	Contact Kethu Manokaran, Policy Associate kmanokaran@providenceri.gov
City of Providence Recreation Department Career Exploration Program	Recreation Centers offer Career Exploration Programs, as well as Garden Club each quarter.	Please contact the Recreation Center closest to you here.
Public Safety Career Pathway at Central High School	This pathway supports the enrollment of PPSD students in police and fire training programs.	Interested students must enroll at Central High School to participate in this program.
Young Voices Leadership Transformation Program	Young Voices Leadership Transformation Program provides a year-round curriculum that offers interactive training in public speaking, policy analysis, college preparation, and financial literacy.	You may learn more about Young Voices Leadership Transformation Program here.
YWCA Afterschool and Summer Enrichment Programming	The APPLE After School and Summer Enrichment Program serves children ages 5-13 from low and moderate income families from Olneyville neighborhood. The program follows APPLE Curriculum — Academics, Physical education/recreation, Prevention, Leadership, and Empowerment — and builds participant’s skills in STEAM and offers enhancements focusing on mental health/trauma support & activities.	You may learn more about YWCA’s Afterschool and Summer Enrichment Programming here.