Low Achievement Threatens Rhode Island Middle School Shutdown

By Anaridis Rodriguez - February 24, 2010

The smallest state is becoming the center of national attention over education.  Four Rhode Island public schools are on the verge of being closed because of low performance. 

One of them is Roger Williams Middle School, which came under fire after over 70 percent of its students failed state proficiency tests.  Cliff Peasly, a guidance counselor at Roger Williams, credited this shocking figure to the school's demographic. 

"A lot of the students come from very poor dysfunctional backgrounds and also from a language barrier, meaning most of the students come from Spanish-speaking backgrounds and that in itself puts us under the 8 ball," Peasly said in a WERS interview.

Roger Williams is located in South Providence, an inner city neighborhood crippled by crime but also rich in Latino culture.  

It is a neighborhood Victor Capellan, the assistant superintendent of Fall River schools and Roger Williams' alum, calls home.   He believes administrators must look past the cultural or socioeconomic backgrounds and invest their time in revamping the curriculum.

"Whether they are an English language learner or they're poor that's not enough to say, 'Well yes, that's why they are failing,'" he said.  However, Roger Williams did not meet the No Child Left Behind standards for student progress.  In 2009, just 30 percent of the school's students in grades six through eight were proficient in English and only 14 percent of those students passed in math. 

 It also lags in student-teacher ratios.  In 2008, Roger Williams had 16 students for every full-time teacher, according to the New England Common Assessments Program (NECAP), compared to the state's average class ratio: one teacher to 12 students.  

Peasly believes smaller classes provide a personalized connection with his students which will aid in their progress. 

"I care about having another person next to me, smaller class sizes, another body.  We don't have enough time and energy, and we don't have the human capacity," Peasly said. 

Capellan disagreed.  "The school has to look at what else they are doing," he said. "What sort of interventions? How are they preparing their teachers?  What are they doing in order to provide those students with additional resources and support," Capellan said in a WERS interview.

Providence school administrators have the choice of restructuring the school's curriculum or closing its doors.  Officials will decide Roger Williams' future by March 17^th.