Last week, students across the country received admissions decisions from Brown. And just outside the Van Wickle gates, thousands of Providence Public School District students were also hearing from their dream schools.
The Herald spoke with PPSD students from Classical High School, a magnet school that consistently ranks as the top public high school in Rhode Island, and Providence Career and Technical Academy, which offers students vocational preparation programs, about how their schools have prepared them for college admissions and academics.
Nearly 90% of Classical alums go on to attend postsecondary programs within one year of high school graduation — about 25% higher than the state average. About 56% of PCTA alums enroll in postsecondary programs in the same time span. Across the district, about 50% of PPSD students attend college within a year of graduating.
“I feel prepared for academics in college,” said Classical High School senior Jules Jagatic. “Overall, the school tries to be helpful with the college process,” she wrote in a message to The Herald. “But because of the number of students, it can be hard to get one-on-one help.” Classical enrolls over 1,000 students across grades 9-12.
The PPSD begins supporting students with their post-graduation plans as early as sixth grade through Individual Learning Plans hosted on Naviance — an online college, career and life planning software — according to Gina Silvia, the Senior Director of School Counseling Services for the PPSD.
Through completing their ILP, students “will narrow down, hopefully, what their interests are, and then choose the path to pursue, whether it’s college or career,” Silvia told The Herald.
The PPSD also hosts college and career fairs starting in middle and “sometimes even in elementary” school in order to “give kids exposure” to different post-graduate pathways, PPSD High School Counselor Specialist Holly Ruskaup told The Herald.
“At Classical, I think it’s sort of a lot more college-oriented,” said junior Alisson Aviles. She said she believes that the Advanced Placement courses that Classical offers will help prepare her for college.
Across the nation, high schools that offer AP classes have an average of 10 courses available. As of the 2023-24 school year, Classical has 24 AP offerings.
“We strongly encourage all advanced opportunities, whether it’s advanced placement classes, dual enrollment, where students attend the college to take classes, or concurrent enrollment, where we have college classes taught within our own schools by our teachers, to get college credit prior to going to college,” Silvia said.
“We want to be sure that students leave us, when they graduate, with a plan,” she added.
Kingsley Dye, a sophomore at PCTA, wrote in an email to The Herald that his high school emphasizes career readiness, which “aligns with the majority of students’ learning plan focus.” But for Dye, “PCTA’s college preparation process lacks established support systems for students focused on higher education.”
“When comparing myself to students from other schools, such as Classical, which focuses more on traditional academic-based guidance, I realized that there is a lack of flexibility (at PCTA),” Dye wrote.
Josie Harrison ’28, a Classical graduate, said that many PPSD students who end up at Brown attended Classical, which she views as a reflection of the school’s level of support.
“I think that Classical was really good at getting people through the application process, and that’s why they have a really high percent of graduates getting into college,” Harrison said. She added that college application guidance at Classical was “very hands-on.”
But Dexter Vincent ’28, another Classical alum, said he feels that the school prepares students in some subject areas better than others. “I don’t think that Classical did a very good job at STEM education or the arts. They were pretty under-resourced in the arts.”
During college application season, Vincent said he thought there were “a lot of supports for students who were identified as being high performers.”
About 50% of Classical graduates go on to attend a public college in Rhode Island. According to Harrison, many resources at Classical are aimed toward preparing students to apply to and attend the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College, which she said is “really great” for that large fraction of students.
“I think that for students who are looking at other colleges, it can be a little more difficult to get direction for that,” especially if a student is the first in their family to attend college or if their parents are simply not familiar with the college application process, she added.
“The Providence Public School District understands each student’s experience is unique, and we aim to help each of our students pursue their own dreams and aspirations. That’s why we encourage them to reach out and express when they need more support from their counselors,” PPSD spokesperson Alex Torres-Perez wrote in an email to The Herald.
“These supports and resources are available for all students to help set them up for success,” she added.
Once students have determined their path for after graduation, “we celebrate what their plan is,” Silvia said. “We have our own decision day. We include college and career so that each high school has their own type of celebration.”
Nate Barkow is a senior staff writer for the Youth and Education beat and a co-chief of The Herald's social media team. He is from New York City and plans on concentrating in International and Public Affairs and Education Studies. In his free time, he loves trying new restaurants and watching Survivor.
