Only a three-block walk from the Pembroke campus, the Hope High School complex - a collection of three public high schools that only a few years ago failed to meet federal standards - is now regarded by the state Department of Education as a positive example of state intervention in schools.
In the fall of 2005, the state split Hope High School into three smaller learning schools - Hope Arts, Hope Information Technology and Hope Leadership, each with its own principal - in accordance with the Consolidated Corrective Action Plan drafted in 2003 by Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Peter McWalters, which was intended to help improve the failing school. Now, over a year after its implementation, teachers, students, administrators and parents say they are happy with the school's progress, though it still has a long way to go.
Among the initiatives outlined in McWalters' plan were proficiency-based graduation requirements, immediate re-evaluation of all instructors and increased parent and community involvement.
McWalters also appointed a special master, Nicholas Donohue, to oversee the changes and report back to the Department of Education. In his final report in November 2006, Donohue urged maintaining and accelerating the pace of progress toward the plan's goals.
A year and a half ago, teachers and administrators felt "like we were under water breathing through a straw," said Mark Kravatz, facilitator of school support, development and community/family engagement at Hope. Now, he said, teachers and administrators feel "our heads (are) finally over the surface."
Donahue's report predicted it is "likely that Hope will achieve an 'above average' comparison to other Providence high schools" in the future and referred to the school as a "success story in progress," stressing that certain issues still needed to be addressed.
Action on academics
Six students move from center stage to the far right side as they recite lines about the Hurricane Katrina crisis of 2005. One student comes in late and hops on stage just in time to act as New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin at a press conference. This is the scene that recently unfolded inside Hope's auditorium as part of a Hope Arts theater class.
"It has been proven that smaller learning communities are the way to keep students in school and learning," said Hope Arts Principal Arthur Petrosinelli.
Each school's curriculum aims to incorporate the school's central focus in all subjects, even if they aren't directly related to art, technology or leadership.
For example, a Hope Leadership English class discussed Brutus's motives for stabbing Julius Caesar in Shakespeare's play "Julius Caesar." The curriculum also provides students with appropriate electives in each school's area of focus.
An advising program and the Individual Physical, Academic, Social Success Plan (I-PASS) instituted at all three schools this year are examples of smaller learning concepts put into practice at Hope. Each teacher is assigned an advising group of about 15 students with whom they have to check in once a week. The advising program establishes a direct connection among the student, their parents and at least one faculty member at the school. All students must complete I-PASS forms so they are aware of their school's graduation requirements, Petrosinelli said. The program's impact has garnered national recognition of Hope's progress.
I-PASS could help raise Hope's graduation rate, which in 2004 was 48 percent, according to state Department of Education data. In 2005, 88 percent of Hope Arts students graduated along with 86 percent of Hope Tech and 94 percent of Hope Leadership students.
Thanks to the school's three smaller communities, Hope Leadership has moved up in state rankings from "in need of improvement" in 2005 to "moderately performing" a year later. Though the school fell short of achievement target indicators on its "report card" issued by the state Department of Education in 2005, it met all of them in 2006.
But the same changes did not have similar results for Hope Arts and Hope Tech. In 2006, Hope Arts missed two targets, the same number it missed in 2005. Hope Tech missed four, one more than it did in 2005. And the state's 2006 report card from the Department of Education shows that only 14 to 18 percent of students at all three high schools "felt like they could talk to a teacher or member of the staff."
Ivory Jefferies, a senior at Hope Arts, says the school has changed, but not because of any list of initiatives. "A part of it is because of the changes and administration, but they should know that the students' attitudes changed before the school did," Jefferies said. "Students need to be recognized too."
Myriam Darboe, another Hope Arts senior, agreed. "The fact that the school had a possibility of being shut down really scared students," she said, adding that this prospect spurred the school's "big turnaround."
Lost in translation
Even if students' attitudes caused the school to change, language barriers may still get in the way. A large number of Hope students speak English as a second language, and a casual stroll through Hope's halls shows how frequently Spanish is spoken in the school. Two girls passing through a hallway while listening to an iPod conversed in rapid Spanish. That students like them choose to speak in Spanish reflects the school's diversity and also its "biggest challenge," Kravatz said.
Of the 10,714 students learning English in Rhode Island, 5,685 attend school in Providence, according to the 2006 state report card. Hope's award-winning soccer team represents 11 nationalities.
"New students are arriving every day," Kravatz said. "We even have some students arrive from Africa and come to school their second day in America."
