Smiley, stakeholders discuss future of PPSD

METRO Officials share plans, concerns for education under new administration

BY STELLA CHEN SENIOR STAFF WRITER

During his 2022 campaign, Mayor Brett Smiley promised to make education a key issue for his administration.

The state took over control of the Providence Public School District after a 2019 report from Johns Hopkins University found systemic underperformance. The takeover, which was extended due to the pandemic, is expected to be completed by the 202627 school year, The Herald previously reported. After this, PPSD will return to municipal control.

Although PPSD is primarily regulated by the Rhode Island Department of Education, Patricia Socarras, director of communications for the City of

Providence, wrote in an email to The Herald that “the Mayor is in control of key parts of our local education system.”

The Mayor’s office has helped in the development of activities and summer enrichment programs dedicated to “academic and youth leadership development opportunities” and worked with PPSD’s superintendent and the state commissioner of education on the Turnaround Action Plan, the state’s strategy to revamp Providence’s education system.

Conflict over state control

Smiley took office during a tumultuous era for PPSD, which included “contentious” School Board meetings and an investigation into toxic workplace allegations, The Providence Journal reported last December.

Victor Morente, RIDE communications director, cited the Hopkins report in an email to The Herald, detailing the challenges that PPSD faces, “including a lack of profession-