Rhode Island

Education commissioner ponders next steps for control of Providence’s struggling public schools • Rhode Island Current

Published

2 years ago

August 17, 2024

Education commissioner ponders next steps for control of Providence’s struggling public schools • Rhode Island Current

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.

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

– Rhode Island Commissioner of Education Angélica Infante-Green

“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.”

Empty chairs are shown in a Rhode Island Department of Education conference room on Aug. 16, 2024. (Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)

‘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.

Highlights from the SchoolWorks report on the Providence School Department:

Skill issues across grade levels: Rhode Island’s Comprehensive Assessment Score, or RICAS, measures third- and eighth-grade students’ learning in crucial areas like ELA (English language arts) and math. The report assessed that none of the RICAS scores, except third grade math, were on track with the turnaround plan.
Meanwhile, in high schools, ninth-graders are meeting turnaround plan targets for “being on track postsecondary success.” But the number of students who graduate high school with AP or college credit, or have progressed in a career or technical education track, are at 35%, which is 5% under the target. No SAT categories met turnaround numbers either.
Municipal struggles: The City of Providence is shortchanging its schools and has not upped its investments for the district in ways consistent with the Crowley Act, even with higher funds thanks to a 2019 Collaboration Agreement. (The City Council has successfully earmarked an additional $2.5 million for 2025). Money issues aside, the report still concluded the city is “beginning to provide value-added leadership” in its commitments to the schools.
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“The City has received the SchoolWorks report and has begun an in-depth review while we await the upcoming recommendation from the Rhode Island department of Education. The Mayor will be briefed this afternoon on the findings by the Department of Education,” Josh Estrella, a spokesperson for the city, said in an email Friday.
As Rogel’s comments might imply, there is also discord within and between the various stakeholders: “School Committee members shared examples of how mistrust among their members and across entities (superintendent, RIDE, PPSD leadership, mayor, City Council) is a barrier to collaboration.”
Parental advisory: Parents had mixed feelings when surveyed. They said they receive regular updates on their students’ progress, but high teacher turnover has led to reduced confidence in the takeover process in general. Overall, families with a favorable perception of the district dropped to 53% in the 2022 school year. That was a 7% drop from the previous year, and 12% below target.
Asked about parental perceptions, Infante-Green said that’s a primary challenge the superintendent faces: “The difficult part about that is that when you’re making change, there are people that are going to be unhappy, right? And it goes back and forth,” she said. “But the goal is that when we have a strong district, that parents are feeling like their kids are getting educated.”
Some good news: Students are feeling an increased “sense of belonging,” 17 percentage points higher in the 2022-2023 school year than in 2020-2021. School leaders are also feeling more secure in making decisions thanks to regular review of data — at least 90% of the surveyed leaders use district software to review student data at least once a week. Also improved: The conditions of the school buildings themselves. Lamentable facilities were prominently mentioned in the 2019 Johns Hopkins University report that preceded the takeover. But “every stakeholder group interviewed” by SchoolWorks noted better working and learning conditions in their school environments.
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Rhode Island

Man allegedly kills man in R.I. before causing car crash that killed 2 in Mass.

Published

8 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Man allegedly kills man in R.I. before causing car crash that killed 2 in Mass.

Local News

“On behalf of the Cranston Police Department, I want to extend my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Javon Lawson and the two individuals who were killed in the crash in Swansea,” Col. Michael J. Winquist said.

A Seekonk man is accused of murder after he allegedly shot and killed a man in Rhode Island before causing a car crash in Swansea that killed two people last week, police said.

Demitri Sousa, 28, is charged with murder, using a firearm while committing a crime of violence, and carrying a pistol without a license, the Cranston Police Department said.

The shooting occurred Thursday night in Cranston, police said in a press release.

That night, Sousa allegedly arrived at the Cranston home of Javon Lawson, 35. Sousa began banging on the side door of the home, police said.

When Lawson approached the door, he was hit by gunfire from outside, police said.

First responders transported Lawson to the Rhode Island Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Cranston police said.

“Based on the preliminary investigation, the motive is believed to be a dispute between the suspect and the victim over a mutual female acquaintance. Detectives are continuing this investigation to gain more insight, as well as to collect and analyze evidence,” Colonel Michael Winquist, Chief of Cranston police, said in an emailed statement to Boston.com.

