Report from Central Falls, RI: How Do You Change a School's "Culture?"
On Tuesday, I visited Central Falls High School in Rhode Island, where the administration and school board received major media and political attention last year when they attempted to terminate all 88 teachers, paving the way for a similar move last month by the new Democratic mayor of Providence, Angel Taveras.
I wanted to check-in on how the school had progressed since its uncomfortable national debut. What I found was an admirable administration-led effort to seed a more rigorous culture of learning among teenagers in this economically stagnant, post-industrial city, which is currently under state receivership due to financial mismangement.
But I also met teachers who described the faculty as demoralized and student discipline as a consistent