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Central Falls: “A City with a Bright Future”

The Central Falls school district includes six schools: one early learning center, three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. Captain Hunt Early Learning Center is a school exclusively for per-kindergarten and Robertson Elementary school is a school for kindergarten, showing that the district emphasizes the importance of early childhood education. Then the students attend either Ella Risk Elementary School or Veterans Memorial Elementary, which both house grades 1-4. Students from both elementary school then attend Calcutt Middle School for grades 5-8, and Central Falls Senior High School for grades 9-12. The mission "of the Central Falls School Community is to develop its diverse student population into responsible citizens, effective communicators, innovative problem-solvers and critical thinkers who are able to fully participate in and positively contribute to society. The school community is committed to the attainment of high standards by all students by ensuring a literacy-rich learning environment and providing results-oriented educational leadership at all levels" ([]). By examining the district statistics, it is possible to determine whether Central Falls is living up to its mission.

The Central Falls vision statement states that “All Central Falls Schools are members of a continually improving system, graduating students who perform at or above grade level expectations as determined by local and state assessments.” Although this is the vision for the small, urban community, the data paints a different picture. The New England Common Assessment Program (NECAP) test scores indicate the Central Falls percentile of proficiency is well below the state proficiency percentile in all areas. Thirty-six percent of third graders are proficient in math, compared to 60% proficient in the state of Rhode Island; 49% of third graders are proficient in reading, whereas the state as a whole boasts 73% proficiency. As the children in central falls age, the comparison gap widens. In sixth grade, Central Falls students scored 28% and 43% proficiency on math and reading, respectively, while students across the state scored 62% and 73% on math and reading. By eleventh grade, only 7% of Central Falls High School juniors are proficient in math, according to the NECAP. The state scores poorly as well, with 30% proficiency, however that is still more than four times better that the students in Central Falls. Forty-one percent of juniors were proficient in reading, compared to 76% statewide, and only 18% of students are proficient writers, compared to 51% in Rhode Island. The district data indicates that although the city of Central Falls has a vision of students performing at or above grade level, this is far from the reality according to the proficiency indicated by the NECAP test.

Central Falls has a student to teacher ratio of 10 to 1, which is slightly less than the state average of 11 students to every one teacher. However, 6% of Central Falls teachers are not highly qualified, which is double the state average of 3%. Teachers are required to be highly qualified by the No Child Left Behind Act.

Central Falls is a primarily Hispanic community. Seventy-four percent of students are identified as Hispanic; thirteen percent are African-American; ten percent are white; two percent are multiracial. Of this population, 25% of students are receiving ESL/bilingual services, compared to 6% in the state. Twenty-two percent of students in Central Falls receive special education services, whereas 15% of students receive special education services in Rhode Island. Perhaps most startling, 86% of students receive subsidized lunch, compared to 46% of students in Rhode Island. In order to qualify for subsidized lunch, students must come from families with income the falls below the federal eligibility, which is less than $42,643 for a family of 4. As shocking as it is that 46% of Rhode Islands’ children qualify for free lunch, it is even more shocking that 86% of Central Falls’ children qualify.

About us. (n.d.). Retrieved July 8, 2013, from Central Falls School District website: []

Central falls district. (n.d.). Retrieved July 8, 2013, from [].

When choosing a district in Rhode Island to raise children, one must carefully consider the safety and support afforded by that school system. The level of that provided is typically reflected by the students’ attendance rates. The attendance rate is the number of days that an enrolled student is present in class divided by the state’s minimum 180-day academic year. Note that all rates are given for the 2011-2012 academic year and are provided by InfoWorks [1] unless stated otherwise. The Central Falls district has a 90% attendance rate for all schools, including elementary, middle, and high schools. This fared well against the state’s target, which is also 90%, but does fall short of the state’s average of 94%. It is noted that attendance rates are inversely proportional to the student’s grade level. This is evident in the 94% attendance rate in elementary school, 93% rate in middle school, and an 82% attendance rate by the time the student reaches high school, all of these rates are below the state’s average. One should also consider the chronic absenteeism rate, which is the percentage of students who have missed at least 10% of the academic school year. In Central Falls this rate is high at 30% when compared to Rhode Island State average of 17%.

Graduation rates are of incredible importance when considering a school system. The percentage of students in Central Falls who effectively graduate four years after entering the 9th grade is 68.1%, a deficit is again noticed when comparing this to the state’s average of 77.1%. This discrepancy represents 9 fewer children out of 100 who will not be on the graduation stage to receive their diploma at the end of four years. The drop out rate in Central Falls is also high, 14.8% compared to the 11.9% state average. This data may be skewed since the age at which students can withdraw themselves in Rhode Island was officially raised in 2012 from 16 to 18 years of age, perhaps contributing to an increase in absenteeism rates. Of this 14.8% of students who did not graduate in four years with their original 9th grade cohort, none of them received a general equivalency diploma, GED, by the time their class graduated. Adding to the 68.1% of students who graduated in four years those who required a fifth year for completion, the total five year graduation rate for Central Falls is 70.3%, still below the state’s average of 77.4%.

The number of incidents of student suspension is also directly correlated to the level of safety and security provided by a school, since some of these suspensions are for violent and delinquent acts such as assault, arson, alcohol or drug possession, and vandalism. There were a total of 759 suspensions in all of the Central Falls schools with 95% of these incidents occurring at the high schools. Two percent of these of these suspensions occurred in the elementary schools, which is an alarming precursor for future behavior.

The stability index of a school is the number of students who remained enrolled for the entire academic year divided by the total number of students who entered, remained, and left the school. The stability index for all elementary, middle, and high schools ranged from 74-78%. A deficit is again noticed when this is compared to the 86-89% stability rate for the state. The mobility index is the total number of students who entered or left a school divided by the total enrollment, essentially describing the turnover rate. The mobility index for all schools in Central Falls ranges from 24-30%, while that for the state ranges from 12-16%. Together the stability and mobility indices indicate the flow of students into and out of a school, which may contribute to a disruption in academics and a lack of consistency.

The amount of funding at a school’s disposal is of particular importance to the success of the students. The per pupil expenditure is the average amount that a district spends on each student enrolled in the public school system. In 2009, the per pupil expenditure in the Central Falls school district was $14,347. The state average for that same year was $15,262. Both these amount exceed the nation average of $10,694 [2]. The mean income per household in Central Falls is $26,844 annually. The state’s average income per family is $55,333, more than twice that in Central Falls, which is the lowest reported in the state. Since schools receive a substantial portion of their funding from local taxes it is prudent to consider the tax rate per $1,000 of property value. In Central Falls this number is $8.08. The total property value per student is $196,417. When this is compare to an affluent town such as East Greenwich, deficits are definitely noted. The tax rate per $1,000 here is $16.64, more than double that of Central Falls. The property value per student in East Greenwich is $1,002,895, which indicates that there is more property to be taxed at a much higher rate, which has the potential to contribute to a more successful school system.

References:

[1]InfoWorks: Rhode Island Education Data Reporting. 2013. []

[2] National Center for Educational Statistics. []