Open Post- Let’s hear from you!

It was quiet here for a couple of months, but the action on public education is heating up again.  There are more posts, and the stats for the blog show you’ve been reading. (I can’t see who is reading, only how many).
However, people haven’t been sharing comments.
So, here’s an open post. Comment (by [...]

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Vartan Gregorian wins Award

Maureen Kenner, a teacher at Vartan Gregorian Elementary School, has passed along this following, wonderful, bit of news:
This weekend, in Long Beach, CA, Vartan Gregorian School at Fox Point is being named a “Title 1 Distinguished School”. As mentioned in the award, “Vartan Gregorian Elementary has distinguished itself as a innovative school with visionary [...]

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ESPEC Community Meeting Feb. 7th

EAST SIDE PUBLIC EDUCATION COALITION
Public Meeting
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 7TH
Martin Luther King Elementary School
35 Camp St. (between Olney & Doyle)
7:00 – 8:30 pm
Celebrate!
Planned reopening of Nathan Bishop Middle School
Hear!
Mayor Cicilline on Providence public education
Bill Bryan of Gilbane Construction on building options
Get Involved!
Help build a model school in our community
Learn how to advance public education city-wide
Please note:  This [...]

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Non-performing Schools, or Non-sense Testing?

The Projo article below indicates schools in trouble. Obviously, there is much need for improvement, and ESPEC seeks to be part of that effort. But it’s important to dig deeper into what test scores mean. In some cases, the answer is that they are meaningless with respect to any reasonable approach to education. I’d like [...]

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ProJo: State orders detailed plan for improving school scores

I’m excerpting this story from this morning’s ProJo.  The full article can be read here.
01:00 AM EST on Thursday, January 25, 2007
By Linda Borg- Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE — The state education commissioner has told Supt. Donnie Evans that he must come up with a detailed plan for improving the city’s lowest-performing schools or face possible [...]

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More on West Broadway Elementary

ESPEC is obviously an East Side organization. We began with the announced closing of Nathan Bishop. All of us are interested in the fate of public education city-wide, though, so it’s important to observe the effects of other school-closings. This is from today’s ProJo.
School targeted to close felt more like a [...]

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West Broadway Elementary Protest at School Board

West Broadway Elementary parents turned out last night to protest the planned closing of the School.   I wasn’t there, but here’s Linda Borg’s report in the ProJo.
School closing prompts protest
01:00 AM EST on Tuesday, January 23, 2007
By Linda Borg
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE — A standing-room-only crowd told Supt. Donnie Evans last night that they will not [...]

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Closing Schools across the Country

Thanks to Greg Gerritt for passing this along. The rest of the story can be read for free here at BlackpressUSA.com
Schools close, communities fight back across the country
by Diane Bukowski
DETROIT (NNPA) –From Detroit to San Francisco, Chicago to Baltimore, a tidal wave of school closings, usually in large, poor urban districts, has washed over [...]

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DeJong Public Meetings

We’ve received this from the Mayor’s office. Note that there have been some updates to dates & times from the first announcement
EDUCATIONAL PLANNING EXPERT TO PRESENT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
PROVIDENCE SCHOOL FACILITY MASTER PLAN AT COMMUNITY MEETINGS
WHAT: This community outreach is part of the City’s and School Department’s efforts to develop a [...]

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WRNI Education Series

WRNI has been doing a series on public education this week.  There are a number of good stories on absenteeism, ESL students, and “meeting the middle school challenge”.  Of special interest are the story on the DeJong plan and an interview with Mayor Cicilline.  You can listen on-line here.

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Moving forward: What’s to come?

The DeJong recommendations discussed below are a major step forward for revitilizing public education in Providence generally, and for the opening of Nathan Bishop in particular. What are the next steps in this process?
Having received the DeJong report, the Superintendant will make final recommendations to the School Board. When asked at the press conference, [...]

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Report from City Hall: The DeJong Recommendations

Tuesday morning at City Hall, Bill DeJong of the planning group DeJong, Inc. presented recommendations for renovating and rebuilding the physical facilities of Providence’s public schools. A press conference with the Mayor followed in the afternoon.
The text of the DeJong recommendations can be found here at the DeJong web site. The document covers all of [...]

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New York Times and New York Daily News articles on Middle Schools

The New York Times has the following brief article on developments in middle school education. Note the involvement of the Annenberg Institute at Brown.
Panel Urges ‘Marshall Plan’ to Improve Middle Schools, by Elissa Gootman
original article is here
A coalition of community groups is calling for the city Department of Education to develop a [...]

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Choosing Schools Discussion- January 30, 2007, 7-9pm

Passing this on from ESPEC steering committee member Jill Davidson:
Choosing Schools Discussion
January 30, 2007, 7-9pm
Families with school age children looking at Providence area
schools: are you trying to find the school that will help your
children learn, grow, and thrive?
We invite you to join our gathering of friends and neighbors to
learn more from each other about local [...]

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ESPEC community meeting Feb. 7th.

We are planning a community meeting for all ESPEC members and supporters. We have tentatively scheduled the meeting for 7pm, February 7 at ML King. Please Save the date

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Current Goals for ESPEC

The ESPEC Steering Committee has been meeting regularly through the fall and winter.  During that time, we have maintained a dialogue with the Superintendent’s Office, the Mayor’s Office, and the School Board. Several of us have served on the Nathan Bishop Committee.  The following are the goals the steering committee has established for the next [...]

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Interested in King or Gregorian?

The recent open house at Vartan Gregorian drew large numbers, supporting our view that interest in public schools is growing.  ML King’s open house was today, Jan. 12, and also had a good turnout.  We regret we did not get this information beforehand.  However,  if you want to visit King or Gregorian, you can call [...]

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From the Mayor’s office: DeJong to present recommendations

We’ve received the following from the Mayor’s Special Assistant for Education, Stacey Jordan:
Executive Office, City of Providence, Rhode Island
David N. Cicilline
Mayor
Mayor David Cicilline and Superintendent Donnie Evans are proud to announce that on Tuesday, January 16th, the City of Providence and Providence School Department will host educational planning expert Bill DeJong as he presents his [...]

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