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.

Over the coming weeks, our facilities consultant will be examining the status of all of our school buildings and enrollment trends so they can make recommendations on how Providence Schools can best invest the $500 million in facilities funding we have so we can achieve our goal of ensuring that the most Providence students are able to learn in new and upgraded school buildings, equipped with the latest technology and tools our students deserve.