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August 2007
State allows Providence to increase special-ed class size
Posted Tuesday, August 28, 2007
By Linda Borg
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE — The state commissioner of education has granted the Providence school district permission to increase the class size for special education students with mild to moderate disabilities.
But Commissioner Peter McWalters made it clear that the district will have to provide ample evidence that the changes will not undermine instruction. More importantly, McWalters said, special education in Providence needs to be fixed.
“I am in complete agreement with the School Board, Superintendent [Donnie] Evans and the community that the special education system in Providence is in immediate need of attention,” he wrote in Friday’s letter to the School Board. “However, I am convinced of your heartfelt desire to make difficult choices that may break from the status quo but are designed to result in positive change without diminishing the level of service to any child.”
The waiver allows the district to increase class size from 10 students per teacher to 12 students per teacher. McWalters said the increase is well within class-size minimums needed to provide a sound education to special-education students.
But Steve Smith, president of the Providence Teachers Union, was outraged by the commissioner’s decision, saying that it flies in the face of progressive support and intervention, and the state regulations that allow the commissioner to intervene in low-performing districts such as Providence.
“This decision is a mockery of progressive support and intervention,” Smith said Friday. “Instead of acknowledging that Providence is inadequately funded, he has sided with the district. If this is such a good idea, why doesn’t East Greenwich and Barrington get this intervention?”
McWalters’ decision was a “Hail Mary pass” for the school district, which will now be able to plug a $3.2-million hole in its budget. Evans said Friday that without the waiver, the department would have been scrambling to find other places to solve the budget shortfall, which originally totaled $6 million.
Evans initially asked to increase class size from 10 to 15 students for secondary students, but backed down after teachers, parents and union leaders publicly opposed the increase at a series of public meetings. McWalters, in his letter, applauded the district’s decision to reduce its request from 15 to 12 students per teacher.
Parents and teachers had argued that increasing the class size would overwhelm a system that is already failing many of its children. They described classrooms where autistic children are placed next to students with learning disabilities, where one or two students with significant behavioral issues disrupt learning for the entire class.
Both Evans and McWalters agreed that the way in which children are grouped isn’t working. Under current practice, special-education students are grouped by ability, from mild to severe.
“When you group children without regard for their instructional needs, that’s a problem,” Evans said. “Students with mental handicaps learn at a slower pace. Students with learning disabilities have average or above average IQs, but the style of teaching is entirely different.”
Putting children with different learning styles in the same classroom does a disservice to all students. The district has already put together a task force to look at changing the way special-education students are grouped. Evans also said that McWalters “has asked us to accelerate that process.”
McWalters said that the district must create groupings of students based on their strengths and needs rather than seat availability. He cited the “pervasive theme of dissatisfaction” among parents as the reason for the change and ordered the district to get to work on the issue immediately.
McWalters also addressed another repeated concern: that special-education students are crammed into classrooms that are half the size of traditional classrooms. Evans must submit a report to the commissioner demonstrating that special-education students are being taught in adequately sized classrooms.
McWalters has also ordered the district to provide the state Department of Education with a complete list of special-education teachers and teacher assistants, together with evidence that the teachers are highly qualified. Members of the local advisory council, a parents’ organization, complained that not everyone had the appropriate credentials to work with this population.
The district also sought a waiver that would allow the department to assign special-education supervisors to other roles. McWalters said that it is within the district’s authority to assign staff to positions that will improve the delivery of special-education services.
Finally, the commissioner praised the district for making every effort to include the public in its discussions over class size. But, during the public meetings, parents and union leaders complained that they were left out of the decision-making process and argued that the waivers were a done deal by the time they made it to a public meeting.
“He applauds the district for reaching out,” Smith said, “and yet the community was unanimous in its opposition. If this is his idea of reaching out, it’s bizarre.”
Meanwhile, Evans said that 22 special-education teachers will be affected by the class-size increase: some will be placed in the permanent substitute pool, which means they are guaranteed work every day but not at the same school; others will fill vacancies in other schools.