Neighbors gave police video footage that “showed a male subject wearing dark clothing and a mask walking toward the residence moments before the shooting and fleeing immediately afterward,” Winquist said.

The suspect was also seen running to a white Infiniti sedan which then drove off, the Cranston police chief said.

Shortly after the shooting, a license plate reader captured the vehicle driving southbound on Route 10, and then later in Fall River and Westport, Massachusetts. The sedan’s license plate was registered in Sousa’s name, Winquist said.

At around 12:18 a.m. Friday, Swansea police spotted Sousa’s Infiniti barreling down Route 6, Swansea officials said.

Just moments later, Sousa allegedly “crashed into the side of another vehicle, a blue 2022 Subaru Ascent that had been traveling southbound on Route 136,” Swansea Police Chief Mark Foley and Fire Chief Eric Hajder said in a joint press release.

Both vehicles had “catastrophic damage,” and the struck car was engulfed in flames, the Swansea officials said.

The driver and passenger of the hit car — a man and a woman — were declared dead at the scene, they said.

“Swansea Police had been alerted to be on the lookout for the suspect vehicle. However, Swansea Police were not involved in the pursuit and were not pursuing the vehicle at the time of the crash,” the Swansea chiefs wrote. Swansea official have not announced charges related to the fatal crash.

Sousa had been driving the Infiniti and appeared to be suffering from serious injuries, Winquist said. Inside the car, police found a pistol and “additional .22 caliber ammunition was recovered” from Sousa at Rhode Island Hospital, Winquist said.

Police arrested Sousa and transported him to Rhode Island Hospital. Sousa is expected to survive, Winquist said. Sousa will be held in Cranston police custody until he is conscious and medically cleared, Winquist said.

“On behalf of the Cranston Police Department, I want to extend my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Javon Lawson and the two individuals who were killed in the crash in Swansea,” Winquist said.

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Rhode Island

Rhode Island men’s basketball extends slide with loss to St. Joseph’s

Published

20 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Rhode Island men’s basketball extends slide with loss to St. Joseph’s

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – Whatever hopes the University of Rhode Island harbored for a men’s basketball Senior Day upset of Saint Joseph’s disappeared on a rare made 3-pointer.

Jaiden Glover-Toscano connected on just one of his eight attempts from deep, and it turned out to be a backbreaker. The Hawks mustered just enough offense to hold off the Rams at the Ryan Center in an Atlantic 10 rock fight that went to the visitors.

Glover-Toscano hit from the left wing with 3:37 left, restoring a two-possession lead. Saint Joseph’s did just enough from there to finish a 61-55 victory on Feb. 28 and extend URI’s late-season slide.

“We needed to get that stop,” URI coach Archie Miller said. “It was in the balance. Those last three minutes, whoever was going to make the play or get the stop was going to win.

“They made a big shot right there.”

The Rams cut a 13-point deficit all the way to 56-55 when Tyler Cochran knocked down both ends of a 1-and-1 at the line with 3:54 left. The Hawks overloaded the right side on the ensuing possession, and Derek Simpson got a step on his man toward the paint. He fired a crosscourt pass to Glover-Toscano that caught URI’s defense rotating, and the air came out of the announced 6,391 fans in the building when the net rippled in front of the visiting bench.

“We weren’t able to convert,” Miller said. “That’s kind of the name of the game. You’ve got to have some plays go your way.”

Myles Corey missed a 3-pointer at the other end, and Simpson played facilitator again to give Saint Joseph’s more of a cushion. He found Justice Ajogbor rolling to the rim for a slam with 2:36 left and it was a six-point game. Neither team scored again on an afternoon where they both shot under 40% from the field and went a combined 10-for-61 from deep.

“The bottom line for our team today – and let’s just keep it simple – is we didn’t make a shot,” Miller said. “We really struggled to shoot the ball.”

The Hawks built their largest lead with 13:53 to play, thanks to what was a major sore spot on the afternoon for the Rams. URI couldn’t inbound the ball after an Ajogbor free throw, and Jonah Hinton was called for an offensive foul. Simpson drove for a two-hand slam on the ensuing possession, part of a 13-0 shutout for the visitors on points off turnovers.

“We have no room for error,” Miller said. “That plays a big role.”

