Providence SCOREcard

The SCORE project is centered around the development of racial and educational equity indicators -- information and statistics that describe key aspects of schooling and which help to monitor and evaluate schools, programs, educators, and students. Indicators show both desires and outcomes, and where progress is or isn’t being made over time. School districts typically collect data on a range of indicators, such as those you find on the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) annual school and district report cards, and the Providence Public School District’s Turnaround Action Plan. However, these indicators may not always align with the priorities of youth and families.

When communities develop indicators in the areas of racial and educational equity that are important to them, they are asserting that it is the responsibility of the school system and policy leaders to meet their standards. When they have access to data in these areas and can monitor it over time, they have the information needed to hold school systems accountable to their priorities. This can facilitate shifts in power and provide a foundation for sustainable community activism, advocacy, and organizing.

The indicators in the SCOREcard were developed by Providence students and parents and speak to community educational and racial equity priorities. These priorities were drawn from lived experience as well as the visions that the community has for a just and equitable school system. In many cases, these indicators differ from the ones defined within the school system, and in this SCOREcard there are indicators for which data is not currently available. In these cases, this SCOREcard represents a call to action for the school system to collect data in areas that matter to the community, and to make it publicly accessible.

The SCOREcard is a tool to track the state of racial and educational equity in the Providence Public School District and to provide community leaders and organizations with data to inform and advocate for solutions to racial equity issues. Individuals and organizations can use the SCOREcard to understand the district’s complex equity challenges, to monitor changes over time, and to hold district and state leaders and institutions accountable.

The SCOREcard is a living resource, and we will be adding new data and analyses on a regular basis. Sign up for our email updates and check back regularly for new additions.

The Providence Public School District serves approximately 21,694 students in 37 schools, with 2052 educators. Approximately 68% of students are Latino, 15% Black, 6.5% white, 4% Asian, 5.5% multi-racial, and 1% Native American. Approximately 31% of students are multilingual learners and about 16% receive special education services. Approximately 55% of students come from homes where English is not the primary language spoken. Combined, students and families speak 55 different languages and hail from 91 countries of origin.

As of 2020-2021, about 73.6% of PPSD high school students graduated within four years, with a dropout rate of 15.8%. In 2020-2021, at the high school level, student chronic absenteeism rates (defined as missing 18 or more days over the course of the school year) was around 55%.

In May 2019, the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy led a review of PPSD at the invitation of RI Commissioner of Education, Angélica Infante-Green, with support from Governor Gina Raimondo and Mayor Jorge Elorza. The findings pointed to a system paralyzed by an antiquated governance structure, including the lack of an aligned curriculum; a broken school culture where safety is a concern for all; teachers who feel unsupported by the system; and parents who feel shut out of their children’s education. In October 2019, partly in response to this report, the state found that PPSD schools are chronically underperforming, and systemic problems prevent the district from improving. As a result, the state authorized the commissioner to take control over PPSD and its schools and, if necessary, to make significant changes to existing schools. To reverse the underperformance of the district, PPSD created a Turnaround Action Plan (TAP) – centered around engaged communities, excellence in learning, and world-class talent – that the district describes as culturally responsive, anti-racist, and reflective of a data-driven approach to reform that puts students first. The state assumed control of the district for at least five years, beginning November 1, 2019. The Rhode Island commissioner of education now oversees the district’s budget, personnel, and programming, and the local school board and city council have limited governance power.

The state takeover of the PPSD facilitated a strong response from community-based organizations who have long advocated for equity-centered change in PPSD. For example, Our Schools PVD, an intergenerational alliance of grassroots youth-led organizations and their allies, formed with a goal of ensuring that state control of PPSD results in a racially just and equitable public education system for Providence youth, families, and educators. In response to the takeover, Our Schools PVD put forth a Parent, Youth, and Community Statement on the Future of Providence Schools signed by 22 community organizations, and continues to work to effect educational justice and equity in PPSD.

The education system does not exist in a vacuum. There are many aspects of physical and emotional well-being that impact youth and families, and which may directly or indirectly impact their educational experience. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs provides a helpful frame for the basic physiological, safety, love and belonging, and esteem needs that must be met before individuals can truly thrive (or, in Maslow’s framework, self-actualize) .

Data has shown how struggles to meet basic needs have negatively impacted educational outcomes for children. For example, homeless children are more likely to change schools, be chronically absent from school, and have lower academic achievement than children who have housing.

While the Providence SCOREcard focuses on the education system, the Rhode Island-based organizations below provide data and/or resources related to other issues and systems that impact youth and families.

Rhode Island Kids Count: https://www.rikidscount.org/

HousingWorks Rhode Island: https://www.housingworksri.org

Crossroads: https://www.crossroadsri.org/

Amos House:
https://amoshouse.com/

RI Housing: https://www.rihousing.com/

Sojourner House: https://sojournerri.org/

Family Service of Rhode Island: https://www.familyserviceri.org/

Youth Restoration Project: https://yrpofri.org/

Dorcas International Institute: https://www.diiri.org/