“It’s how it’s done that’s the problem,” Evans said. “I’d like to give teachers more advance notice.”
State allows Providence to increase special-ed class size
Posted Tuesday, August 28, 2007
By Linda Borg
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE — The state commissioner of education has granted the Providence school district permission to increase the class size for special education students with mild to moderate disabilities.
But Commissioner Peter McWalters made it clear that the district will have to provide ample evidence that the changes will not undermine instruction. More importantly, McWalters said, special education in Providence needs to be fixed.
“I am in complete agreement with the School Board, Superintendent [Donnie] Evans and the community that the special education system in Providence is in immediate need of attention,” he wrote in Friday’s letter to the School Board. “However, I am convinced of your heartfelt desire to make difficult choices that may break from the status quo but are designed to result in positive change without diminishing the level of service to any child.”
The waiver allows the district to increase class size from 10 students per teacher to 12 students per teacher. McWalters said the increase is well within class-size minimums needed to provide a sound education to special-education students.
But Steve Smith, president of the Providence Teachers Union, was outraged by the commissioner’s decision, saying that it flies in the face of progressive support and intervention, and the state regulations that allow the commissioner to intervene in low-performing districts such as Providence.
“This decision is a mockery of progressive support and intervention,” Smith said Friday. “Instead of acknowledging that Providence is inadequately funded, he has sided with the district. If this is such a good idea, why doesn’t East Greenwich and Barrington get this intervention?”
McWalters’ decision was a “Hail Mary pass” for the school district, which will now be able to plug a $3.2-million hole in its budget. Evans said Friday that without the waiver, the department would have been scrambling to find other places to solve the budget shortfall, which originally totaled $6 million.
Evans initially asked to increase class size from 10 to 15 students for secondary students, but backed down after teachers, parents and union leaders publicly opposed the increase at a series of public meetings. McWalters, in his letter, applauded the district’s decision to reduce its request from 15 to 12 students per teacher.
Parents and teachers had argued that increasing the class size would overwhelm a system that is already failing many of its children. They described classrooms where autistic children are placed next to students with learning disabilities, where one or two students with significant behavioral issues disrupt learning for the entire class.
Both Evans and McWalters agreed that the way in which children are grouped isn’t working. Under current practice, special-education students are grouped by ability, from mild to severe.
“When you group children without regard for their instructional needs, that’s a problem,” Evans said. “Students with mental handicaps learn at a slower pace. Students with learning disabilities have average or above average IQs, but the style of teaching is entirely different.”
Putting children with different learning styles in the same classroom does a disservice to all students. The district has already put together a task force to look at changing the way special-education students are grouped. Evans also said that McWalters “has asked us to accelerate that process.”
McWalters said that the district must create groupings of students based on their strengths and needs rather than seat availability. He cited the “pervasive theme of dissatisfaction” among parents as the reason for the change and ordered the district to get to work on the issue immediately.
McWalters also addressed another repeated concern: that special-education students are crammed into classrooms that are half the size of traditional classrooms. Evans must submit a report to the commissioner demonstrating that special-education students are being taught in adequately sized classrooms.
McWalters has also ordered the district to provide the state Department of Education with a complete list of special-education teachers and teacher assistants, together with evidence that the teachers are highly qualified. Members of the local advisory council, a parents’ organization, complained that not everyone had the appropriate credentials to work with this population.
The district also sought a waiver that would allow the department to assign special-education supervisors to other roles. McWalters said that it is within the district’s authority to assign staff to positions that will improve the delivery of special-education services.
Finally, the commissioner praised the district for making every effort to include the public in its discussions over class size. But, during the public meetings, parents and union leaders complained that they were left out of the decision-making process and argued that the waivers were a done deal by the time they made it to a public meeting.
“He applauds the district for reaching out,” Smith said, “and yet the community was unanimous in its opposition. If this is his idea of reaching out, it’s bizarre.”
