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Overview

The Goal

All of our students deserve school buildings and classrooms that are bright, inviting, and have the technology needed for 21st century learning.

The Challenge

The average age of Providence school buildings is 75 years, with many buildings over 100 years old. It’s time to invest in and upgrade our school facilities!

The Plan

Fortunately, for the first time ever, Providence Schools has over $500 million dollars to invest in modernizing our public school facilities. Our students deserve school buildings that are equipped for 21st century learning. That’s why we're making big investments in our schools and doing so in a way that maximizes the resources we have available for the number of students and families we serve. This site is a showcase for the work we've already completed and our plans going forward.

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Investing In 21st Century Learning Environments for Our Students - The Work Is Underway!

We’re already hard at work investing in upgrading school buildings, classrooms, and learning spaces across the district. Here are just a few examples of what we mean by investing in and creating 21st century learning spaces for our students.

Hope High School Auditorium

$20 million complete renovation of Hope High School’s auditorium, originally built in 1936. The beautiful new auditorium is set to open spring 2023, and will serve Hope students, performing arts programs, and the wider community.

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Investing Wisely to Serve the Most Students

We’re fortunate to have $500 million to upgrade our schools over the next 8 years. While that’s a lot of money, we want to make sure we invest those dollars wisely so that the most Providence students are able to learn in beautifully renovated school buildings and classrooms that are ready for 21st century learning.

Newer and Fewer: Our long-term facilities plan will reduce the district's footprint, while increasing the number of new / completely renovated schools to get us closer to every child learning in a high-quality school building.

Data-Driven Planning: Like many districts nationally, Providence is anticipating enrolling fewer students over the coming years. We also know that some schools are chosen by our families more than others, and some schools will continue to be under capacity. We will make smart choices using this data to respond to our city’s changing landscape.

With fewer students, it might not make sense to put money into some of our oldest school buildings that are in the worst shape. These buildings, some over 100 years old, would require tens of millions of dollars just to make basic repairs. That’s probably not the best way to use our facilities dollars, especially when we can make major investments in buildings that are in better shape so we can upgrade them to the 21st century learning environments our students deserve.

Providence Schools Facilities Assesment Report

Read our detailed new report examining the condition of each of the district’s 40 school buildings. The report, authored by facilities consultant Downes Construction, is designed to guide decisions regarding how to best invest the approximately $500 million in facilities funding Providence Schools has available to create 21st Century learning environments for the most possible students.

Community Feedback

Community Engagement Sessions

School Building Committee Meeting
797 Westminster
September 26 at 5:30pm

Ward 12 Community Meeting: Updates on Kizirian Elementary Plans
Rogers Recreation Center, 60 Camden Ave.
September 27 at 6pm

Ward 5 Community Meeting: Updates on Mount Pleasant HS & Pleasant View ES Plans
Mount Pleasant Community Library, 315 Academy Ave.
October 2 at 6:30pm

See calendar on providenceschools.org and City Council website for updates

Past Community Engagement Sessions

Click here to view video recordings and access presentation files for previous Rebuild Providence Schools community engagement sessions.

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