Home Nonprofit & Education Education City commission OK’s plans for Mt. Pleasant High renovation

City commission OK’s plans for Mt. Pleasant High renovation

By

Katie Castellani

-

10/22/2025

Screenshot (43) — MEMBERS OF the City Plan Commission approved a controversial plan Tuesday to demolish a wing of Mount Pleasant High School and replace it with a new four-story structure./COURTESY OF PERKINS EASTMAN

PROVIDENCE – Members of the City Plan Commission approved a controversial plan Tuesday to demolish a wing of Mount Pleasant High School and replace it with a new four-story structure. While city and state leaders held a groundbreaking ceremony for the renovations last Wednesday, the plans still needed approval from the commission. The $110 million

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PROVIDENCE – Members of the City Plan Commission approved a controversial plan Tuesday to demolish a wing of Mount Pleasant High School and replace it with a new four-story structure. While city and state leaders held a groundbreaking ceremony for the renovations last Wednesday, the plans still needed approval from the commission. The $110 million renovation of the high school is meant to upgrade the 85-year-old building, which has the “greatest deferred maintenance and educational adequacy needs” of all the high schools in the state, according to the Providence Public School District website. The project, expected to be completed in summer 2027, would also help the school become “Mount Pleasant Early College & Career Academy,” which is an early college school model with dual and concurrent enrollment. Construction is planned to take place in phases and students will remain in the current building. The four-story addition will include an improved gym, auditorium, cafeteria and labs for robotics, engineering and maker CTE programs. The project is eligible for 90% state reimbursement and is part of the Providence Public School District’s $1 billion plan to improve schools. State and local officials have expressed support for the project. “The city seeks to boldly approach education in the Mount Pleasant expansion and on other campuses, providing Providence students with modern classrooms that will enable their learning for generations,” City Councilwoman Jo-Ann Ryan said in a letter submitted to the commission and that was read during the meeting by a council staff member. But others weren’t convinced. Sam Wallace, a librarian in the district, raised concerns about the clarity of the construction timeline. Wallace, who said they had worked at DelSesto Middle School’s library before it was renovated – and are currently fighting to keep their job – noted furniture was destroyed in the process, there was no place to put students or the collection of books. Also, Wallace was not informed of the construction timeline or what the new space would look like. Wallace said using a media center is not up to the American Library Association’s standards and there are other teachers concerned about projects who are afraid they will lose their job if they speak up. “Especially in an age of misinformation and [artificial intelligence], our libraries are really the front lines of preparing our high schoolers to become young adults in today’s landscape,” Wallace said during the public comment portion of the commission’s meeting. “If people cannot speak honestly about the community input of if they fear for their jobs then this is not a true community plan and it’s not focused on our students' learning.” Wallace also noted the classroom sizes are smaller than they were before and the plan gets rid of some community spaces. Representatives presenting the project to the commission said there were dozens of community meetings held to get public input, including from staff members. Also, the plans were created to meet the R.I. Department of Education standards, including those on classroom sizes. (Katie Castellani is a PBN staff writer. You may contact her at Castellani@PBN.com.)