Rhode Island’s governor and commissioner of education spent nearly seven years haggling over whether the state or the city would be most successful at improving the forlorn Providence district schools. In the end, the tug-of-war over control of the schools produced a lot of sound and fury, but zero substantial changes to the foundational problems dragging down student outcomes.
The turnaround plans of both the capital city and the state included all sorts of aspirational metrics that would signal success. Virtually none were met, by either side, not by a mile.
Yes, the state threw its support behind various city efforts, like getting decrepit schools replaced or modernized, and decreasing chronic absenteeism. The city needed that help…