Meanwhile, Evans said that 22 special-education teachers will be affected by the class-size increase: some will be placed in the permanent substitute pool, which means they are guaranteed work every day but not at the same school; others will fill vacancies in other schools.
“It’s how it’s done that’s the problem,” Evans said. “I’d like to give teachers more advance notice.”
Special Membership Meeting
Posted Friday, August 24, 2007
TO: All Union Members
FROM: Steven F. Smith
DATE: August 22, 2007
Please be advised that a Special Membership Meeting has been scheduled for:
DATE: Tuesday, September 4, 2007
TIME: 7:30 a.m.
LOCATION: Rhodes on the Pawtuxet
60 Rhodes Place
Cranston, Rhode Island
The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the status of negotiations and the plans for the 2007-08 school year. The School Board and the Superintendent are aware of this traditional meeting and have voiced no opposition. At the conclusion of our meeting, everyone will report to their assignments for the remainder of orientation day.
Please make every attempt to attend this important informational meeting.
Providence schools superintendent revises request to increase special-education class sizes
Posted Tuesday, August 21, 2007
By Linda Borg
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE — After listening to hours of testimony from teachers, parents and union leaders, Supt. Donnie Evans has revised his request for a waiver to increase the size of special-education classes.
According to spokeswoman Maria Tocco, the size of classes for children with low to moderate disabilities would be increased from 10 to 12 students across the board. The original waiver called for increasing the size from 10 to 12 students at the elementary level and 10 to 15 students at the high school level.
Evans has also inserted new language into the second waiver, which sought to reduce the number of special-education supervisors. Under the new variance, Evans said that he wants the flexibility to assign these supervisors to other duties, in addition to their responsibilities for monitoring special education. The requests have been sent to state Education Commissioner Peter McWalters, who is expected to rule on the proposals before the school year begins Sept. 5.
At three well-attended public hearings this summer, dozens of parents and staff complained that the changes would undermine a system that is already on the ropes, adding to the problem of overcrowded classrooms, placing more burden on teachers and reducing the one group of people, the administrators, that parents turn to when they are rebuffed at the school level.
The Providence Teachers Union has been one of the most outspoken critics of the proposals because 35 special-education teachers would lose their current positions and be re-assigned to other ones. Under the new proposal, however, 22 teachers would be affected, a move designed to mollify the opposition.
“We got a little concession,” said one parent, Stephanie Jones Pringle. “That’s better than nothing.”
Evans has also promised to investigate the classroom-size issue, and Tocco said that the district will make every effort to pull students out of small classrooms and place them in more spacious settings.
Meanwhile, the Providence Teachers Union has fired off two letters to McWalters that detail its opposition to the waivers. In a letter dated Aug. 15, union president Steve Smith said that the special-education plan will create problems with collective bargaining agreements, logistics and the costs associated with the inadequacy of the present classroom spaces.
“Not one person in attendance (at the three public meetings) spoke in favor of the plan,” Smith wrote. “Everyone recognized the plan as a means to balance next year’s school budget on the backs of our most needy students. Budget constraints should not supersede student need.”
Smith also questioned why the variance request is being submitted before an external evaluation of the district’s special-education program is completed. “Again,” Smith wrote, “the issue comes back to one reason and only one reason: budget.”
At Tuesday’s meeting, in which the School Board voted unanimously to back Evans’ original waiver request, board members acknowledged that the department’s financial crisis was driving the decision.
Faced with a $6-million budget shortfall, the department recognized that it could save $3.4 million by increasing the class size for special-education students.
The district has already cut most of its art and music classes and is now under orders from the state to restore those programs.
In addition, a dozen schools are classified as needing to be restructured under the federal No Child Left Behind Law, which means that they haven’t made adequate yearly progress for at least four years. As a result, McWalters has ordered the department to come up with specific plans to improve student performance in the low-performing schools.
