I I do have some language on the agenda for finances. Yeah. That's gonna yeah. I'll check finance.
that, but this is the Oh, thank
Yeah. Check I do have, and you'll see that we've added the That was in discussions. Two discussion. Yeah. Check that.
See if everyone else. I mean, you know, I didn't even That's not.
Don't know what date is because.
I'd like to call the expected commission, the special committee on health, opportunity, prosperity, and education, hope to order for Thursday, 02/13/2025. It's approximately 05:39. Madam Cluck, if you could please call me over.
First year, woman, Peterson? Present. Counselor Amberle is absent. Counselor Luiz?
Counselor Sanchez is absent. You're present. You're absent. You have a plan.
Thank you, madam Buck, and thank you to our committee. I also would like to recognize chairman Helen Anthony team with the meeting, and also a one of the cosponsors of the resolution before us. And that resolution before us is in support of the recommendations from the special senate commission to review and provide recommendations for professional related management standards that offer school based flexibility, accountability towards of the province from school, and the potential application of an entire side education economy going to the city of province. So with that said, a couple of invited guests to speak today. Before us, we have a welcome Matthew Montero from the environmental schools.
Substitute, and I'd like to entertain a motion to enter this substitute with an amended heading.
The motion has been made by councilwoman Sherri Peterson Second. By councilman Justin Royce. For those any discussion? Seeing none, all those in favor? Aye.
The motion carries. Before us, as approved is the resolution that was amended with the title of resolution in support of the recommendations from the special senate commission to review and provide recommendations for a professional and legal management standards
offer school based flexibility and accountability for employees of the province public schools and the potential application of customized over the safety of models in the city of province. Before we open it up and and get some presentation and remarks from from, actually, Steven Smith and also then, I'd like to just open it up for the colleagues if if you wanted to say something prior to hearing from them. Seeing none?
I I would just say I sat on the commission and, you know, supported the
the majority of the report. And I think I think the
empower empowerment sort of zones, if you will, I think we'll do I think we'll do $1,000,000.
Councilwoman Hammond is with us, and we'd like to.
I I'm very, as you know, very supportive of this of the work, and thank you very much, councilor Vorius, for serving on the senate special senate commission. You know, I think this is a crucial piece of the very complex return to local control. We have to have, I think, some legislative changes in order to basically set the table for a more successful running of our school system. And so I'm I'm just grateful for this committee hearing it. I'm grateful for the work, grateful for mister Matera for coming to share his his experiences with us.
And, anyway, I'm just very, very supportive of it. Thank you.
Thank you. And as we had, a presentation from, senator Sanzurio who led, the senate committee to study and come up with a report. We got him here in our last meeting. We commend him for his leadership there. As we know, he he has a history with the private school systems as a student and as a public school board and city council and all state senator.
We we are all invested in in our public school systems to make sure that we get the opportunity to get out schools local control as soon as possible. We've we have endorsed the the mayor's goals and and the sound goal to get our our schools for 2025. And, also, it is the opportunity to help us bring our our education system and improving them for for our families and our and our students. So I also like to commend Justin Royals, customer Justin Royals, who was also
committee. Miguel Young also represented us there. He was very pivotal in in keeping us informed. As we have also been involved in the community, especially attending the mayor's outreach and engagement to ensure that the communities have had the opportunity to speak their mind and and see what the future of the local control. What what does that look like?
He just issued a report that we also have in our email or in our inbox. It's called the mayor's education community engagement reports. Look for that. For those of you who might be seeing this or hearing this, there will be there's a link within the mayor's website. You can go there and also read the report.
I know that we most of the city council today attended classical high school's ribbon cutting. Fascinating. We have an invitation in in the student space, and it's very innovative, very enlightening. I heard from a young lady that is graduating this year. And those are the kind of experiences that I know we're committed to seeing while we serve here at city council, but also as a Providence resident.
