"The system has failed," says Dennis DeJesus, director of the Federal Hill House, which is part of the Providence Educational Excellence Coalition.

11:45 AM EST on Thursday, December 16, 2004

BY CATHLEEN F. CROWLEY
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- A coalition of community leaders who are dismayed with the performance of Hope High School say the school should be shut down.

Journal photo / Bob Thayer

Dennis Langley, director of the Urban League of Rhode Island, says that input from students has been missing from the discussion about the future of Hope High School.

Close it and reopen a new school -- or schools -- said Mary Sylvia Harrison, who spoke on behalf of the Providence Educational Excellence Coalition (PEEC), a group of about a dozen community organizations.

Harrison, who is president of the Rhode Island Children's Crusade, appeared at a public hearing last night that was convened by state education commissioner Peter McWalters. McWalters is considering taking over the troubled high school and is holding a series of community meetings on its future.

The coalition is the first broad-based group of community leaders to suggest shutting down the school. The efforts to rehabilitate Hope have been fruitless, and it's time to move on, Harrison said.

"We believe that the process has taken too long already, and that creating new schools from the ground up would be a more effective strategy," she said.

PEEC was created as a coalition of community and faith-based organizations that represent youth and parents. It came out of an initiative to improve community outreach and was the offspring of a partnership between the School Department and Harrison's group, the Rhode Island Children's Crusade.

The coalition includes organizations such as the Urban League of Rhode Island, Congdon Street Baptist Church, the International Institute of Rhode Island and the Federal Hill House community center.

"We are not politicians," said Dennis DeJesus, director of the Federal Hill House. "We are not pro-union. We are not anti-union. We are one thing: We are pro-kids, and many times they are the ones that get lost in the shuffle there."

DeJesus, who did not attend the Hope High School meeting last night, said Hope has had adequate time to turn itself around and has failed.

The Federal Hill House offers preschool and after-school programs from its 9 Courtland St. location. About 120 children attend the center.

"I'd be cheating them if I didn't speak out and didn't say that it is time for a change at Hope," he said.

Only 8 percent of 11th graders at Hope met the state standards for mathematics this year and 79 percent failed to reach the language arts standard; the dropout rate has risen to 52 percent.

Journal photo / Bob Thayer

Mary Sylvia Harrison, speaking on behalf of the Providence Educational Excellence Coalition last night, urges that the troubled school be shut down and replaced with another school or schools.

"You are what your numbers are," DeJesus said. "If you look at their proficiency in math and literacy, the school has failed. I'm not pointing fingers at anyone. The system has failed."

William Shuey, executive director of the International Institute of Rhode Island and a member of the coalition, also said he was speaking out on behalf of the children and parents who seek services at the institute. He said many people and families in the community are concerned about the students graduating from Hope who can't read or write, or the ones who give up and drop out.

"It's a concern that is way bigger than a few people," Shuey said. "I think it reflects the kinds of groups that we are involved with, in my case the immigrant community."

The International Institute provides educational, legal and social services to more than 20,000 immigrants and refugees every year. Shuey said workers at the institute have heard from immigrant parents that they are disappointed with the education their children are receiving in Providence.

"We really are seeing a lot of families, Spanish-speaking and others who are not born in this country, who are having a heck of a time getting an education," he said. "It's time for a change, I think. In fact, it's overdue."

Harrison presented four recommendations for the education commissioner at last night's hearing at the Black Box Theatre on the campus of the MET Center, the alternative high school on Public Street.

First, she said, close Hope at the end of the school year and reconstitute a new school in September 2005 "in a framework that is consistent with high-performing schools."

Second, consult Hope High students, parents and community members when developing a new plan for the school.

"Until now, the dialogue about what will happen at Hope High School has been dominated by school administrators, teachers and the teachers' union," Harrison said.

Third, appoint an "independent master" to guide the process of rebuilding the new school and increasing parental involvement there.

"It is clear that the district does not have the internal expertise needed to address this problem," she said. "PEEC believes that an outside expert is needed to help solve these difficult issues."

And finally, Harrison urged McWalters to create a strategy to stabilize the morale and minimize the disruption of the students' education at Hope.

"If a decision is made to close Hope High School, the atmosphere at the school from the time the decision is made in late January until the end of the school year is likely to be chaotic and emotionally charged," she said.