PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Today is National Nonprofit Day, and with it comes an opportunity to help support local organizations.

The Ocean State is home to hundreds of nonprofits, and groups like Big Brothers Big Sisters Rhode Island help change the trajectory of young kids’ lives in the state.

Rhode Island General Treasurer James Diossa highlighted National Nonprofit Day on Facebook.

To find out if your favorite organization has funds waiting to be claimed, or if you have unclaimed property, you can use this link here.

By the time Providence public school students go back to class on Sept. 3, Rhode Island’s education commissioner may have chosen whether to end, continue, or reconfigure the state takeover of their schools five years ago.

A new progress report from consulting firm SchoolWorks on the 2019 action that handed control of the capital city’s underperforming schools over to the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) could help guide Commissioner of Education Angélica Infante-Green in making her decision.

“I have not ruled out any options,” Infante-Green said Friday morning. “I’m letting the process play out.”

Infante-Green shared and summarized the findings in a letter to the Providence Public Schools District (PPSD) community before taking questions from reporters at RIDE’s main offices in downtown Providence. 

“This is about 30, 35, years of struggle for this district, and it’s not going to be fixed overnight,” Infante-Green told reporters. “We talk about it as a big ship with a little rudder … in a hurricane. That’s how it was happening during the pandemic.”

Math and English test scores from the 2022-2023 school year show just how far the district has to go to achieve the academic goals prescribed in its “turnaround action plan.” For example, among eighth-graders, only 6% were at grade level in math, and 15% were proficient in English Language Arts (ELA). 

Compared to the 2018, pre-takeover baseline, eighth-graders’ math proficiency dropped one percentage point. The turnaround action plan called for 50% proficiency in math and 63% in ELA for eighth-graders by the 2026 school year. 

Victor Morente, a RIDE spokesperson, told reporters the commissioned report — with its $120,600 sticker price — is a statutory requirement of the takeover process. The Crowley Act, codified in state law in 1997, allowed state education officials to exercise administrative powers over Providence’s underperforming schools.

“There has been progress in the hurricane, in the pandemic,” Infante-Green said.

SchoolWorks interviewed students, families, teachers and leadership across schools, the district, Mayor Brett Smiley’s office and Providence City Councilors about how well the plan has fared. The research team also visited schools and reviewed documents from some of the many stakeholders involved: RIDE, Providence Public Schools Department, the city and its school board. 

“City Council members, School Committee members, and community members reported a need for improved collaboration, communication, and transparency between municipal entities including RIDE, the School Committee, and PPSD,” the report reads. 

Absent from that list is the state’s Council on Elementary and Secondary Education, to whom Infante-Green could supply her decision at their next meeting on Aug. 29. The commissioner is also set to attend the Providence school board’s meeting on Aug. 21.

Another report released Friday from Harvard Graduate School for Education’s Center for Education Policy Research didn’t cost the state anything, but is part of a series of assessments being done for various school districts on the impacts of pandemic learning loss. The report compares the state’s recent school reforms to similar districts in Massachusetts and Connecticut. 

“Although the results suggest Providence is moving in the right direction, especially in ELA [English Language Arts], it is too early to draw conclusions about the efficacy of the Providence reform efforts,” the Harvard report noted. “The pandemic disrupted schooling in the Spring of 2020, just months after the state take-over. We only have two years of reliable student assessments post-pandemic (and a single year change in annual scores) by which to judge.”

‘A lot of material’

The plight of Providence schools has been on people’s minds, with a recent legislative study commission led by Sen. Sam Zurier, a Providence Democrat, attempting to suss out what can be done about the at-times awkward coupling of municipal and state-level leadership. 

Asked to comment on the pair of reports Friday afternoon, Zurier told Rhode Island Current that they contain “a lot of material,” and he’d be reviewing them over the weekend.  

Zurier’s reticence to comment too quickly is understandable: At a combined 89 letter-sized pages, the two reports are not light reading. Even the authors of the Harvard University report concluded that they were working with data perhaps that lacks definite shape.

