Smiley calls for data sharing once Providence gets its schools back from state NewsBreak

pChoose your locationppBy Alexander Castropp The City of Providence wants to investigate consolidating certain data sources across municipal and school district networks when its schools return from state to local control The district superintendent is concerned about the plans finer points when it comes to data sharing Photo illustration by Alexander CastroRhode Island Current pp Some systems get too complex Providence Mayor Brett Smiley thinks that has happened with overlapping information technology IT and data systems across the citys government and public schools which have been under state control since 2019 pp We should all want the best resources the best experts working together Smiley said at the Zuccolo Recreation Center on Federal Hill during the April 10 release of Providences Plan for Our Schools Building a Brighter Future pp The report is the citys first concerted effort to describe how it will resume and maintain control of its schools when the state takeover ends sometime in the next two years Five of its 63 pages are dedicated to recommendations on how the city thinks IT and data practices should be structured after local control returns pp Smiley wants to align the city and district more closely and to eliminate redundant software or data collection These are opportunities for both efficiency and higher quality services he said Thursday pp Among the more ambitious ideas is to broaden the kinds of student data shared between district city and thirdparties to improve city offerings at recreation centers pp Schools and rec centers serve the same youth and provide interconnected services but they frequently use different data collection platforms to track student attendance the report notes The City will explore where it may merge Recreation Department and PPSD Providence Public School District platforms to reduce the number of duplicative systems and improve communication pp Also on the citys wish list for local control A more streamlined model for IT management with the report stating it wants to investigate which roles and functions or contractsmay be duplicative between city and district pp All of us are vulnerable to cyberattacks Its a global trend as you well know Smiley told reporters Thursday The citys IT department will help the school departments team and vice versa so we can better protect our students data our employees data pp The mayors report notes that PPSDs IT department is currently understaffedand no PPSD employee directly oversees the network and the work has been outsourced to consultants An interim IT director has been in place since July 2024 according to a district contract But the most recent PPSD organizational chart created after that contract still shows the top IT position as vacant pp The district also had IT troubles in September 2024 when a ransomware attack on PPSDs internal systems exposed about 200 gigabytes of district files including confidential and personal information of staff and students pp Now the city wants to enhance longterm sustainability and data security according to its new report This reliance on external contractors presents risks including reduced control over internal processes potential delays in addressing technical issues and a lack of institutional knowledge of IT systems within PPSD pp Rhode Island Department of Education Commissioner Angélica InfanteGreen expressed concern that the citys plan asis might violate state law PPSD Superintendent Javier Montañez is concerned the data sharing aspects may violate federal law too pp The report suggests sharing of student and family data with city structures that would conflict with federal privacy laws Montañez wrote in an April 10 letter to the Providence schools community pp The current plan needs greater specificity more detailed action steps and accountable timelines and individuals Montañez wrote and dubbed the report itself an exercise in redundancy as it proposes even more City control in daytoday operations of the District not less pp Privacy concerns would fall under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act FERPA which mandates that schools cant usually share minor students personal information without written consent from parents or guardians pp The citys proposal explicitly states that any new data sharing efforts will comply with relevant federal education data laws including FERPA and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment PPRA pp A cheat sheet from the US Department of Education notes the four most common exceptions to written consent for students personal data It can be collected in a database if proper safeguards are in place and researchers and auditors can access student data in certain contexts pp School officials can access students personal information as long as there is legitimate educational interest involved FERPA dictates And an outside party can be considered a school official if it performs an institutional service or function for which the school would otherwise use employees PPSD uses similar language in its 2024 template for data sharing contracts pp Providence is not the first city or state to attempt integrating select data between municipal and district powers Theres much guidance on how to construct data sharing agreements Scale can complicate speed as has been the case in California where Gov Gavin Newsom campaigned in 2019 and 2022 for a statewide educational data system that would track students progress from preschool through employment CalMatters reported that as of March 2025 the system is still not ready for public consumption with