The Rams (15-14, 6-10 Atlantic 10) enjoyed their best stretch of the day after falling into that 44-31 hole. Alex Crawford offered some life with a couple of 3-pointers, and Jahmere Tripp buried another from the left corner to make it a 54-51 game with 5:10 left. Crawford’s hard drive down the right kept it a three-point game, and Cochran’s successful trip to the line put URI in position to steal it late.

“I feel like we had open shots,” Crawford said. “We had a lot of good looks – shots we usually make.”

Saint Joseph’s (19-10, 11-5) won its fourth straight and continued an impressive rally from an 0-2 start in league play. The Hawks are on course for a double bye in the upcoming conference tournament, while the Rams look increasingly likely to play on the opening day in Pittsburgh. A home date with Duquesne and a road trip to Fordham wrap the regular season this week, and URI hopes guard RJ Johnson (concussion protocol) will be able to return at some point.

“It did hurt a little bit,” Crawford said. “You face adversity, you’ve got to find a way to make up for missed players.”

SAINT JOSEPH’S (61): Dasear Haskins 5-11 4-5 14, Justice Ajogbor 4-5 1-3 9, Derek Simpson 4-10 4-4 13, Jaiden Glover-Toscano 3-14 0-1 7, Austin Williford 2-9 0-0 5, Khaafiq Myers 4-7 0-0 9, Jaden Smith 1-2 1-3 3, Anthony Finkley 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 23-60 11-18 61.

RHODE ISLAND (55): Tyler Cochran 2-13 8-8 13, Keeyan Itejere 4-5 2-2 10, Jahmere Tripp 4-12 2-3 11, Jonah Hinton 2-11 0-0 5, Myles Corey 1-8 1-4 4, Alex Crawford 4-6 2-4 12, Jalen Harper 0-6 0-0 0, Drissa Traore 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-62 15-21 55.

Halftime – SJ, 30-27. 3-point FG – SJ 4-28 (Haskins 0-3, Simpson 1-5, Glover-Toscano 1-8, Williford 1-8, Myers 1-2, Finkley 0-2), RI 6-33 (Cochran 1-9, Tripp 1-4, Hinton 1-7, Corey 1-4, Crawford 2-3, Harper 0-5, Traore 0-1). Rebounds – SJ 45 (Myers 8), RI 46 (Cochran 15). Assists – SJ 14 (Simpson 5), RI 12 (Corey 4). Turnovers – SJ 13 (Simpson 3, Myers 3), RI 13 (Corey 5). Blocked shots – SJ 7 (Ajogbor 3), RI 4 (Itejere 2, Tripp 2). Steals – SJ 8 (Simpson 3), RI 4 (Tripp 2). Attendance – 6,391.

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On X: @BillKoch25

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Rhode Island

Rhode Island women’s basketball wins A-10 regular-season championship

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Rhode Island women’s basketball wins A-10 regular-season championship

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – What was a peerless achievement in University of Rhode Island women’s basketball history now has some company just four short years later.

The Rams are Atlantic 10 regular-season champions again after a special Saturday afternoon in Kingston, a coronation more than a contest against visiting George Washington.

The Revolutionaries never had a chance after the hosts got off to a sharp start at the Ryan Center. URI left no doubt in front of its best crowd of the season, and a significant portion of that gathering stuck around long after the final whistle to see the nets cut down again.

It was all Rams in this 72-48 cruise, a result that matched what was a first in 2022-23 and handed URI a No. 1 seed in the upcoming conference tournament. George Mason dropped to the No. 2 spot despite posting the same 16-2 league record as the Rams, and that came thanks to a comprehensive 79-63 defeat in a Valentine’s Day matchup.

“There’s nothing more satisfying as a coach than to have the confetti fall and to cut down nets with this group of young women,” URI coach Tammi Reiss said. “I’ve never been prouder.”

URI scored on each of its first five offensive possessions and authored a masterpiece through the opening three quarters. It was only in the fourth when Reiss emptied her bench that George Washington showed any semblance of being able to keep pace. Palmire Mbu led three in double figures with 23 points, and Sophia Vital played yet another complete all-around game to help the Rams run roughshod.

“We were just extra motivated today,” Mbu said. “We wanted to do great for our crowd.

“Just trying my best. Trying to be aggressive and to give solutions on offense and defense. It felt good.”

