PROVIDENCE – Javier Montanez will continue to lead the Providence Public School District in an acting role this academic year.
Gov. Daniel J. McKee and R.I. Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green announced Friday that Montanez, who has been the district’s interim superintendent since June, will be the acting superintendent for the 2021-22 school year.
Montanez, a former principal at Leviton Dual Language School, took over the district’s top administrative role on an interim basis earlier this summer. He replaced Harrison Peters, who had his contract terminated by the district after criticism arose about the hiring of Olayinka Alege, a now former school administrator who was arrested for alleged assault on a teenager in Warwick.
In a statement, McKee said that Montanez provided the city’s families with stable leadership during a difficult time. He said it is crucial that the district continues to provide the same leadership as students and teachers are returning to school.
“His rich experience as both a student and an educator in Providence Public Schools has made him into an empathetic leader who cares deeply about the outcomes we can create for our students,” Infante-Green said in a statement. “I have enjoyed working with him, and I am looking forward to continuing our partnership in the coming school year to improve Providence schools.”
Thus far, Montanez has scored high in the eyes of the Providence Teachers Union. PTU President Maribeth Calabro described Montanez as a “phenomenal educational leader” to Providence Business News Friday and has a “great cultural climate” in the schools between the teachers, staff, students and families.
Calabro said Montanez is working hard in his new role, regular speaking to teachers and union officials and collaborating with them as the new school year approaches. She said more conversations have been had with Montanez in just two months than with Peters during the former superintendent’s year-plus tenure in the city, and has been more open to feedback from the school community.
“We’re looking forward to a positive start and being able to work together in a positive way,” Calabro said. “We met this week to go over the reopening plans. [Montanez] is very receptive to our suggestions and he tries the best he can to incorporate our ideas. I think he’s going to do a remarkable job.”
Update: Adds comment from Meredith Calabro in paragraphs 6-8.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
