Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Report Card Accountability topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Central Falls district reviews RIDE report card results; receives $3 million for new high school work
Summary
District staff reviewed school report card scores, noted a narrow gain on graduation rate, outlined accountability work with RIDE and announced a $3 million facility equity allocation for the new high school.
Director Baird and the superintendent briefed the board on the district’s 2023–24 report card results and on several districtwide updates, including a new $3 million facility equity award for the Central Falls High School project.
Baird explained the state’s star‑based report card system and walked trustees through district and school‑level performance in five buckets: academic achievement and growth, English language proficiency, graduation and college‑and‑career readiness, student success measures and subgroup performance. She said the district’s composite graduation rate for 2024 was 67 percent, just above the 66.67 percent cutoff used by RIDE: “We just made it into the 2 points. We had a 67 percent graduation rate, and the cutoff is 66.67.”
Baird described mixed results across schools: gains in some growth measures at Raíces and Veterans Memorial, notable improvement at one elementary on growth measures, and a decrease in some science or math indices at other schools. The district’s English language proficiency index used a new calculation this year; Raíces earned three points on that index, placing it in the higher category for ELP.
The trustees discussed next steps for accountability. The superintendent said the district met with RIDE’s regional team and must submit an LEA accountability action plan by Feb. 28. That plan will include a strengths‑and‑needs assessment, root‑cause analysis and school‑level action planning to remain out of CSI designations. Baird and staff said new dashboards and a tighter data‑review cadence will help principals and district leaders track progress.
On facilities, the superintendent announced that the district was awarded an additional $3,000,000 in facility equity initiative funds to close remaining gaps on the new high school project. The money will cover items the bond cannot reimburse or cost overruns and will support completion of the auditorium and athletic fields. The superintendent said the district will still run a community fundraising opportunity — selling naming on 400 auditorium seats — to supplement project funding.
Board members asked for more granular data displays, including student‑cohort tracking (for example, students enrolled continuously in the district for multiple years) and micro‑level reviews of repeated suspensions and early‑warning indicators. Staff said the district is expanding restorative practices and plans to use grant funds to hire two conference facilitators to support formal restorative conferencing for high‑need cases.
No formal votes were taken on accountability or facility matters during the meeting; staff committed to returning with more detailed dashboards and with the action plan that will be sent to RIDE on Feb. 28.
