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July 2006
Fox Point bathhouse to become school library
Posted Friday, July 28, 2006
The $1-million renovation will also include community center spaces in the Wickenden Street building.
BY KAREN A. DAVIS
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE -- City contractors have begun a $1- million project to rehabilitate the Wickenden Street bathhouse and turn it into a school library and community meeting space.
The bathhouse, adjacent to Vartan Gregorian School in Fox Point, was constructed in the 1920s as one of many in the community. City officials believe that it is the only one left in Providence.
Once it was no longer needed for bathing, the two-story brick building was used as a public library and as storage space until the early 1970s.
Since then, the building has been in a state of disrepair, according to city officials and preservationists who have lobbied to have the it repaired and reused.
"For decades now, the Fox Point bathhouse has sat unused, in an increasing state of decay," said Councilman David Segal, who represents the Fox Point neighborhood. "Saving the bathhouse and putting it to community use has been one of my priorities since I took office four years ago. . . . I'm absolutely thrilled that this rehabilitation will move forward."
The upper floor of the 2,500-square-foot building will be converted into an expanded library for Vartan Gregorian School, allowing the current library to be converted into classroom space, Segal said.
The lower level will have multiple uses, including serving as meeting space for the Fox Point Senior Center, which has a small office across the street in the Boys & Girls Club building, and the New England Soccer Hall of Fame.
Segal noted that the school will have priority in using the public space, but that it will be made available to neighborhood organizations.
Alan Sepe, the city's acting director of public property, said the project is expected to be completed next year.
Segal said contractors have been instructed to maintain the integrity of the building.
Since 1997, the Providence Preservation Society included the bathhouse on its annual top 10 list of most endangered properties. Preservation officials estimated it was built in the mid-1920s as a bathing site for large numbers of European immigrants who settled in Fox Point.
Evans, board discuss strategic plan
Posted Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Implementing a broad plan to improve student performance in every school could require changes in the way teachers work, the schools superintendent says.
BY RICHARD C. DUJARDIN
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE -- School officials focused their attention yesterday on a new strategic plan, one that Supt. Donnie Evans says will move the district closer to becoming a national leader in educating urban youths.
Although Evans has spoken frequently over the last six months about creating a school culture that supports teaching and learning at every level, yesterday marked the first time his proposals became the basis of a School Board workshop on a plan to put those ideas into practice.
Among the guiding assumptions, Evans told board members, is that all students can achieve at high levels under the right conditions, and that no school is to be considered exempt from that expectation.
"Preexisting expectations and behavioral norms," he declared, "are no longer 'givens.' "
Evans says there was a time when some researchers were convinced that nothing public schools did made much difference in preparing their students for success, and that success really depended on the student's family background. Under that theory, he observed, children from poor families lacked the prime conditions or values to support education and could not learn regardless of what the school did.
But those ideas, he said, have been contradicted by such academics as Ronald Edmonds, former director of the Center for Urban Studies at Harvard University, whose research found that while family background does influence a child's trajectory toward success, schools that share certain characteristics make it possible for poor children to learn and succeed.
Among the characteristics that Evans wants to make part of the policy and culture at every school are these:
A clearly articulated school mission through which every member of the staff accepts responsibility for student learning and shares a commitment to the instructional goals, priorities and procedures.
A climate of expectation in which teachers and administrators believe and demonstrate that all students have a capacity for rigorous academic work and can achieve at a high level.
The principal is an instructional leader who persistently communicates the mission to the staff and who makes sure that student academic progress is measured frequently.
Teachers allocate a significant amount of classroom time to instruction in the essential content and skills, and where a large percentage of students' time is taken up with whole-class learning activities planned and directed by the teacher.
There is an orderly, purposeful, businesslike atmosphere which is free from the threat of physical harm, and where the climate is not oppressive but conducive to teaching and learning.
Parents understand and support the school's basic mission, and are given opportunities to play an important role in helping the school achieve its mission.
Evans said after the workshop that while he does not expect that the overall philosophy of the plan will be altered between now and its official release, some of the details could involve changes in the way teachers work and may require an agreement with the city's teachers union.
In other action last night, Mark Dunham, the School Department's finance officer, outlined the steps to bring the School Board's original budget request of $316 million in line with the $311 million being provided the department through city and state appropriations.
