Providence public schools will undoubtedly function better and produce better-educated students five years from now, the soonest a planned state takeover will end. But how much better and at what costs will depend greatly on the cooperation between state and city officials, community groups and, yes, the business community.
R.I. Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green has struck the right chords in her steady effort to build support for the state takeover, following a June Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy report that described a deeply dysfunctional school system.
On Oct. 15, she unveiled four broad strategies, including the creation of partnerships with educational institutions, businesses and governmental or nonprofit agencies.
Ms. Infante-Green told PBN in July she wants the business community’s input, as well as their “giving back financially, or with their time, in an organized way.”
Her ability to develop such partnerships will be crucial to maintaining momentum for changes that will take years to implement. The timeline extends beyond the final, term-limited tenures of the two political leaders who sought the Johns Hopkins report, Gov. Gina M. Raimondo and Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza.
After years of citing the challenges of dealing with a local workforce often lacking in basic skills, business leaders are being offered the chance to step in at the ground level. It’s an investment in time and money that will be well spent if the result is a stronger, better-educated community.