The cities of Central Falls and Providence are in the midst of a transition that will see the cities take full control of their school districts, after years of state control.
In Central Falls, the state has been in charge for 35 years.
Some education advocates in the community call the state oversight of the district a failure, as the Central Falls district remains among the lowest-performing school systems in Rhode Island.
“We want to get our schools back,” Central Falls Mayor Maria Rivera told Ocean State Media in June, as political leaders on Smith Hill debated ending state control. “This community wants to get their schools back.”
Central Falls will remain reliant on state funding. A legislative commission recommended that the city gradually increase its funding contribution from $167,000 to $3.9 million by 2043.
Dorian Rave, chair of a new Central Falls school board that will help in the transition, says the time is right for local control.
“The district continues to rank at the lowest of the rest of the districts in the state,” Rave told Ocean State Media’s Luis Hernandez. “So why not now? How are we going to change if we don't change?”
Rave spoke with Ocean State Media, with the new school year set to begin on Aug. 26.
Interview highlights
Edited for length and clarity
On why now is the time to re-establish local control over the Central Falls school system
Dorian Rave: I think the time is better than ever.
I mean, we've been under state control for 35 years. The district continues to rank at the lowest of the rest of the districts in the state. So why not now? How are we going to change if we don't change?
I personally think that the school is in dire need of community involvement. I don't believe that existed while it was under state control. I don't believe the segue or the route of communication between actual community members, families, and educators was as easy or was facilitated the way it should have been, and I don't think that existed. With us coming on board as a new local board, locally appointed with ties to the community, that's completely going to change. And I think that's going to reflect positively.
On some education advocates who charge that the state treated Central Falls paternalistically during the state takeover
Rave: It's kind of tough for me to form an opinion on that…there's always been a narrative that people expect less or don't expect the city to rise to any point of significance – whether it's because it's a square mile and maybe people don't take it seriously.
I know that there is this stigma that might be that the state supports Central Falls and that everybody else in the state is paying for the Central Falls school system. And this is why we want to take control of our own narrative. This is why we want to take back the school so as a community, we can dictate and direct where we want to go with this.
On what outside observers get wrong about Central Falls
Rave: I think what people get wrong about Central Falls is I believe they understate the resiliency of the people in that city.
Growing up, I was lucky to have a single mother who worked, provided – I can't say that I lacked anything growing up. But I had friends who did, friends that I walked to school with that I would go to their house before we walked to school together who needed more help, who maybe didn't have that support system like I did growing up… But there was always the city, there was always the teachers, there was always other parents who always stepped in and tried to intervene and help.
One of the biggest reasons why I came back for this role is because I know that there's a strong support system, a strong sense of community that still exists in Central Falls that I think a lot of people get wrong. I think people look at the news and they think it's completely opposite than what it is.
On his vision for the upcoming academic year
Rave: Well, the goals are transparency.
First and foremost, the biggest thing we all push for is we want our community to see everything good, bad, and ugly.
For the next two years, we have a partnership with the state that remains as far as a strategic reporting period where we're providing them with reports on how funding the budget is going, making sure that we're not going to get surprised with any deficit in the budget when it comes to the school. To make sure that, as a board, we don't fail in the responsibility that we have that was given to us to be the stewards of the school district. Especially now, after 35 years, to have that first opportunity to show that we can do it.