The gap, he said, is being plugged through $2.37 million in savings from the closing of Nathan Bishop Middle school; $894,000 in unanticipated savings in health insurance payments; $503,000 in savings from school maintenance costs, $266,000 through the elimination of five school buses, unrelated to the closing of Nathan Bishop; $250,000 in savings in special education costs as a result of seven fewer students being sent to special schools, and $640,000 in other savings.
Also last night, Evans announced that schools will be closed Sept. 12 due to a state law requiring a holiday for the primary election.
Administrative shakeup continues in city schools
Posted Friday, July 7, 2006
Schools Supt. Donnie Evans says he want to put "the right people in the right seats on the bus."
BY LINDA BORG
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE -- Supt. Donnie Evans has announced another set of administrative changes that are part of his effort to put "the right people in the right seats on the bus."
Evans said last Friday he is conducting a national search to fill two executive positions -- those of chief academic officer and chief operations officer.
The chief operations position will be vacant after Deb DeCarlo retires this month after nearly 30 years in the district.
"Her expertise and deep knowledge of the workings of this vast operation will be difficult to replace," Evans said. "She has been a positive fixture in this school district and we will certainly miss her."
The chief academic officer's job has been vacant since Michael Sorum resigned in October 2005 to take a job with former Providence Supt. Melody Johnson, who works in Texas. Since his departure, Sorum's primary responsibilities have been handled by Deputy Supt. Frances Gallo.
Last week, Evans reassigned 11 principals and assistant principals, mostly at middle schools, part of a sweeping reorganization designed to rescue the city's struggling middle schools. Parents turned out en masse to protest the removal of Roseclaire Bulgin from Roger Williams Middle School.
Evans also announced several changes in top administrators' duties. The new chief of operations will be responsible for food service and transportation, which are currently overseen by Mark Dunham, the chief financial officer.
The directors of elementary, middle and high schools will now share some of the duties that fall under the director of operations, including personnel, the supervision and evaluation of principals, and school schedules. Evans said that he is making these changes to provide greater accountability and efficiencies in schools. The directors will receive training, beginning this summer, to help them take on the new responsibilities.
In addition, all principals will receive training in Evans' new district vision, the effective schools initiative, and middle school principals will receive additional training in creating and managing effective schools.
Evans borrowed the "whole school effectiveness model" from his former school district in Hillsborough, Fla. The program calls for creating a clear mission for every school, setting high student expectations, building safe and orderly schools, involving parents in their children's education and offering training that connects to what teachers are doing in the classroom.
Evans said the model was a big success in the Tampa area, increasing the number of high-performing schools from 7 to 87.
The model has its origin in a study done by Ronald Edmonds, then-director of the Center for Urban Studies at Harvard University. Edmonds discovered there was a set of characteristics common to schools where children were successful, regardless of family background.
Construction starts on Adelaide Avenue high school
Posted Wednesday, July 5, 2006
The school for 450 students is expected to open after Christmas vacation.
BY LINDA BORG
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE -- Construction has begun on the long-delayed high school on Adelaide Avenue.
Alan Sepe, the city's acting director of public property, said 450-student high school should be ready for students after Christmas vacation, although the landscaping will not be completed until later in the year.
The outside of the $20-million school will be built with split-face concrete block. The two-story structure will be air-conditioned, include wireless technology and can be converted into a building for kindergarten through grade 8, Sepe said.
The state Department of Environmental Management approved the city's cleanup plans for the school parcel last month. The property was once home to Gorham manufacturing, a large silver manufacturer.
"They are doing everything they are supposed to," said DEM senior engineer Joseph Martella. "The city is monitoring for dust and other potential air contaminants. They're done with us unless unless there's a problem."
Last year, neighbors took the city to court because work began on the site before the city had prepared a full environmental assessment. A judge ordered the city to halt construction until a remediation plan was completed and approved by the DEM.
Neighbors were also concerned about the potential contamination of the adjacent park parcel, especially Mashapaug Pond. The DEM agreed with residents that the city needed to further investigate that property.
Martella said that Textron, the former owner of the Gorham site, will test soil samples from the property and sediment samples from a nearby cove. Textron has already begun removing a large slag pile from the pond's embankment.
"We sat down with them and told them where we needed more data," Martella said. Textron has until late September to submit a cleanup plan to the DEM.
The city will contain any contamination on the school parcel by capping the soil and ventilating any hazardous vapors from beneath the building.
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