Supt. outlines school reform models

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - Five schools within the Providence District have been recommended for intervention reform models due to their low performing statuses.

Providence Superintendent of Schools Susan Lusi told parents, community members, and school staff members that she had recommend five schools in the district that were named Persistently Lowest Achieving by the R.I. Department of Education in October.

The five schools are: Carl G. Lauro Elementary School, Pleasant View Elementary School, Gilbert Stuart Middle School, Dr. Jorge Alvarez High School and Mt. Pleasant High School and are now referred to as Innovation Schools.

“It is our hope that these Innovation schools will become the models for the rest of our district as we strive to continuously and dramatically improve learning opportunities for our children at these struggling schools,” said Lusi.

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Lusi shared her list at a series of school meetings last week and under their interventions, each school must proceed with its reform from one of four models outlined in federal and state school regulations.

"With intensive support from our district Office of Transformation and Innovation and from our lead partners, these schools will be incubators for ideas that can be replicated across the district," she continued.

The superintendent must now now provide Education Commissioner Deborah Gist with a formal recommendation for all five schools by Friday, December 9th.

Pending approval for each designated school, a plan for "dramatic" improvement must then be submitted for the schools individually by March of 2012.