Shea+High+School

Pawtucket, Rhode Island



 * //"Something Special is Happening Here"// **

** Introduction ** Charles E. Shea Senior High School is one of two high schools located in urban Pawtucket that serves grades nine through tweleve. Shea has a very diverse populatin and the enrollment is 1,089. This high school is a multicultural environment and a learning community to many English Language Learners. The administrative staff consists of one principal, Christopher Lord, and two assistant principals. The faculty at Shea promotes education in a comfortable setting and make themself assessable to their students. The school has a positive environment where students and teachers are working together to enhance learning. Below is a brief overview of the school with relation to demographics, school safety, NECAP Assessments and SALT Survey Reports. This page is intended to inform parents of how well Shea is performing and the enviornment of the school. If you are considering enrolling your children in this school district, perhaps this data will provide you with some insight.



** ​Demographics ** Located on 485 East Avenue in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Shea is an urban school with a diverse population. Of the 1,089 students, 40% are Black, 33% are Hispanic, 25% are White and less than 2% are Native American or Asian. There is a large percentage of English Language Learners at 22% which accounts for the range of ethnicity at this school. One of the struggles of this school is accommodating the 1000 plus students who account for 50 different countries and speak 25 different languages. Around 12% of the population are Special Education students. The school has a 1:11 teacher/student ratio which is good compared to the state's average of 1:12. Despite the lack of accessibility of the school due to decrease in funding, the teachers try to engage their students in learning, the best way they can.

Whether or not a school is a comfortable and safe environment for students directly effects their performance. According to Shea student reports, 14% of them recorded not getting along with teachers is a moderate to very big hassle. This number is comparably average with relation to the states'. Students recorded being robbed at school one or more times at 25%, which was about equal to the state's average. For an inner city school, these numbers are not high or outlandish. Being teased at school ranked in at about 11%, which again, was average. According to the students, this school was a pretty safe environment and they felt as though teachers always had their best interest in mind. The problems in Pawtucket were seen outside of school, with relation to lower income and higher crime rates. These external factors influence the students negatively, therefore in order to promote safety and a more comfortable learning environment, there must be more support from the community.
 * School Safety **



The New England Common Assessments Program (NECAP) is a standardized testing program designed to evaluate the performance of a school, with relation to Mathematics, Reading and Writing. Unfortunately, the 07-08 tests ranked Shea relatively low in their scoring. With relation to Mathematics, 7% of the students were proficient, where as the average for the state was 22%. In reading, 35% of the students were proficient and 62% of the state was proficient. Lastly, 20% of Shea students were proficient in writing in relation to the state's average of 37%. These statistics provide an basic look at the performance of the students at this high school, but may not be a sole indicator as to the education and teaching practiced at this school. Shea is in the midst of advancing their programs, however. Recently, there has been an increase in electives in Literacy, Numeracy and English. However, this has caused a reduction in the number of courses in the Art and Music department.
 * NECAP Assessments **

The SALT Report is a great way to get to know and understand a school through the eyes of an education expert. The 2007-2008 Salt visit gives us insight into how the school is performing and the overall environment through careful and articulate observations. The following describes the survey's last visit and what they observed:
 * SALT Report **

// With relation to student learning... // Students have a very basic understand of writing and how to correctly form sentences. They lack strategies necessary for fully comprehending reading and processing it. Although student attempt to do problem solving, they lack the ability to to multi-step processing. Despite the obstacles they face, the students are curious and eager to learn. Decreases in funding disrupt the learning of students and deprive them of necessary materials that students from other schools are privileged to have. The students completely take pride and their diversity and are comfortable sharing their ideas and thinking with each other. They are motivated to learn when their teachers challenge them, however the challenging should be encouraged more. Students hesitate to take risks in the classroom which stunts growth in achievement. Despite their apparent struggles, students take great pride in their school and diverse setting.

// Atmosphere... // Over the past three years, decreases in funding necessitated a reduction of teachers, staff and course offerings. The district allocated city monies to the purchase of overhead projectors, video and digital cameras, multi-media projectors, and interactive white boards (math), but teachers do not yet have some of these resources. The vice-principals’ effective leadership results in a low suspension rate and a positive climate in the school. Their timely responses to issues such as lateness, absenteeism, and truancy have resulted in a daily average attendance of 88% to 90%. All the adults in the school community, including the parents, agree that the leadership of the central office does not support the school effectively. There is not a well-coordinated professional development plan for the school. The curriculum does not encourage rigor and appears to barely meet the standards; teachers need to raise the standard and push for higher learning. There is tension between the community and the school department. The parents believe that the school district is not preparing the students enough because of lack of materials and supplies. The school, however, does not receive sufficient support from the parents through fund raising and community efforts. Shea High School does receive substancial funding from the state because the city does suffer financially. However, cities like Pawtucket and Providence who do not meet economic standards must also contribute to their schools and keep up with the support that neighboring privileged communities offer. The common thread here is a lack of funding of support and ultimately interest from the community which offers a sad but true reality for the students of Shea High.

What the School Offers... An environment which offers an array of opportunity outside from curriculum is necessary for growth in learning. Through a partnership with Blackstone Valley Community Health Care and the Pawtucket school district, Nurse Practitioners and Behavioral Health Specialists offer a school-based health center. Shea encourages extra-curricular activities such as athletics, leadership and community service. The school has difficulty obtaining adequate tools and supplies. For example, in many classes, students share a single set of textbooks, which they cannot take home. Technology is antiquated, defective, or nonexistent. Every classroom does not have a working computer. Despite some lack of supplies for the students, they maintain their school pride and work hard with the little they have.

Many changes are taking place within the walls of Shea Senior High School. The department is taking steps in the right direction to promote high levels of education and advanced learning. The students and teachers embrace their diversity and support differences among the school. Although there are 50 different countries representing this school, the students feel at home and comfortable and this learning environment. The staff is hard working and encourage their students' in their educational experiences. Unfortunately, cutbacks in funding disable the school from acquiring adequate materials such as computers and textbooks to enhance learning. Pawtucket's income is much lower than other cities in Rhode Island, therefore the state does provide adequate funding. However, if the city is still lacking financially and the community as a whole is not backing the school, this proves to be an insufficient cycle of an unstable school system. There is some confusion among appropriate course development which distracts children from proper education plans. The community of Pawtucket does suffer from lower income and increased crime rates which is a negative influence in the lives of students. These distractions are a sad and unfortunate factor which affect the lives of these students. Shea has been named a school of "Insufficient Progress" according to the 2007 School Performance Classifications, therefore the faculty and staff are working together to create a better more sufficient working environment. Though there have been struggles in this schools past, there is a bright future ahead for Shea students; "something special" is truly happening here.
 * Conclusion **