PROVIDENCE, RI – Mayor Jorge O. Elorza today announced members of the city’s ‘By All Means’ cohort to lay the groundwork for participation in a national initiative led by Harvard University aimed to achieve improvements in education and services to children. The group met for the first time today and was joined by Paul Reville, former Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and founding director of the Education Redesign Lab at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, which is spearheading the project.
“I’m honored that Providence was chosen to participate in this exciting and worthwhile initiative,” said Mayor Elorza. “I am committed to ensuring that our students receive the world-class education they deserve, and welcome the expertise and insight offered by the Education Redesign Lab. We look forward to engaging in national dialogue to learn more about effective strategies, policies, and best practices being utilized by other municipalities to ensure students have access to opportunities that will set them on a path to success.”
“We’re thrilled to have Providence as a member of this national leadership coalition,” said Paul Reville. “We will be addressing the hard work of closing achievement and opportunity gaps for all children. Providence has done some extraordinary work in this area and we hope that the city’s participation in By All Means will accelerate this work.”
As a founding member of the consortium, the city has made a 2 ½ year commitment to the project and will be represented by a cohort of city officials and local community leaders in future national meetings focused on developing comprehensive child well-being and education systems. The first of 5 semi-annual high profile gatherings will be held on May 17 and 18 at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Providence was chosen as a participant of the By All Means: Redesigning Education to Restore Opportunity initiative for its commitment to creating equitable systems of education and joins Oakland, California; Louisville, Kentucky; and Salem, Somerville, and Newton, Massachusetts.
As members of the project, cities will benefit from participation in the planned conferences, consulting from faculty and staff from Harvard University, research and evaluation assistance from the Educational Redesign Lab, and financial support for a part-time site-based consultant.
The Providence ‘By All Means’ cohort is comprised of the following city officials and education policy leaders:
Mayor Jorge O. Elorza
Council President Luis A. Aponte
Providence Superintendent Chris Maher
Chairman Nicholas Hemond, Providence School Board
Brett Smiley, City of Providence
Carrie Bridges Feliz, Lifespan
Kenneth K. Wong, Brown University
Donald Halquist, Rhode Island College