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ERS Clients

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Providence Public Schools

School Funding Systems

Project Goals & Analysis:

Having set new standards for student performance and infused the district with professional development aimed at improving literacy, Providence Public Schools Superintendent Melody Johnson and her leadership team sought ERS’s assistance in finding the funds necessary to support improved instruction.  ERS conducted a strategic review of PPS’s district budget, analyzing current spending and school-level equity and identifying opportunities to redirect resources toward improved teaching and learning.

Outcomes & Next Steps:

This work was integrated into a revised budget process, setting the stage for improved planning and resource management at the individual school level.  

School-Level Resource Use

Project Goals:

To encourage improved instruction and student performance at the individual school level, school system leadership sought to educate building leaders on effective resource management, helping them organize time, staff, and talent around:

• More intense staff development and support
• Greater individual attention for students
• More time on core academics
• More common planning time for teachers.

Analysis & Outcomes:
To educate district and school leadership on school-level resource use ERS:

• Conducted detailed case studies to highlight current school-level resource allocation practices
• Developed software tools to enable every principal to analyze the staffing, budgeting, and scheduling at his or her own school
• Led training retreats for building leaders to better organize students and staff around district learning goals
• Revised PPS’s school plan review process to keep schools focused on key improvement levers

School System Design

To support a system of successful schools, ERS has helped district leaders understand key roles and designs that nurture and support excellence throughout the system. ERS has worked with the Providence School Committee to raise awareness of the kinds of system changes required to redirect more resources toward improved instruction.

ERS's work has resulted in a system-wide redesign of middle school schedules, helping to create conditions conducive to more teacher planning and development and individualized student attention around core academics.  In addition, ERS's work has helped the district management team and unions in their ongoing contract negotiation to think more strategically about how the contract must change to support more child-centered use of resources.

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