Get ready for for another charter school debate in Providence.
The Providence City Council Ordinance Committee is meeting at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the latest proposal to allow Excel Academy to take over part of the vacant Carl Lauro Elementary School on Kenyon Street in Providence.
Lauro was shuttered by the Providence school department after the 2023 school year, and charter schools quickly sought to fill the vacant space. Mayor Brett Smiley’s office negotiated a deal with Excel Academy last year, but the council voted it down.
The new agreement appears to be more favorable to the city – Excel is committing to make more than $14 million in capital improvements to the building – but it’s still not a guarantee that the council will support the proposal (there’s a strong contingent of councilors who oppose charter schools in general).
The bigger picture: Excel Academy started accepting fifth graders from Providence, North Providence, and Central Falls during the 2022-2023 school year, and it already has approval from the Rhode Island Department of Education to eventually grow into a K-12 school.
In other words, the council doesn’t have the ability to stop the school from growing; it can just disrupt the process by not allowing the school to lease city-owned property. (Excel has also been in talks with Rhode Island College about using the former Henry Barnard School.)
There are 8,206 students from Providence attending charter schools in the current school year, and that number is expected to grow to 9,311 by the 2026-2027 school year. The district lost 2,650 students between 2020 and 2024, although it has ticked up slightly in the current school year.
What’s next: Excel Academy needs space to continue its currently approved growth plan, but it also wants to get a deal done before the 2026 election season begins interfering with everything.
Charter school leaders across the state are also keeping an eye on the changes in the Rhode Island Senate, where newly elected President Val Lawson doubles as president of the National Education Association Rhode Island.
This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you’d like to receive it via email Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.
Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com. Follow him @danmcgowan.