Pawtucket School Committee Statement Re: Litigation By Patricia Royal

A widely publicized Complaint has been filed in Rhode Island Federal District Court by Patricia Royal against members of the Pawtucket School Committee, School District Administrators, Mayor Grebien, and members of his Administration. The Pawtucket School Committee has adhered to Pawtucket Public Schools Policy, aligned with state law, by not issuing statements individually; but we will now issue a statement through Chair Omar Reyes after we have had the opportunity to convene and discuss the complaint.

Mrs. Royal has chosen to file this complaint while the Pawtucket Public Schools is in the middle of historic School Construction Projects involving the almost completed Baldwin Elementary School and the very beginning of the construction of our Unified High School Campus. At the same time, we are facing unprecedented challenges involving raising our proficiency scores throughout the District and addressing the RIDE designation of four Pawtucket Public Schools as entering Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) status: Charles E. Shea High School; and Joseph Jenk Middle School; and Lyman B. Goff Middle School; and William E. Tolman High School. Additionally, RIDE is requiring Samuel Slater Middle School to engage in the School Redesign process because it has been in CSI status for four (4) consecutive years. Overall 47 percent of public school students in Pawtucket attend a school with the CSI designation.

This committee is unified in its dedication to do everything it can to address these matters on behalf of our students and families. Every action taken by the Committee has been focused on establishing excellence in every aspect of the education that we are committed to bringing to Pawtucket students and families. We believe that the children of Pawtucket deserve the best schools possible, and we will not be distracted from our mission by a randomly assembled narrative of dubious allegations and legal claims. Nevertheless, through our legal counsel, we will vigorously defend against any claims that unfairly attack our integrity and misrepresent the goals and purposes of any of our interactions with Mrs. Royal. Our passion is our students, and we will continue working on their behalf.

Sincerely,

Omar Reyes

Chair, Pawtucket School Committee