EAST PROVIDENCE — An evaluation team has applauded the high school for its passionate teachers, strong feeling of community, new graduation requirements, many opportunities for learning beyond the school campus, and the students’ “sense of pride in their education.”

It also noted budget constraints have “severely hampered” school resources for teaching and the dated library collection does not “reflect current trends, facts and issues.”

Also, it found the building doesn’t comply with several federal, state and local fire, health and safety regulations. An annual fire inspection has not been completed since February 2004.

The comments about East Providence High School were written by an evaluation team from a regional school-accreditation organization after a team toured the high school. The group from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges visited the state’s largest high school from March 30 to April 2. Its final, 99-page report was shared with the School Committee last week.

“Preparation [for the visit] is rigorous,” Supt. Mario Cirillo said prior to the presentation. “I commend the administration and teachers for a very fine report.”

Part of the process calls for school leaders and staff to prepare a self-study, a detailed review of how it goes about achieving the educational goals the school system has set, a year or more before the NEASC visit. The stopover is the next step, followed by the correlating report. The document is sent to the Commission on Public Secondary Schools, which decides whether the school should be accredited.

East Providence High School will know its fate in about a month, Assistant Supt. Edward Daft told the committee last Tuesday.

Districts also use the reports to implement suggestions made by the visiting group. Schools keep accreditation by demonstrating — in detailed 2- and 5-year status reports — a continued progress addressing the identified deficiencies.

“There are a lot of good things in the report and it does showcase the hard work of the faculty,” Daft said. “… And certainly we understand there are a lot of things we need to work on and it does not come to anyone’s surprise that some areas we really need to address are with the facility itself.”

Daft and principal Caroline Caswell started with the positives.

“The school has developed an extensive support system to insure that all students are able to meet academic expectations,” the report read. “The curriculum engages all students in inquiry, problem-solving, and higher order thinking as well as providing opportunities for the authentic application of knowledge and skills. One most notable example is the mandatory [for graduation] senior project.”

It also said the teachers use multiple instructional strategies that are consistent with the school mission and district expectations. The report added that the teachers are “experts in their content areas” and “knowledgeable about current research.”

And the students feel safe, the report noted.

It read, “The administration and teachers have worked together to create a safe, supportive learning environment. Students report no serious concerns about behavior disruptions in their classes and assert that they feel safe in school.”

Other commendations include:

•The development of rigorous expectations that have raised the expected level of student achievement;

•The consistent use of the mission and expectations to drive procedures, policies, and decisions at East Providence High School;

•Teacher openness to feedback from parents, supervisors and students;

•The school resource officer who reinforces social and civic expectations;

•The use of common tasks, projects, lab reports, and the use of essential questions to maintain an emphasis on depth of understanding over breadth of coverage in the curriculum;

•The recognition and display of successful student work.

The shortcomings highlighted seemed less about the learning and more about what has fallen to the wayside — such as library purchases, supplies and building maintenance and upkeep — because of the district’s financial woes. It has a more than $4.2 million deficit presently.

“Instructional materials, technology, equipment and supplies, and resources of the library/media center are not sufficient to allow for implementation of the curriculum,” the report read. “Most departments have not had budgeted monies for several years.”

The math department has 36 calculators for 13 classes. Science equipment was bought with grant money. Students are required to share some textbooks because there are not enough to go around.

It continued, “Teaching loads are appropriate and staffing is sufficient, but the basic lack of instructional materials has had a detrimental effecton student learning.”

The visiting team also believes the school site doesn’t “adequately support all aspects of the education program and support services.” The building was built in 1952 and an addition was completed in 1999, but the NEASC committee said the hallways sometimes seemed “cramped and overcrowded” and there is only one lab for all of the school’s science classes.

In addition, the library/media center is “too small and can accommodate only 75 students at a time,” the report said. “The guidance offices are small and cramped. The school nurse does not have a space large enough to support the current population and its needs. … Despite the current cramped conditions of the building, the teachers make every effort to offer valuable educational opportunities to students.”

The facility also has code deficiencies. Besides not having a fire inspection in four years, the report says the doors are “not equipped with working panic hardware that will permit the door to open when pressure is applied.”

“The cafeteria area is not in compliance with good retail practices as rodents have been found on more than one occasion, and sewage and wastewater are not properly disposed of,” the report said. “The physical facilities are not properly maintained, and food and non-food contact surfaces have not been repaired. The walk-in cooler, boiler unit for the kettles, and exhaust system are original to the building and are in need of repair.”

It continued, “According to an inspection dated May 22, 2007, EPHS is not in compliance with the American Disabilities Act (ADA) for handicapped accessibility. At this time, the recommendations needed to achieve compliance have not been completed.”

After listing additional concerns, the report said, “As a result of the compliance issues, the safety of the students and staff is compromised.”

Other recommendations include:

•Creating a regular maintenance or replacement schedule for furniture or equipment and a designated budget for replacement of classroom items such as TVs, computers, overhead projectors or projection screens;

•Revise school-wide rubrics to include consistently defined levels of successful achievement which are in line with the school’s academic expectations;

•Ensure that all faculty members clearly state school-wide academic expectations and learning goals on a daily basis;

•Provide professional development opportunities to share and collaborate on assessment strategies;

•Develop a long-term plan for meeting technology and material needs.

The School Committee received the report with little or no comment. The entire report can be found on the high school’s Web site: www.epschoolsri.com/ephs.

apina@projo.com