Providence School Board OKs expanding class size for special education
Posted Wednesday, August 15, 2007
By Linda Borg
Journal Staff Writer
Special education teachers, along with parents and administrators, listen as people take their turn speaking out against changes in the special education programs in Providence.
The Providence Journal / Kris Craig Kris Craig
PROVIDENCE — In spite of the passionate objections of parents and teachers, the Providence School Board voted unanimously to request a waiver from the state to increase the size of special-education classes and reduce the number of administrators who oversee the program.
Board members said they had little choice but to approve the waivers because there was no other way to cut $3.4 million from a $6-million budget shortfall. The first variance would increase class size from 10 to 12 students in elementary school and 10 to 15 students in high school. This would only apply to students with mild to moderate disabilities. The second would allow the department to reduce the number of special education supervisors.
Two dozen parents, teachers and union leaders spoke out against the proposals, arguing that the special-education system is already broken and that increasing class size will only cripple an already ineffective system.
Gina Aiello said she had just received notice of her job loss 30 minutes before the beginning of last night’s meeting, which drew more than 100 angry people to the Juanita Sanchez Complex.
“I’m shaking,” she said. “I love my job. I worked so hard for five years. I don’t know where I’m going to be now.”
Another special-education teacher, Robin Peterson, challenged members of the School Board to “see what it’s like to handle these kids.”
“Do you really feel comfortable being the first district in the state to raise special-education class sizes?” she said. “Is having a class size that’s smaller than Texas a bad thing?”
Providence Teachers Union President Steve Smith joined the chorus of voices that called Supt. Donnie Evans’ proposals a done deal. According to Smith, teachers should have been notified of job consolidations five days before the close of the school year, not three weeks before the new school year begins.
“This isn’t leadership,” he said. “It’s panic. No one should get a phone call today saying that they don’t have a job. You can’t respect our kids, you can’t respect our teachers, and do this.”
Parents repeatedly described a system in which teachers were overwhelmed, phone calls weren’t returned promptly and individual education plans weren’t followed. Teachers talked about classrooms that were created by cutting a regular academic classroom in half. Now imagine adding five more students to an already overcrowded environment.
No one was more heated than Stephanie Jones Pringle, who has been an outspoken opponent of the waivers at the three public hearings.
“A proposal means, ‘Let’s talk about it,’ ” said Pringle, the parent of a special-needs child. “When I hear that teachers are being laid off, that sounds like action. They tell me that my child won’t be affected but when you put 15 kids in a mild to moderate classroom, some of them will end up downstairs with my child. I haven’t figured out who is on my side. Who is on my side?”
Two city councilors, John Lombardi and Nicholas Narducci Jr., also turned out last night to voice their opposition. Narducci said that it might be time to consider an elected School Board, not one that is appointed by the mayor.
“Dr. Evans, you are off to the wrong start as far as community involvement is concerned,” Narducci said. Teachers are being cut while “your staff is getting fatter and wealthier.”
“Why is it that the administrators and the superintendent always forget the C word: communication,” Lombardi said. “We come to these meetings frustrated. Tonight we heard the word, robbed. We heard the phrase ‘violation of collective bargaining.’ Let’s think about our special education community. They need their teachers.”
School Board members generally agreed with many of the sentiments expressed last night but said that their hands were tied. Where else could they cut $3.4 million from the budget?
“It’s not a good vote,” said board member Robert Wise. “But we don’t have a choice. We are scrambling. We don’t have the money to do a good job for our special-education students.”
Two board members, Grace Gonzalez and Rosanna Castro, were adamant that the district closely review the impact of the waivers to make sure that children are getting the services they deserve. Board president Mary McClure called on the state Department of Education to relax some of their regulations so that the district can spend their limited resources in areas that it considers the most critical.
In the end, however, the members agreed with Jill Holloway, who said, “I don’t see any way out other than to take this step.”
