蜜桃影视

This article is part of Bright Spots, a series聽highlighting schools where every child learns to read, no matter their zip code. Explore the Bright Spots map to find out which schools are beating the odds in terms of literacy versus poverty rates.

In late July, soon-to-be kindergarteners spent the morning getting their wiggles out at a summer learning program at Robert Bailey Elementary School in Providence.

At first, they shyly raised their hands or whispered 鈥渢hat鈥檚 me鈥� when their teacher sang an attendance song, but then they jumped up and spent the next hour stretching, dancing and singing to calm their 8 a.m. energy.

Providence Public Schools Superintendent Javier Monta帽ez watched from the back of the classroom before he made his way to the colorful carpet full of a dozen 5-year-olds. There, he did windmills with his arms and gave high fives.

Shortly after, it was time for the big task of the morning 鈥� sounding out letters and finding words that began with that letter. Monta帽ez echoed the sound of the letter 鈥楬鈥�, before giving the word 鈥渉appy鈥� as an example and following it with a pair of jazz hands. He laughed as they continued their lesson.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important to remember what it鈥檚 like to be a kid,鈥� he said.

It鈥檚 a mentality that resonates deeply with the superintendent who five years ago was tasked to lead the school district he once attended 鈥� a district that had once let him down.

Providence Public Schools, , educates more than 19,400 students, with more than 80% Black or brown; and who qualify for free or reduced lunch. More than a third of students are English language learners.

There鈥檚 many parts of Monta帽ez鈥檚 story that mirror a typical student in the district, including coming from a low-income Latino background.

But there鈥檚 other parts of his story he doesn鈥檛 ever want to see reflected in his students, like being 鈥渢hat kid out of sight, out of mind, in the back of the classroom trying to make myself smaller than what I was,鈥� Monta帽ez said.

The superintendent remembers what it was like to once be a kid who always felt 鈥渄umb,鈥� with neither he nor his teachers having the resources to help. He remembers once being a kid who entered high school homeless, often sleeping under a tree at a local park or in unlocked cars. He also remembers once being a kid who was unable to read until his junior year 鈥� a kid who fell through the cracks with undiagnosed dyslexia.

In addition to being educated in the district, Monta帽ez has also spent more than 30 years as an educator in the Providence public school system; first as a second and third grade bilingual teacher, before advancing through vice principal and principal roles to interim and permanent superintendent in 2021 and 2022.

His experiences have molded and become the center of his vow to make Providence 鈥渢he destination of education.鈥�

鈥淸When I became an educator], I saw myself again in those seats suffering. [I had to ask myself] 鈥榃hat can I do to help any of those kids that are all little Javiers that no one really saw because 鈥� they were only looking at students who were highly achieving?鈥欌�� Monta帽ez said, adding that curricula and expectations were usually watered down for kids who were struggling.

鈥淥ne of the things I grabbed from the past and put into the future is: How do we help all those students who are suffering, but not forget about those students who are on the cuff of meeting expectations and those students who are exceeding?鈥� Monta帽ez said. 鈥淭hat happens through high-quality curriculum, all day, every day, in the classroom.鈥�

“One of the things I grabbed from the past and put into the future is: How do we help all those students who are suffering, but not forget about those students who are on the cuff of meeting expectations and those students who are exceeding?”

Javier Monta帽ez, Providence Public Schools Superintendent

In 2019, the Rhode Island education department after a found the district鈥檚 schools were 鈥渋n crisis,鈥� particularly citing issues with struggling leadership, a 鈥渂roken鈥� school culture and 鈥渁n exceptionally low level of academic instruction, including a lack of quality curriculum and alignment both within schools and across the district.鈥�

When Monta帽ez was promoted to superintendent from principal at a district elementary school  in 2021, he wasby education officials and Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee for being a local leader who 鈥渒nows exactly what our schools need.鈥� More recently, Monta帽ez was credited by Providence Mayor Brett Smiley for his work with staff.

With state aid, and under Monta帽ez鈥檚 leadership, Providence Public Schools has overhauled its approach to literacy instruction through a five-year turnaround plan. In that time, education leaders have established and rolled out its Instructional Coherence Model 鈥� a shift to align all its schools using the same reading curriculum, instruction, professional learning, assessment, coaching and intervention.