one expert citing an abundance of caution regarding students privacy as a major reason for the delay pp But Providence operates at a much smaller scale than the Golden State and the citys local control report gives one case study of how the district and a thirdparty entity successfully cooperated to share necessary data In 2024 the city received 200000 from the state education department to team up with the Providence After School Alliance and deliver outofschool programming at two underperforming PPSD middle schools as part of Gov Dan McKees Learn365 initiative pp The alliance entered into a datasharing agreement with the district for information regarding demographics like multilingual learners and free and reduced lunch recipients who participate in the afterschool programming The idea is to implement a targeted and responsive program that aligns with PPSDs districtwide prioritiesas well as help inform future afterschool programming that integrates both academic learning and enrichment according to the city report pp Its also not the first data agreement the alliance and the district have shared According to a 2012 brief from The Wallace Foundation on DataSharing Strategies That Work PPSD and the after school alliance took seven years to forge a different agreement The brief notes that by making the alliance a quasidistrict entity thats providing a servicethat the district would provide itself but cant the arrangement was able to satisfy FERPA requirements pp The city and district already use the same public records request software NextRequest People seeking information on PPSD send a request through the citys portal and the citys clerical staff satisfy the request pp Smiley and his office have stressed that the report is not final or prescriptive Spokespeople for both PPSD and the Mayors office did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday pp SUBSCRIBE GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX ppEvery month a child goes missing in Missouri As of April 20 2025 according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children NCMEC nine more children have missing persons posters on its website for this month Antonia Thompson was previously reported missing as of April 7 2025ppUS Navy Vice Adm Shoshana Chatfield the US representative to NATOs Military Committee was fired over the weekend the Associated Press reported Monday Chatfield served as president of the US Naval War College in Newport Rhode Island from 2019 to 2023 and was the first woman to lead the college Her promotion from rear admiral ppDespite his 2022 campaign promise to move into the congressional district he was elected to represent US Rep Seth Magaziner hasnt moved and now he doesnt plan to The 41yearold Democrat first revealed his change of heart during a taping of WPRITV 12s Newsmakers on Friday citing familys circumstances for why he has backed ppThe historic and amazing Biltmore Estate is in Asheville North Carolina Buncombe County On May 23 1963 it was designated a National Historic Landmark NHL The Biltmore Estate was the vision of George Washington VanderbiltppThis article was originally published on ChaChingQueencom a site my wife and I own AI was used for light editing formatting and readability But a human me wrote and edited thisppListen up fellow Americans Ive learned the hard way that hospital billing is a minefield My personal experiences have taught me one crucial lesson NEVER pay a hospital bill without thorough scrutiny I once received a mysterious bill during college that turned out to be for someone with my same name who had no insurance Last year they overcharged me 100 and even sent it to a collection agency after I spent hours on the phone challenging itppAccording to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children NCMEC in March 2025 there are now eight children reported missing in Missouri Below is information about these children and the appropriate agencies to contact if you have any informationppAs illegal crossings have dropped to 15year lows along oncebusy historic crossing points between Texas and Mexico along the Rio Grande law enforcement officers are encountering large groups of illegal aliens in more remote areas of the Texas borderppLegislation moving through the Rhode Island House and Senate could alleviate one pain point for parents Filling a prescription for ADHD medications amid ongoing shortages On Tuesday the Rhode Island House Committee on Health and Human Services OKd an amended version of H5866 a bill led by Portsmouth Democratic Rep Michelle McGaw that would improve ppUnder an emerging Republican plan to require some Medicaid recipients to work between 46 million and 52 million adults ages 19 to 55 could lose their health care coverage according to a new analysis The study conducted by Urban Institute researchers with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation calculated that up to 39 of ppRichmond Indiana She was preparing for the happiest day of her life when she vanished without a word leaving behind a wedding dress a daughter and a trail of unanswered questions that remain to this dayppBreast cancer is among the most common cancer diagnoses in Rhode Island making up about 13 of diagnoses each year as well as 7 of all cancer deaths Early detection can make a difference South Kingstown Democratic Rep Kathleen Fogarty is sponsoring a bill that she hopes will make mammograms which can help with early ppBy Anjeanette Damon ProPublica and Perla Trevizo ProPublica and The Texas Tribune and photography by Cengiz Yar ProPublica This article was originally published by ProPublica and copublished with The Texas Tribune ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prizewinning investigative newsroom Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox ppMORRISTOWN NJ April 11 2025 New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J Platkin alongside the Division of Criminal Justice and New Jersey State Police announced charges against 39 individuals including alleged members and associates of the Lucchese Crime Family following a twoyear investigation into a sprawling illegal gambling enterprise in North JerseyppThe deadline to obtain a REAL ID is less than a month away yet more than onethird of Rhode Islanders still havent made the switch to the license required for air travel Starting May 7 2025 travelers 18 or older nationwide must present either their US passport or the REAL ID cards marked with a ppThe crew of US Coast Guard Cutter James has returned to Florida from a patrol that saw them seize more than 44550 pounds of Mexican Cartel cocaine and 3880 pounds of Mexican Cartel marijuana worth about 510 million US Attorney General Pam Biondi says the seizures represent more than a halfbilliondollars of lost profits by the Gulf Cartel CDG the Sinaloa Cartel CDS and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel CJNGppAARPs mission is to empower people to choose how we live as we age Financial security in retirement is essential to that empowerment Thats why AARP works hard to ensure that people dont lose their nest eggs to fraud Unfortunately fraud is everywhere be it grandparent scams government impostor scams romance scams investment scams ppThe town of Johnstons attempt to seize 31 acres of land is no longer being considered in state court after both parties requested the matter get tossed Providence County Superior Court Judge Christopher Smith dismissed the towns condemnation action leaving the case solely in US District Court where the landowners are suing Johnston officials over ppSue Sheridans baby boy Cal suffered brain damage from undetected jaundice in 1995 Helen Haskells 15yearold son Lewis died after surgery in 2000 because weekend hospital staffers didnt realize he was in shock The episodes turned both women into advocates for patients and spurred research that made American health care safer On April 1 the ppBeloved actordirector Peter Bonerz now 86 is best known for his role as dentist Dr Jerry Robinson on TVs classic sitcom The Bob Newhart Show CBS 19721979 However before he found mainstream fame on camera which eventually was followed by a behindthescenes career switch Bonerz faced early life and career strugglesppThe Bureau of Land Managements contentious plans to remove all freeroaming horses from vast reaches of southwest Wyomings checkerboard region could begin as soon as this summer although a legal appeal to stop roundups remains in limboppNEWARK Joseph Schwartz 65 of Suffern New York was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison for his role in a 38 million employment tax fraud scheme involving nursing homes he operated across the country US Attorney Alina Habba announcedppOn Marthas Vineyard a resilient French Bulldog named Felecia or Fifi is hoping to find her permanent home through Sandy Paws Rescue Inc a dedicated fosterbased dog rescue in Massachusetts After being rescued from a breeding operation in Texas this 24pound French Bulldog is continuing her journey toward a better life while waiting for the right forever family Discovered on the streets of Texas where she was previously used for breeding she is now thriving in her foster home Despite her past Fifi is incredibly affectionate and snuggly reports Sandy Paws Rescue Inc highlighting her remarkable ability to overcome her challenging historyppWASHINGTON Millions of immigrants in the country without legal authorization are required as of Friday to register with the US Department of Homeland Security after a federal judge rejected advocacy groups request to pause the requirementppAccording to WRIC 8 News the Richmond FBI has a warning for parents It is against groups that are part of a violent network targeting children and manipulating them into recording themselves committing illegal and violent actsppTheyve been accused of raiding crops ransacking trash cans and boldly breaking into homes to steal food out of the refrigerator In at least two cases last year black bears were even reported to have attacked people in Connecticut Alarmed by the steady stream of headlines documenting their runins with humans some lawmakers say its ppTwo years ago as one storm after another piled feet of snow across southcentral Wyoming pronghorn started walking to find something to eat But quickly they bunched up against a fence Then another oneppJeanette Avellan admitted to embezzling company funds over six years and failing to pay taxes state recommends fouryear prison term and over 45 million in restitution Monmouth County NJ A Howell New Jersey woman has pleaded guilty to stealing approximately 4 million from her longtime employer and committing tax fraud over multiple years according to an announcement from Attorney General Matthew J Platkin and the Division of Criminal JusticeppMORRIS COUNTY NJ A federal grand jury in the District of New Jersey has indicted a San Antonio Texas woman for allegedly orchestrating a multiyear scheme to distribute counterfeit coupons that resulted in over 17 million in losses to retailers and manufacturers across the United States according to an April 16 announcement by US Attorney Alina HabbappThe Trump administration is asking Congress to eliminate funding for Head Start a move that would cut early education for more than half a million of the nations neediest children and child care for their familiesp