Voting for the waivers were Castro, Holloway, McClure, Gonzalez, Wise and Maila Touray. Absent from the meeting were Bert Crenca, Ronnie Young and Katherine McKenzie.
Now, state Education Commissioner Peter McWalters will decide whether to approve the waivers, modify them or reject them outright.
Even with cuts to school budget, Evans looking forward
Posted Wednesday, August 15, 2007
By Linda Borg
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE — Despite a budget crisis, Schools Supt. Donnie Evans is moving ahead with a number of new programs that are designed to raise student performance, improve teaching skills and hold students and staff to high standards.
The district has focused on two over-arching goals in the past year: making schools more welcoming to the public, and treating parents as partners — not obstacles to be overcome. Evans has also asked principals to take on another role, that of academic leader. In June, Evans announced the transfer of more than a dozen principals and assistant principals, part of his plan to place the strongest leaders in schools that need the most help.
This year, Evans is adding three more goals to the Providence Effective Schools Initiative, a model patterned after a similar program in Tampa, Fla., where Evans once worked.
The first goal asks that teachers and principals hold all students to high expectations. Teachers will be asked to display evidence of high-quality student work and they will be asked to communicate those expectations to parents at open houses and other forums. Principals will discuss the importance of high standards and will reward academic performance with honor roll celebrations and other public events. More students will be enrolled in advanced classes and schools will provide opportunities for tutoring before and after school.
“We’re talking about building children’s self-esteem, their feelings of self-worth,” Evans said.
He acknowledged that this may be a tough sell for teachers who assume that urban students can’t achieve at the same levels as their middle-class peers, but he believes that once they see it happening in their schools, their attitude will change.
“We’re asking principals, ‘What would it take to do this?’ ” Evans said. “Some have expressed a desire to travel to other schools to see what they’re doing.”
The second goal is to help principals and teachers use data to not only measure student performance, but to modify instruction based on the strengths and weaknesses of the students’ test data.
“I look at data a lot, but then I’m a math teacher,” Evans said. “We have to help teachers become more comfortable with assessments.”
And it’s not just test data that Evans is talking about. He wants teachers to look at attendance rates, suspensions and tardiness and compare that information with student performance. At Perry Middle School, the principals discovered that only a handful of students repeatedly got in trouble, and yet they were disruptive enough to interrupt the entire class.
Evans said his third goal is to improve classroom teaching.
“We want a highly qualified teacher in every classroom,” he said, “not just someone who knows effective teaching practices but someone who has the interpersonal skills to connect with kids.”
Evans and his chief academic officer, Sharon Contreras, are already working on training units for new teachers that focus on successful teaching skills. The teachers who work in schools classified as in corrective action — those schools that have repeatedly failed to make adequate yearly progress under the federal No Child Left Behind law — will receive five days of concentrated training before Sept. 5, the first day of school.
Evans will also:
•Create a district call center where parents can get their questions answered. Too often, Evans said, parents call the district and get bounced from one department to the next in search of the right information. The center will also offer translation for parents who don’t speak English as their first language.
•Ask the Annenberg Center for School Reform to analyze the effectiveness of the central office.
•Introduce reading classes and add 20 reading teachers at the middle school level. Five of the district’s seven middle schools are classified as in need of improvement. In January, state Education Commissioner Peter McWalters told Evans to come up with a plan for improving the district’s lowest-performing schools or face possible state intervention.
•Introduce new reading and math curricula in the elementary and middle schools facing corrective action — schools that haven’t made adequate yearly progress for at least three years. The reading program, called Reading Matters, is a scripted curriculum designed to develop basic skills in students who are reading well below grade level.
•Adopting school uniforms in all elementary and middle schools. Evans said that research shows that in schools where uniforms are the norm, behavior problems decline and students develop a stronger sense of community. About 12 schools have or will adopt uniforms this fall.
But the budget crisis has forced the department to take several programs off the table, including an evening school for high school students who find it difficult to attend classes during the day. The program would have been geared toward teenagers who work during the day, baby-sit younger siblings or have their own children.
