The Rev. Philip Smith, president Providence College
Greater student achievement in math and literacy is the goal of Teaching for Tomorrow, a $1 million, three-year educational initiative that has recently become part of six Providence elementary schools. The initiative is the work of the Health and Educational Leadership for Providence (HELP) organization, established in 1994 by six private hospitals, and four private, independent colleges and universities located in Providence.
The organization’s founding members are: Brown University, Butler Hospital, Johnson and Wales University, The Miriam Hospital, Providence College, Rhode Island Hospital, Rhode Island School of Design, Roger Williams Medical Center, St. Joseph Hospital for Specialty Care, and Women and Infants Hospital. The Teaching for Tomorrow initiative represents the largest investment the group has made since its beginning.
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“This $1million HELP investment is intended to bolster the city’s efforts to support new learning and teaching approaches,” said Providence College President, the Rev. Philip Smith, chairman of the HELP coalition board of directors. “By working in partnership with the city, the Providence School District and the individual schools we can meet high academic standards and go further to create a richer environment for student learning in Providence.”
Through a competitive selection process, six schools were named as participants: Carl Lauro Elementary School, E.W. Flynn Elementary School, George J. West Elementary School, Dr. Martin Luther King Elementary School, Vartan Gregorian Elementary School, and the Veazie Street Elementary School.
Each of the participating schools has formed a team consisting of teachers, school administrators, and parents to spearhead the HELP effort. Each team has formulated its own plan for improving student achievement, and Louis A. Fazzano, HELP president said the initiative seeks to provide these schools with the right mix of tools to enable them to reach their goals.
“If you assist teachers and provide more resources, we believe there will be greater students achievement,” he said. “This gives teachers the opportunity to test ideas, fine tune and validate new and unique approaches. Now six schools will have their own tool boxes, and at the end of three years we hope they can share those tools with other urban schools.”
To help schools achieve their goals, each will receive funds, which HELP will allocate, professional development resources such as grants, data evaluation tools, and facilitators to assist schools in identifying needed resources, securing those resources as well as evaluating progress.
According to the HELP coalition, Providence teachers face a major challenge in their district as Article-31 funding mandates a 3 percent improvement in student assessments each year.
“There is a very simple, clear and non-negotiable goal for our schools: improvement in student achievement,” said Diana Lam, superintendent of Providence Schools. “We need to teach high standards and challenge students to get there. In order to create this kind of learning we need to support our teachers.”
Providence is the fourth fastest growing urban school district serving the highest number of low income and diverse students in the country, Providence Mayor Vincent A. Cianci, Jr. said, but that doesn’t mean standards can’t be met.
“With this kind of help and motivation, Providence could become a model school system for America,” he said. “And it’s not going to take us long to do it.”