I know that many of us attended some some of these river cuttings and and groundbreaking and also the engagement, especially the young people that had the discussion about the local control. And, you like, many of us, including chairwoman Helen Anthony at the MO community center, we participated in in those and hearing out what the young people were saying. So with that said, I would like to recognize Steven Smith to provide some remarks or or and also Ben in the garage as a secondary. We will also welcome again this. Steven Smith, the accountable.
who you're talking to. I'll be brief, and then I I I can always answer any questions you may have. We got into resolution. But I know there's been a lot of talk about getting the schools back to local control, and the mayor is going to have a a plan. I would argue that without changes in statute, no plan.
And I'm this this isn't gonna be being critical of anyone. This is me talking as an old guy who's been there, done that, and bought the T shirt. Because I tried making substantially significant change with three superintendents, and my journey brings me here today that without you know, it finally dawned on me. Without changing the rules of the game, so to speak, without changing state statute, which guides pretty much everything you really wanna do, with the best laid plans are not going to succeed. I will use commissioner MacWalter's testimony before the study commission.
Through his experience, as probably one of the longest serving commissioners of education, and we had our battles. But he said that we're operating under state law that was written last century specifically designed not to serve all kids. Mhmm. And that's not in a malicious way, but in '19 I was born in '56. In the fifties and sixties, you didn't need an education system that sent everyone to college, that actually graduated everyone from high school.
Compound that with the economic realities that urban kids have and all the issues and and challenges that go with being a child in an urban district. This is the cent this is the. But without this foundation, I don't think any plan can succeed. I would argue that the state takeover had started with changing state statute, we would have seen a lot more progress. Because you're talking about the way teachers are compensated, the way they were evaluated, the the seniority statutes.
You've been talking in Providence is essential, and they make tremendous head and brain way in recruiting minority candidates. But recruit is one part of Retaining is another. So you have to change the way teachers are compensated, and you can't say to a young man or woman graduating college, come to Providence, and we're gonna give you a job in which maybe in twelve years, you'll be able to stop paying off that debt. Oh, by the way, it is gonna be layoffs. You're the first to go.
That doesn't work. But I think this is and this will send a clear message and give one at the tail end of this takeover to move in this direction, but it would also the city council, which I think should take a leadership role here, can send a clear message to province taxpayers, province parents, most importantly, and students that we're going to change the statute, and we're gonna recommend changes in state law that makes sense for 2025, not 1955. If you have any questions, I I don't wanna take up more of your time. Thank you. I'd be happy to answer them, but Matt Mettcher who testified before the center study commission as well as numerous other experts has a really, I think, important story to talk about how things can happen with a lot of work in in a community that's very similar to us.
Thank you very much. Any questions? And we'll continue to have the presentation. At the end, we'll open it up for some discussion. Before mister Duterra I'm giving the floor, I'd like to bring the attention to the members that it's a a presentation that he's gonna be speaking from, and I'd like to have a motion to enter into the record item number one.
moved, seconded by. Yes, sir. Justin Royes. All those in favor? Aye.
Motion passes. So before us is mister Matthew from the Empower Empower Empower Schools and his presentation to us. Welcome.
Thank you so much, and thank you everyone for having me. I'm Matt. And as as you've mentioned, I work at a small nonprofit fund in PowerSchools. Please interrupt me at any point for questions or comments. And I just I wanna briefly mention I've I've had the opportunity to meet some of you before, but briefly mention how honored I am to be here at Providence.
I was on the wrong side of the Massachusetts Rhode Island client. Sorry. But I married a Rhode Islander in my work assigned place in the Rhode Island. We've built my chronic orchestra, and so have a a lot of love for the state and for the city of Providence. So I really very, very much appreciate your time and and engagement and just here to be helpful in any way.
So if I'm doing anything that's not helpful, please stop me. And if you have questions, we can go in there. Thank you. This again, I work at a a small enough market from PowerSchool, and I'm a former middle school with teacher. I've worked in Empower for ten years now.
It kinda flies. But right when I started, we were doing partnership with Springfield, Massachusetts public space. And I I didn't even pun of the pun of this in this in this deck because I wanted to talk more about the conceptual model, but just sort of thirty seconds. I'm a little long winded, so this will be hitting it, like, a more than thirty seconds. But on on in Springfield, there was a set of middle schools that were extremely low performing, unfortunately.
