Central Falls students to break silence

CENTRAL FALLS, R.I. (WPRI) - Three Central Falls High School students are expected this week to reveal how the recent teacher scandal at their school has affected them and what they think is needed to turn their troubled school around.

• In-depth coverage of the Central Falls teacher dispute

The school gained national attention last month when the school district voted to fire all of the teachers at the chronically under-performing school. The move was made after the district and the teachers union failed to agree on an education reform model. Since then, the union and the superintendent have agreed to resume talks in order to prevent mass teacher firings.

Now, the group "Young Voices" is holding a news conference Wednesday outside the Central Falls School Department building on Hedley Ave. to discuss how the battle has affected the students.

"The students have been pulled into an often bitter struggle between adults, but without having any real say in the decisions. Students need to be engaged as real partners in efforts to turn around schools, as they are the true consumers and the ones most deeply impacted by the outcomes," the group said in a news release Monday.

According to the release, "Young Voices" is a group that works with students and trains them how to push for public education reform.