The district has begun to see the approach pay off, with two of its elementary schools identified by 蜜桃影视 as Bright Spots, beating the odds of expected literacy rates based on poverty levels.

Of Rhode Island鈥檚 top five exceptional schools, Asa Messer Elementary School and Leviton Dual Language School are in the Providence school district. The two schools were expected to only have between 17 to 19% of third graders reading on grade level based on its poverty rates that are upward of 80%. Instead, both schools are between 41 to 45% proficient.

An additional 10 schools have literacy rates higher than expected.

Monta帽ez led the work at Leviton Dual Language for 10 years as principal before becoming superintendent. For the district, the improvement has just begun, Monta帽ez and his team said, hopeful that stronger gains are on the horizon.

鈥淲e鈥檙e in the early stages. Any major change takes a solid three to five years to really realize,鈥� said Paula Dillon, deputy superintendent of academics. 鈥淥ur early data points are suggesting we鈥檙e moving in the right direction. 鈥� To move a district this large in the same direction, [it鈥檚 critical to have] consistency, 鈥� and in order to have consistency and coherence, [it begins] with leadership.鈥�

A student who didn鈥檛 think he could

One of Monta帽ez鈥檚 earliest school-related memories is being asked in second grade to read a passage aloud. He remembers looking at the pictures on the page and beginning to make up his own story and the sound of his teacher and classmates laughing.

鈥淔rom that very moment, an invisible filter went up and I told myself 鈥業 will never read out loud again,鈥欌�� Monta帽ez said.

Any time there were group reading activities, he made sure to have an excuse to leave the classroom.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I ever really got the foundation that I needed,鈥� Monta帽ez said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think they knew or could recognize dyslexia the way it鈥檚 recognized now. For far too long it was 鈥� 鈥榊ou鈥檙e stupid.鈥� 鈥榊ou鈥檙e dumb.鈥� 鈥榊ou鈥檙e not trying hard enough.鈥� 鈥� At one point, I began believing that was true. I was dumb and I couldn鈥檛 learn.鈥�

As each year passed, he made sure to sit in the back of the classroom and do his best to 鈥渇ly below the radar.鈥�

鈥淔or breakfast, I had an A. For gym, I had an A. Lunch, I had an A and everything else was Cs and Ds,鈥� Monta帽ez said, making a joke that his report card spoke Spanish because it was full of 鈥淐, C, C,鈥� like the Spanish word for yes.

From some of his earliest years, Monta帽ez lacked stability at home. Neither of his parents had graduated from high school and didn鈥檛 view education as a priority.聽 As early as 9 years old, Monta帽ez was being shuffled between the homes of extended family members because of a volatile living situation with his parents.

And by the time he entered high school, he was homeless.

For years, he would often sleep at a nearby Providence park under a tree or find unlocked cars. Sometimes, depending on the weather, he would hide in the school鈥檚 locker room, and when everyone left, would come out to wash his clothing and have a safe place to sleep.

鈥淚 was thinking survival,鈥� Monta帽ez said, adding that he was often viewed as the kid in the back of the classroom falling asleep and a student who didn鈥檛 care.

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 that,鈥� Monta帽ez said. 鈥淚t was the only place I felt a little safe where I could take a nap in the back room. 鈥� [So,] when I hear now that a kid doesn’t want to give it their all, [I ask] have you checked to see if that kid ate last night? 鈥� Have you checked to see if that kid is safe at night?鈥�

For Monta帽ez, it took until his junior year for a teacher to ask those questions.

Monta帽ez was a stagehand that year. And when his drama teacher asked him to fill in and read some lines after a lead actor broke his leg, the teenager 鈥渓ost it. I flipped tables. I cursed him out,鈥� Monta帽ez said. 

When the teacher approached him a few days later, Monta帽ez explained he felt disrespected in front of everyone, that the teacher knew 鈥渂etter than anyone else that I don鈥檛 know how to read and still gave me a script.鈥�

The teacher didn鈥檛 know, but once he learned Monta帽ez couldn鈥檛 read and had instead been learning by listening and repetition, he intervened with a plan. Every morning and evening they would stay at the school. They worked on identifying letters and decoding, starting with Curious George and comic books.

鈥淗e gave me the wraparound services that I needed. He gave me high dosage tutoring. He showed me how to decode words. He started teaching me how to read a sentence, how to write a sentence,鈥� Monta帽ez said.