Though bilingual teachers teach some classes, other language initiatives are minimal. The school is slowly trying to translate materials like students handbooks, into Spanish, wrote Hope Arts parent John Day, president of the Parent, Teacher, Student Organization, in an e-mail to The Herald. The school has not yet made bold moves to accommodate other ethnic groups, though the administration does acknowledge the problem.
"The biggest challenge we face is trying to communicate with our students and their parents," Kravatz said.
But language barriers and lack of resources are still a big problem, according to one teacher. Judah Lakin '04.5 first started teaching at Hope after graduating from Brown but left to do research in Argentina in May 2005 as a Fulbright Scholar. Lakin was hired as a bilingual teacher, but that definition was "never clear" to him, he said. Lakin - who taught his classes largely in Spanish - said he did not receive the necessary books for the course until a month before he left.
"Even then, I couldn't use them because they were all in English," Lakin said. "What were (students) supposed to do with them, when some of them can barely understand English?"
Surviving and succeeding
Darboe is currently taking an anatomy class, the first offered at Hope. That class also lacks books, she said.
Petrosinelli said the lack of books is a district issue.
"A couple of us gave up our April break to stay at Hope and turn an old media room into the book room, because we want to be efficient with money and book distribution," Petrosinelli said of the school's new inventory room.
But for students like Darboe, perhaps an even bigger issue than the lack of books is the lack of Advanced Placement classes. "We only have, like, three AP classes," Darboe said. Darboe, who applied to Brown, said she would have liked to take more advanced classes before attending college.
Hope graduate Jeffry Esquivel '09 said availability of AP courses or honors classes was among the school's bigger problems. This later affected his transition to Brown, which he said was "painful" and left him feeling "disadvantaged."
"I did not have what it takes to succeed at a place like Brown and often found myself working harder than many of my classmates," Esquivel said.
Despite this lack of preparation, Esquivel said he would choose to attend Hope again because it "taught (him) to survive and succeed with very limited resources."
Day wrote that he would like his son to have more homework. "Most Providence schools are always talking about increasing rigor," he said, adding that he has not seen that effort reflected in his own son's workload.
On the third floor of the school there is a sign with the words, "Carry yourself with class and dignity." The expression is that of Wayne Montague, principal of Hope Leadership.
In his khaki slacks and tie, Esquivel's younger brother Edgar, currently a senior in Hope Leadership, lives up to this motto. This may be unusual attire for other high school students, but Edgar Esquivel - one of many students with an internship set up through Hope - currently interns at the State House. Jeffrey Esquivel said the emphasis on internships is another change instituted after his graduation.
Edgar also played on the championship soccer team, one of Hope's many state-recognized sports teams.
Spirit for sports
Montague's office is standard for a high school principal - that is, if a standard office includes a poster of Shaquille O'Neal on the wall. The poster depicts the NBA player casually holding a book under the word "read," encouraging students to read more. It also reflects how much the Hope Leadership principal loves athletics.
"Students have a lot more school spirit than before," Montague said. "You should go to the game tonight and see for yourself."
On Feb. 28, the boys' basketball team played in the state semifinals game. The team played in the state championship game March 10 but lost to Bishop Hendricken High School.
Hope also won the boys' soccer state title and boys' and girls' state titles in track. The girls' track team moved on to nationals, and the girls' basketball team advanced to semifinals.
Amy Batts, a Hope Arts junior who has worked closely with administrators since her freshman year as a morning announcer, said she has seen the emphasis they place on athletics.
"(Administrators) really like kids to be involved, especially with sports," Batts said. "If not, they want you to be involved in other activities. You can be open with them and build a relationship, but if you are involved (in sports) they will definitely recognize you." Batts plays basketball, soccer and softball.
Jefferies said she sees the "positive changes" that athletics have had on the school and its students, but said school spirit can border on being "sexist" at times.
"Both boys' and girls' semi-finals basketball games were on the same night and while everyone went to the boys' game, the girls' stands were empty," Jefferies said. "That usually happens. You will see principals at boy's soccer, track, basketball, but you hardly ever see them at the girl's games," she added.
Standing outside the principals' office, basketball player Shawn Hill talks animatedly with Petrosinelli and Montague about the upcoming state championship. Hill transferred to Hope his sophomore year, because he "just wouldn't have come here" his freshman year due to the reputation the school had at that time.
"When people look back 20 years from now, they will say 'Damn, Hope really has changed,' " Hill said.
