Governor Raimondo, Mayor Elorza, and Commissioner Infante-Green Issue Statements on Providence Public Schools Report
PROVIDENCE, RI- Governor Gina M. Raimondo, Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza, and Rhode Island Department of Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green issued statements following the release of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy’s review of the Providence Public School District . All three will be available to further discuss their reactions at a press conference at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 26 in the State Room.
“This report is devastating for the generations of students who have been denied a quality education, for the teachers who haven’t been supported, and for the parents who haven’t been heard. After seeing this report, there is no question that the system is broken, and Providence schools are in crisis.
This report calls on all of us to step up and to channel our collective outrage into action. I’ve tasked Commissioner Infante-Green with leading a series of community conversations over the coming weeks to help develop recommendations for the best path forward,” said Governor Gina Raimondo .
“This report paints a grim, concerning picture of our school district. The truth is that most, if not all, of the issues that were observed are challenges that we, too, have identified and experienced as barriers to progress. This report makes clear that the status quo is failing our kids and we know that nipping at the margins will not be enough.
We need wholesale, transformational change and I look forward to working with state partners, teachers, parents and students to accomplish it,” said Mayor Jorge O. Elorza .
“This report delivers a direct and powerful message about the challenges facing the Providence Public School District – and it is a message that is both painful to hear and impossible to ignore,” said Angélica Infante-Green, Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education .
“The Johns Hopkins team has provided an invaluable service to us all — focusing our attention on the bureaucratic dysfunction that leads to a host of problems that prevent the city’s students from learning and thriving. Today offers us a moment to confront the facts and commit to do everything we can to give all Providence students the education they deserve.
Let’s get to work.”