Parents, teachers urge Providence board to pause planned ASMS/Mesa relocation

Residents and educators urged the board to reverse or delay plans to relocate students from ASMS/Mesa and to preserve the school's current campus. Joe Ferillo told the board the building is "the poster school" in the state for attendance and achievement and implored the board to "Change the plan on SMS at elementary school," arguing the school should be renovated rather than moved.

Parent Nathan Jody said the proposed swing space being prepared for displaced students is "a total mess" and unready to host students; he criticized the decision to lease part of a swing site to a charter school while district students would use the remaining space during construction. Rebecca Almeda, an art teacher at East Broadway Elementary, said combining two schools at the proposed West Broadway site will create playground and traffic problems and risk losing momentum for successful programs.

Board members and the superintendent responded that staff have met families multiple times and pledged to schedule additional meetings and clearer outreach; the superintendent invited families to follow up and said the district would post meeting dates and supporting materials. The public comments concluded without immediate policy change; petitioners asked the board to reopen the site-selection decision and to remove ASMS/Mesa from the current phase of demolition or relocation planning.