Evans said that he also wanted to provide more reading programs and language interpretation services, but they have been set aside due to the budget restraints. This spring, the department had to cut $6 million from its proposed budget after the General Assembly rejected Governor Carcieri’s proposal to award 3 percent increases in school aid.
The district faces another big challenge: How to implement the state’s new high school graduation requirements, which take effect this year, without the money to support the new programs. In Providence, this year’s senior class must complete a portfolio of their best work, plus complete end-of-course exams, to graduate. These requirements are especially daunting for large high schools like Central, Hope and Mount Pleasant, because teachers must develop a system to keep track of hundreds of pieces of paper for each student.
Evans talked candidly about the frustration of trying to move a district forward in an era of diminishing resources.
“It’s a huge, huge challenge,” he said in an interview on Friday. “It’s an uphill climb. Some days, I question whether I want to come to work, but I’m committed to doing what I do.”
Based on what Evans is hearing from the legislature, it sounds like the district will be in the same financial straits next year.
“It couldn’t be coming at a worse time,” he said of the reductions in state aid. “How can we continue to make progress with the same amount of money?”
Even with cuts to school budget, Evans looking forward
Posted Wednesday, August 15, 2007
By Linda Borg
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE — Despite a budget crisis, Schools Supt. Donnie Evans is moving ahead with a number of new programs that are designed to raise student performance, improve teaching skills and hold students and staff to high standards.
The district has focused on two over-arching goals in the past year: making schools more welcoming to the public, and treating parents as partners — not obstacles to be overcome. Evans has also asked principals to take on another role, that of academic leader. In June, Evans announced the transfer of more than a dozen principals and assistant principals, part of his plan to place the strongest leaders in schools that need the most help.
This year, Evans is adding three more goals to the Providence Effective Schools Initiative, a model patterned after a similar program in Tampa, Fla., where Evans once worked.
The first goal asks that teachers and principals hold all students to high expectations. Teachers will be asked to display evidence of high-quality student work and they will be asked to communicate those expectations to parents at open houses and other forums. Principals will discuss the importance of high standards and will reward academic performance with honor roll celebrations and other public events. More students will be enrolled in advanced classes and schools will provide opportunities for tutoring before and after school.
“We’re talking about building children’s self-esteem, their feelings of self-worth,” Evans said.
He acknowledged that this may be a tough sell for teachers who assume that urban students can’t achieve at the same levels as their middle-class peers, but he believes that once they see it happening in their schools, their attitude will change.
“We’re asking principals, ‘What would it take to do this?’ ” Evans said. “Some have expressed a desire to travel to other schools to see what they’re doing.”
The second goal is to help principals and teachers use data to not only measure student performance, but to modify instruction based on the strengths and weaknesses of the students’ test data.
“I look at data a lot, but then I’m a math teacher,” Evans said. “We have to help teachers become more comfortable with assessments.”
And it’s not just test data that Evans is talking about. He wants teachers to look at attendance rates, suspensions and tardiness and compare that information with student performance. At Perry Middle School, the principals discovered that only a handful of students repeatedly got in trouble, and yet they were disruptive enough to interrupt the entire class.
Evans said his third goal is to improve classroom teaching.
“We want a highly qualified teacher in every classroom,” he said, “not just someone who knows effective teaching practices but someone who has the interpersonal skills to connect with kids.”
Evans and his chief academic officer, Sharon Contreras, are already working on training units for new teachers that focus on successful teaching skills. The teachers who work in schools classified as in corrective action — those schools that have repeatedly failed to make adequate yearly progress under the federal No Child Left Behind law — will receive five days of concentrated training before Sept. 5, the first day of school.
Evans will also:
•Create a district call center where parents can get their questions answered. Too often, Evans said, parents call the district and get bounced from one department to the next in search of the right information. The center will also offer translation for parents who don’t speak English as their first language.
