While test scores at the high school rose last spring, about three-quarters of the junior class had not achieved standards for basic reading comprehension. And four-fifths of the 11th-graders tested were not proficient in mathematical computation. Also, the dropout rate, which had been at about 45 percent in 2002 and 2003, surged above the halfway mark in June, to about 52 percent.
McWalters has said the students of Hope High School can't wait any longer for change.
If there is a takeover, the Providence Teachers Union would ask its lawyers to determine whether a legal challenge is warranted over the 1997 law that spells out McWalters's authority to provide a progressive degree of ''support and intervention" at schools that don't adequately perform.
Paul Vorro, the union's executive director, told The Providence Journal that McWalters ''may have the authority" to take over Hope, but the law has never been tested.
McWalters is expected to reach a decision by Jan. 31 that will apply to the 2005-2006 school year.
In documents submitted to McWalters in mid-November, schools Superintendent Melody Johnson and the teachers' union ask the commissioner for more time to put into place all the elements of reform that McWalters has spelled out for them.
McWalters already has given Hope 2 years to comply with a detailed order to break the student body of 1,500 students into smaller schools.
In the fall of 2003, the three small learning communities opened their doors -- academies of about 500 students each centered on the arts, information technology, or leadership.
In recent weeks, Johnson and the leadership of the teachers' union have crafted a joint proposal that lays out 2 more years of changes.
Submitted to McWalters the week before Thanksgiving, the contents of the joint proposal are expected to figure into testimony during the hearings.
