Three years after R.I. Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green led the takeover of Providence’s failing schools with a plan that included the involvement of the business community, a new report from a public policy group described public schools statewide as “in crisis” and renewed the call for businesses to get involved.
The Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council’s 68-page report “Improving Rhode Island’s K-12 Schools: Where Do We Go From Here?” found low proficiency rates, high absenteeism and achievement gaps showing a failure to adequately serve students of color, economically disadvantaged students and students with special needs.
The state needs an all-hands-on-deck effort to begin fixing these major concerns, the report states.
“For reforms to be successful,” the report says, “this energy and focus needs to come from a broad range of stakeholders – not only policymakers and education leaders, but also teachers, parents, academics, and business and community leaders.”
Where does that effort stand in Providence?
It’s not clear. A spokesperson for Infante-Green did not immediately provide comment when asked recently about the status of her proposal that businesses help improve Providence schools.
The proposal was made in 2019, not long after Infante-Green assumed her role as the state's education commissioner. At the time, she called on the business community to contribute funding, staff and mentorship resources to the Providence Public School District.
Infante-Green hoped this involvement could have a similar effect as New York City’s partnership with the nonprofit Robin Hood Foundation, which funded the construction of new libraries at some of the city’s highest-need elementary schools.
Neil D. Steinberg, CEO and president of the Rhode Island Foundation, says the state's business community has supported Infante-Green's plan, at least in concept. But it has often failed to take impactful action, he adds.
“We have a lot of wonderful companies that very nicely volunteer to go paint a cafeteria, or to read to the kids around the holidays,” Steinberg said. “We need it to be more substantial. We need people from around the business community to engage our state leadership. … We need them at the table. It’s not good enough to just say we need better education.”
While Infante-Green looked to New York City, where she previously served as a chief education official, for potential means of improvement, Steinberg says the state can learn from Massachusetts, which has made strides in improving its school system over the past few decades.
“One of the key contributions was the commitment of the business community, which we have not seen here in many years,” Steinberg said.
That means working directly with the commissioner and elected officials, and contributing to schools through funding and other resources such as technology contributions and career education, Steinberg says. Business voices also need to contribute as the state rethinks its funding formula and potentially raises graduation requirements, Steinberg says.
In the financial sphere, meaningful action goes beyond just giving more money to the schools, Steinberg says.
“I think it’s more the priorities and allocations of the money than it is just about more money,” Steinberg said. “When you look at the funding formula, are the urban areas getting treated fairly compared to the need and to other systems? It’s how we spend the money.”
Calls for the business community to become more involved with school improvements predate Infante-Green, says Laurie White, president of the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, though issues such as those highlighted in the RIPEC report bring increased urgency for the community to act.
The Chamber has maintained "a close working relationship with the commissioner’s office,” White said, and its Education Council regularly meets with RIDE officials.
Like Steinberg, White says business leaders need to become more involved at the legislative level to make an impact.
“These conversations are not new … and the business community understands its role,” she said. “But at the same time, we would like to see more leadership, more individuals coming forward, particularly as it pertains to testifying before the General Assembly on pieces of legislation that would change the funding formula, or other things that would impact student achievement.”
White also wants to see more businesses participate in programs that educate students on available job opportunities – some of which are relatively new, such as certain careers working with recent artificial intelligence and renewable energy technology.
Virtually every major company in Rhode Island has employees working to spread this awareness, White says, with businesses recognizing that this work can be mutually beneficial to students and the business community.
“But where we may be missing the mark is getting those same resources down to smaller and midsized businesses,” said White, noting that these companies may lack the time and staffing for outreach work.
