PPSD Highlights Career & Technical Education
Providence Career Technical Academy (PCTA) was featured in national media for its role in preparing students for AI-era careers, with welding student Angelina Sanchez highlighted for earning a job at Electric Boat while planning to attend college. PCTA hosted the RI Maritime Welding Event, where students demonstrated high-skill technical work, earning awards and industry exposure. The PCTA culinary students joined the RIDE Food Truck Roundup, preparing and serving meals in real-world business settings. Extracurriculars & Other News
Students organized the 2nd Annual Mental Health Fair, and joined a roundtable with Gov. McKee and Patrick Kennedy to destigmatize mental health support. Battle of the Books invited nine schools to compete in literature-based trivia, fostering excitement around reading and teamwork. High schools were recognized by Khan Academy for their academic performance during March Math Madness. The launch of Hazel Health brings free, confidential teletherapy to all PPSD students on any device boosting access to care across the district. This is an initiative I’m excited about and will be following closely. We need to ensure that therapy services are used as a mechanism of violence reduction. The “Math Matters” campaign drove district wide engagement during spring break, reaching over 425 students with hands-on STEM lessons and real-world applications like probability, engineering, and statistics.
Students and families participated in the Julia Robinson Math Festival and statewide Math Extravaganza, further reinforcing PPSD’s commitment to joyful math learning. Other News & Events
In region news! Award-winning MLL students, like Hope High’s Weam Shwehna and Nathan Bishop’s Julio Herrera Rodriguez, were celebrated for academic excellence, resilience, and multilingualism.
I’m a big fan of the work incorporating art in the curriculum at Hope High, a school that’s made a tremendous turn around. Chronic absenteeism dropping in half, the new auditorium, the new bathrooms. My fellow Region 1 School Board Member, Melissa Hughes, has played an invaluable role in our community outreach efforts both as a dedicated parent advocate and as a parent of PVD students herself always showing up and staying engaged. A longtime member of the School Building Committee, she recently welcomed me to my first meeting, and aside from CTE, it has quickly become my favorite committee. Melissa’s guidance has been instrumental in helping me navigate this work, which is outside my professional focus, and it has shown me just how critical it is for parents and families to be deeply involved in shaping our schools. The design and condition of our school buildings have a profound impact on your children's education, and I believe I speak for both of us when I say we are incredibly proud to serve Region 1 you can feel confident knowing you have two bright, intentional, and committed individuals representing you. Operation expenses add up zoom, my website, email, and hosting a fundraiser all cost. My goal is to raise $2,500 by the end of the summer so I can focus on serving you, not chasing dollars. Since taking office, within a month of being in office I hosted a community listening session and launched a regular newsletter to keep you informed. And there’s more to come. Next, the full board will be working to build our goals with the values and vision of the community. That means we need community at the center of everything we do. If I meet my fundraising goal in the next two weeks, I’ll be able to send a text message to the district for the upcoming listening session in our Region. It’s been an honor to serve this region in the city I love, in the very school district where I’ll raise my children. Abby and I cherish our evening walks through the neighborhood they’re the highlight of my day, so if you see us, please give us a wave! There is nothing more meaningful to us than the relationships we’ve built with our neighbors. As Republicans in D.C. push through the worst bill in modern history stripping healthcare from thousands of Rhode Islanders to fund tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy it’s clear we will need to rely on each other more than ever. I encourage you to check in on a neighbor, have a conversation, and let’s get through these next three years together, stronger and more connected. Sincerely,
Corey Jones
School Board Member, Region 1 |
