Flee! Flee!

From Notes from Providence Parent Advisory Council Meeting with Superintendent Brady, 2/24/11

Re school closings: under normal circumstances, there is a requirement to have community meetings, 6-8 month process. In this case, a shorter timeline is required since the changes are targeted for September. PPSD has a desire to have meetings and open hearings within this shorter timeframe. Persistently low achieving schools will be addressed first; these positions will be posted.

One pivotal question is whether or not this will include the latest additions to the list. The tier II schools from last year's list are:

• The R.Y.S.E. School, Chariho ("Chariho’s RYSE School is an integrated, comprehensive school program for at-risk youth and their families. Through a unique partnership with Psychological Centers, INC. RYSE provides comprehensive educational and wrap-around mental health services to ELEMENTARY/middle/high school students. ")
• Central High School, Providence (1160 students, 4 admin, 92 faculty)
• Mount Pleasant High School, Providence (1400 students, 5 admin, 116 faculty)
• Providence Academy for International Studies, Providence (400 students, 2 admin, 32 faculty)
• R.I. School for the Deaf (RIDE)

I'm expecting the new list any day, we're already over a month past when they were announced last year. So if they do last year's and this year's, you're looking at 270 high school positions being posted. Well, perhaps minus whatever positions are actually eliminated. If they actually close a high school it'll probably be E-Cubed, since it is the smallest (31 faculty) after PAIS and Cooley are merged.

If I'm right about that, it is time for the E-Cubed teachers to FLEE! because if the turnaround jobs are all filled before they announce a closure, what openings will be left in the district?

Similar story in elementary and middle, although there the ratio of closures to reorganizations is higher.