Erlin Rogel, president of the Providence School Board, didn’t need as much time to assess the new report.

“RIDE commissioning a progress report is like a student filling in their own report card,” Rogel wrote in an emailed statement sent to news outlets, claiming the agency has “roundly rejected” the school board’s attempts to be included in the decision-making process. 

Rogel also argued that the report’s assertion that the school board does not act cohesively, and even lacks a “shared vision for  governance,” echoes “RIDE’s belief that the Board exists to silently rubber stamp their agenda.”

“I am no longer surprised by RIDE’s rejection of attempts to hold the agency accountable to the people, but I am deeply concerned by their lack of self awareness,” wrote Rogel, who did not immediately reply Friday afternoon to a request to answer follow-up questions.

But the SchoolWorks report does voice some of the board’s concerns: “School committee members also stated that they are not consistently engaged by the Superintendent or senior leaders from PPSD regarding programmatic changes, nor are they engaged in an advisory capacity regarding analysis of student outcomes.”

The report does not evaluate individual job performances or personnel — like that of Infante-Green, or of Providence Superintendent Javier Moñtanez, who recently signed a three-year contract extension with the district. A copy of the contract was not immediately available Friday afternoon.

“The report is evaluating the system,” Infante-Green told reporters, pointing to the report’s drill down into metrics and standards as markers of the superintendent’s work.

According to the SchoolWorks website, the firm has worked with education officials in Colorado, Chicago, Louisiana and Massachusetts. Kim Perron, president of Schoolworks, said in an email that the company would not be providing any comments, and directed questions to RIDE.

In a move to enhance health care accessibility and protect patient rights, Governor Dan McKee ceremonially signed a series of seven bills into law on Friday. The legislative package, aimed at improving health outcomes, expanding access to care, and fortifying patient protections across Rhode Island, marks a pivotal step in the state’s ongoing efforts to reform its health care system.

“This comprehensive legislative package speaks to the commitment Rhode Island is making to improve health outcomes, strengthen our health care workforce, and protect patients,” said Governor McKee at the event. “I thank all legislative sponsors for their dedication to making the lives of Rhode Islanders easier and healthier.”

The legislative package, lauded by lawmakers and health professionals alike, addresses a broad spectrum of issues from medical debt and mental health support to professional licensing and patient rights.

Senator Joshua Miller (D-Cranston, Providence), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health & Human Services, emphasized the urgency of the reforms. “Strengthening our health care system has never been more urgent, and action is essential to ensure that quality care is accessible and affordable for all Rhode Islanders,” Miller stated.

Among the newly signed bills is a measure prohibiting the reporting of medical debt to credit bureaus, a step aimed at shielding patients from financial harm while they navigate the complexities of health care expenses. Another critical component of the package includes Rhode Island’s participation in several interstate compacts, which will facilitate easier access to services such as mental health support, professional counseling, and occupational therapy.

Senator Pamela J. Lauria (D-Barrington, Bristol, East Providence), who played a key role in the legislative process, highlighted the pressing need for these changes. “Through the legislation being celebrated today, we are taking critical steps to increase provider availability and care quality, contain costs, and protect consumers,” she said.

The bills also address the health care workforce shortage, with provisions that streamline licensing processes for nurses and other health professionals. Additionally, a measure to end the practice of “white bagging,” where insurers restrict patients to using insurer-affiliated pharmacies, was also included in the package, giving patients greater freedom to choose where they fill their prescriptions.

“We know that when people are healthy, they have the potential to live happier and fuller lives,” said Richard Charest, Secretary of the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services. “This bill package will ensure we bolster our health workforce, expand services, and, overall, make healthcare in Rhode Island more accessible to those who need it.”

The passage of these reforms underscores Rhode Island’s commitment to ensuring that all residents have access to high-quality, affordable health care, a priority that lawmakers vow to continue advancing in the years to come.

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