Test

Kennedy School of Government Case Program

C14-03-1689.0

Winning Hearts and Minds: Reforming the Providence School District (A)

In late August 2002, Melody Johnson, deputy superintendent of the Providence, Rhode Island, School District, was hastily appointed acting head after Superintendent Diana Lam abruptly resigned to accept a position with the New York City schools. Johnson had followed Lam to Providence from their former base in San Antonio, Texas, and had served as the day-to-day implementer of most of the reforms the two had initiated over the past three years. In many respects, Lam and Johnson had already accomplished a great deal. Although the state still ranked most Providence schools as low-performing, an intensive literacy program, district-wide standardization of curricula, clearly defined expectations for each grade, and professional development for principals and teachers had begun to bear fruit in improved test scores and a growing sense of possibility. In addition, the more than $30 million in grants brought in by Lam promised to support ongoing reforms for years. Yet, Johnson feared that the district lacked one element vital to success: the commitment of teachers. Resistance to the rapid pace of change, a bitter and protracted contract dispute, and a sense of personal distrust between Lam and many teachers had left educators cynical and disheartened. By November 2002, Johnson had made good progress in repairing the administration’s relationship with the teachers union, but in the schools, a sense of defeat prevailed. Johnson did not want to dilute or delay the reforms she saw as essential. But unless she could overcome the lingering resistance and find a way to reach and inspire teachers, the reforms she and Lam had undertaken might founder, leaving the Providence schools as educationally bankrupt as they had been when Johnson first arrived.

The State of the Providence Schools

When Lam came to Providence in July 1999, followed about...