•Ask the Annenberg Center for School Reform to analyze the effectiveness of the central office.
•Introduce reading classes and add 20 reading teachers at the middle school level. Five of the district’s seven middle schools are classified as in need of improvement. In January, state Education Commissioner Peter McWalters told Evans to come up with a plan for improving the district’s lowest-performing schools or face possible state intervention.
•Introduce new reading and math curricula in the elementary and middle schools facing corrective action — schools that haven’t made adequate yearly progress for at least three years. The reading program, called Reading Matters, is a scripted curriculum designed to develop basic skills in students who are reading well below grade level.
•Adopting school uniforms in all elementary and middle schools. Evans said that research shows that in schools where uniforms are the norm, behavior problems decline and students develop a stronger sense of community. About 12 schools have or will adopt uniforms this fall.
But the budget crisis has forced the department to take several programs off the table, including an evening school for high school students who find it difficult to attend classes during the day. The program would have been geared toward teenagers who work during the day, baby-sit younger siblings or have their own children.
Evans said that he also wanted to provide more reading programs and language interpretation services, but they have been set aside due to the budget restraints. This spring, the department had to cut $6 million from its proposed budget after the General Assembly rejected Governor Carcieri’s proposal to award 3 percent increases in school aid.
The district faces another big challenge: How to implement the state’s new high school graduation requirements, which take effect this year, without the money to support the new programs. In Providence, this year’s senior class must complete a portfolio of their best work, plus complete end-of-course exams, to graduate. These requirements are especially daunting for large high schools like Central, Hope and Mount Pleasant, because teachers must develop a system to keep track of hundreds of pieces of paper for each student.
Evans talked candidly about the frustration of trying to move a district forward in an era of diminishing resources.
“It’s a huge, huge challenge,” he said in an interview on Friday. “It’s an uphill climb. Some days, I question whether I want to come to work, but I’m committed to doing what I do.”
Based on what Evans is hearing from the legislature, it sounds like the district will be in the same financial straits next year.
“It couldn’t be coming at a worse time,” he said of the reductions in state aid. “How can we continue to make progress with the same amount of money?”
Special Education Variances for Providence
Posted Friday, August 3, 2007
Dear Colleague:
As mentioned in my July 26, 2007 letter to you, Superintendent Donnie Evans conducted a community meeting on August 1, 2007 at the Juanita Sanchez Complex Cafetorium. Approximately 250 people were in attendance.
The Superintendent stated that he will ask the Providence School Board to seek special education variances for Providence schools in the areas of class size and administrative staffing requirements.
Specifically he recommended that elementary, self-contained special education class size be increased from 10 students with an aide to 12 students with an aide. At the secondary level, the increase would be to 15 students with an aide. He is also seeking a variance to reduce the number of special education supervisors required by regulations.
At the conclusion of his presentation, he asked for public comment. For nearly two hours speaker after speaker, parent and teacher alike, denounced his plan. There was no support whatsoever for either variance.
I took the opportunity to speak on behalf of all 2100 Providence teachers and pointed out that while the state legislature made a terrible mistake in level funding education, the Providence School Board would make an equally as bad or worse mistake by accepting the Superintendent’s proposal to balance its budget on the backs of our most needy students.
In addition, we are opposed to this proposal as it is poorly conceived, emanating from budgetary concerns and not student needs. If adopted, this proposal would clearly demonstrate total disregard for the needs of the child, voice of the parents, and advice from the teachers.
The School Board will take-up the Superintendent’s proposal at a public hearing scheduled for Tuesday, August 14, 2007 at the Central Administration Building, School Board Room at 6:30 p.m. Should the Board decide to change the time or location of the meeting, I will notify you of the change.
It is imperative that we attend this meeting as a sign of our opposition to the Superintendent’s plan. We have a moral and professional obligation to advocate for our students.
We must speak out against this anti-special needs student proposal. I hope to see you there.
Sincerely,
Steven F. Smith
President
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