URI owned a 21-point lead entering the final 10 minutes, thanks to 18 assists, just two turnovers and 63.4% shooting from the field. The Rams buried the offensive struggles they experienced in road losses to La Salle and Richmond with what had been a typical display of crisp execution. URI closed 26-for-35 from 2-point range, collected 48 points in the paint and racked up another 17 off Revolutionaries turnovers.

“I do believe the last four years we had talented teams – we had talented players,” URI guard Ines Debroise said. “But I think it’s also how we can put all the pieces of the puzzle together. This year that’s what we were going to do from day one.”

Mbu’s bucket off a Vanessa Harris steal gave the Rams a 25-10 lead and forced a George Washington timeout with 6:38 left in the second quarter. It seemed just a matter of time before this one was out of reach, and Brooklyn Gray followed a Debroise 3-pointer with a pair of layups to make it a 32-12 cushion. URI’s lead never dipped under 12 points again, and Mbu’s hook in the lane capped an 8-0 run that took it back to 58-38 with 1:00 left in the third.

Video of URI coach Tammi Reiss speaking postgame on Feb. 28

URI women’s basketball beats George Washington to win the Atlantic 10 regular-season championship

“They were sharing the ball in a championship game,” Reiss said. “It wasn’t 1-on-1. That’s what makes this team special.”

The Rams (25-4, 16-2 Atlantic 10) set a new program best for conference wins in a season and are now one shy from a new overall mark – they collected 26 while making a run to the WNIT Round of 16 in 2022-23. URI shared the league crown with rival Massachusetts that year before suffering a semifinal upset against Saint Louis and missing out on a third meeting with the Minutewomen.

“Their job is to show up and be us,” Reiss said. “Execute our game plan with discipline and ferocity for 40 minutes. Our job is to manage them – their health, their minutes.”

The Revolutionaries (15-16, 7-11 Atlantic 10) dropped to the No. 10 seed in the upcoming conference tournament and will play No. 7 Saint Louis in the second round on Thursday, March 5. The Rams will open Friday’s quarterfinals in an 11 a.m. tip on the USA Network against either No. 8 Loyola Chicago or No. 9 St. Bonaventure. No. 4 Davidson and No. 5 Saint Joseph’s are in URI’s half of the bracket, while the second-seeded Patriots and third-seeded Spiders could be on a semifinal collision course in the other half at Henrico Sports & Events Center.

“It’s going to be tough for everybody – probably three games in three days,” Mbu said. “We’ve got to push to the end and play like we’ve been doing.”

GEORGE WASHINGTON (48): Sara Lewis 2-10 2-2 6, Gabby Reynolds 7-13 2-2 17, Tanah Becker 1-2 1-1 3, Mia James 2-6 0-0 4, Kamari Sims 2-4 0-0 4, Emma Theodorsson 0-6 2-2 2, Jaeda Wilson 1-2 0-0 2, Filipa Calisto 2-2 0-0 4, Colleen Phiri 0-0 0-0 0, Caia Loving 2-2 0-0 4, Payton Dulin 1-1 0-2 2. Totals 20-48 7-9 48.

RHODE ISLAND (72): Palmire Mbu 9-14 3-4 23, Albina Syla 5-6 0-0 10, Brooklyn Gray 5-6 0-0 11, Sophia Vital 3-6 1-2 7, Ines Debroise 4-7 0-0 9, Vanessa Harris 3-7 0-0 7, Aimee Michel 2-2 0-0 4, Valentina Ojeda 0-2 0-0 0, Ta’Viyanna Habib 0-0 0-0 0, Eva Agba 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 31-51 5-8 72.

Halftime – RI, 40-25. 3-point FG – GW 1-8 (Reynolds 1-2, Becker 0-1, James 0-2, Sims 0-1, Theodorsson 0-2), RI 5-16 (Mbu 2-4, Gray 1-1, Vital 0-2, Debroise 1-4, Harris 1-2, Ojeda 0-2, Agba 0-1). Rebounds – GW 23 (Sims 5), RI 26 (Vital 6). Assists – GW 7 (Sims 2, Loving 2), RI 21 (Vital 7). Turnovers – GW 13 (Sims 4), RI 7 (Gray 2, Harris 2). Blocked shots – GW 2 (James 1, Loving 1), RI 3 (Mbu 2). Steals – GW 3 (Lewis 1, James 1, Sims 1), RI 6 (Vital 3). Attendance – 6,580.

bkoch@providencejournal.com

On X: @BillKoch25

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