Last evening, the School Board voted unanimously to approve the Nathan Bishop renovation project. This is a remarkable achievement, considering where we started from more than a year ago.
Many thanks to members of the School Board, Superintendent Evans, Mayor Cicilline, Councilman Cliff Wood, and other officials who have helped to get us to this point. Thanks also to the Nathan Bishop Committee, Bill Bryan of Gilbane Construction, Mark Dunham of the PPSD, and, not least of all, the architects of AI3.
Thanks to my dedicated colleagues on the ESPEC steering committee, who have devoted countless hours to this task.
Thanks and congratulations most of all to the many, many of you who attended meetings, wrote emails and letters, and otherwise gave support to creating a great new middle school on the East Side. You proved that East Siders care deeply about excellent public education and are willing to devote their time and energy to make it happen.
As always, there is more to be done. Bonds must be issued, and the construction process must be monitored to ensure that the project is fully funded and faithfully executed. Design of the academic program and school management system must also be completed.
For the moment, however, it seems right to simply celebrate the fact that our community pulled together to produce a shift in public policy and revive public education in this part of Providence.
