RIDE: All five Pawtucket secondary schools identified as low-performing; Slater slated for redesign

At the Feb. 11 Pawtucket School Committee meeting, Drew Etchelson, deputy commissioner at the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), told the committee that Pawtucket is facing persistent secondary‑school challenges and that five of the district’s open‑enrollment secondary schools were identified as 1‑star and designated for comprehensive school improvement (CSI).

Etchelson said the RIDE accountability system combines multiple metrics — achievement and growth, English‑learner proficiency, school quality and student success measures, and college‑ and career‑readiness — and that those metrics placed all five secondary schools in the bottom 5 percent of the state. “PSD has experienced a persistent long standing secondary school challenge,” Etchelson said, and “at the release of the accountability data in December, all 5 of PSD’s open enrollment secondary schools were identified as both a 1 star school and a CSI school.”

Why it matters: CSI designation triggers a multistep redesign process with federal and state requirements, additional but limited targeted funding, and new reporting and monitoring. Etchelson said RIDE will work with the district on a community‑driven redesign application; after review, the commissioner may recommend the plan to the K–12 Council for approval, approval with conditions, or rejection.

Etchelson described five redesign models districts may propose: an empowerment/pilot model (greater autonomy), a restart model (third‑party management), school closure, an LEA‑proposed redesign, or breaking a large high school into smaller schools of choice. He said communities were asked to submit a preferred model around Feb. 13, though the date is flexible if the community requests additional time.

Committee members pressed RIDE and the superintendent on timing and process. Several members said short notice before the Feb. 13/14 submission window limited the school committee’s ability to review options and budget implications; one member asked RIDE and the superintendent to request an extension so the committee could meaningfully weigh in. The superintendent, Dr. Tate, said the district has convened a community advisory board (CAB), school improvement teams and SchoolWorks (a third‑party vendor) to develop the redesign application, and that CAB membership includes parents, students, business and health professionals, school staff and central‑office personnel. Dr. Tate said the CAB is advisory and that the LEA/superintendent leads the final submission.

Etchelson and district staff also reviewed test trends and graduation data. RIDE’s presentation showed declines in proficiency since pre‑pandemic baselines on some measures and a reported 11.8 percentage‑point gap in graduation rates between Pawtucket and the state. Etchelson acknowledged some gains in particular measures (attendance, English for multilingual learners) but said the cumulative metrics drove the CSI identifications.

Separately, RIDE staff said they had flagged historical spend‑down concerns in Pawtucket: Etchelson noted $389,000 left unspent in 2022–23 that had been intended for school improvement. He said RIDE had sent letters to districts that were not spending allocated funds and that the current superintendent had addressed recent spend‑down concerns.

What’s next: district staff said they will continue CAB meetings, complete needs assessments and write the support plan and application materials with SchoolWorks and other partners. Committee members requested more time for review and asked the superintendent to seek an extension from RIDE if appropriate; the district said it would keep the committee informed and present a follow‑up at the next workshop meeting.