Later in the year, there was a late night field trip. The same teacher saw Monta帽ez retreat to Roger Williams Park and hide underneath a tree, where he learned the teenager was homeless. 

The teacher told Monta帽ez to come by his classroom the next morning, but the teenager feared he鈥檇 be reported and get in trouble.

鈥淚 never went back to the school after that day,鈥� Monta帽ez said. He dropped out.

What if鈥�

Monta帽ez only began to consider going back to school when he learned he was going to be a father at 18 and couldn鈥檛 enlist in the military without a GED.

Since then, one question has led his life and decision making: What if?

When he successfully passed his exam for a GED, the question became what if he could, against all odds, be successful in pursuing higher education? He did 鈥� attending Boricua College in New York and receiving his GED, associates and bachelors degree in less than three and a half years.

What if he found a way to translate this learning back to kids like him and prevent his experience for other students? He has 鈥� beginning his work as an elementary substitute teacher in New York before transitioning to a full-time teacher in Providence and working his way up the district.

And what if he could raise the standard, instead of lowering it, in a district that educates a majority of low-income children? He鈥檚 in the process of making it happen.

鈥淚f it wasn’t for me going through those tribulations in my younger years, I wouldn’t be as effective as an educator today and have the hindsight to say, 鈥� 鈥業t’s our job to find [what a student is struggling with] and give them the wraparound services they need,鈥欌�� Monta帽ez said. 鈥淓verything that I do is based on student impact, student outcome and how it’s going to support students. Being a student here, and then being a teacher and working my way up to this position, helped me understand the community. It鈥檚 helped me understand the students. 鈥� The 鈥榳hat if鈥� keeps pushing us.鈥� 

The work first began with Monta帽ez and other state and district education leaders aligning reading instruction, intervention and data tracking.

For years, individual school buildings were allowed to choose their own curriculum, but have now all implemented the same program and supplemental learning materials across the entire district that are rooted in the science of reading. 

“Being a student here, and then being a teacher and working my way up to this position, helped me understand the community. It鈥檚 helped me understand the students. 鈥� The 鈥榳hat if鈥� keeps pushing us.鈥�

Javier Monta帽ez, Providence Public Schools Superintendent

Other district initiatives that have taken place under Monta帽ez include required districtwide training on phonics, a strengthened universal screening to identify struggling students, including those with dyslexia, and adopting new systems for stronger and more cohesive data collection.

Among recent changes are also regular walk-throughs by school and district leadership. Central office personnel are required to do quarterly walk-throughs of schools as principals are responsible for visiting at least 80% of their buildings鈥� classrooms each month.

The walk-throughs are paired with feedback that鈥檚 provided to educators within 24 hours. New role-aligned professional development for all educators also furthers cohesive and effective implementation of new curriculum and intervention.

鈥淯sing the Instructional Coherence Model to build our walk-through model and being able to give feedback and calibrate with the building leaders about what they鈥檙e seeing, what we鈥檙e seeing 鈥� if it’s the same and where we鈥檙e seeing trends 鈥� has been a game changer,鈥� Dillon said.

Getting all students to achieve in the classroom also extends outside of school.

The development of the Office of Family and Community Engagement has offered a 鈥渇amily university鈥� where parents can learn strategies to work with students and better support their learning. The office also offers translation services and resources for food, transportation and navigating a transition to a new district, state or country.

鈥淚t takes a village to do this. It鈥檚 hard work day in and day out to make sure students have what they need to be prepared and successful in life,鈥� Monta帽ez said. 鈥淲e need [families] to be part of the school and part of the decision making because we can do it better [together].鈥�

Third grade proficiency rates in Providence have increased year over year since 2021 and the district鈥檚 third graders have almost returned to pre-pandemic reading levels with 24% on grade level as of 2024-25, .

But despite seeing forward movement, there鈥檚 a lot of work left to be done.

With third grade students at Leviton Dual Language and Asa Masser nearly twice as proficient in reading compared to the district average, much of the success in those buildings were credited by Monta帽ez and Dillion to efforts like intensive high dosage tutoring, bilingual education programs and stable leadership. They hope to learn from those buildings and continue expansion across the district.

鈥淲e’re in a continuous improvement cycle,鈥� Dillon said. 鈥淭he only way that we can continue to improve is to know where we are and what’s working and what’s not and being willing to change that.鈥�

As of July, the state has returned the Providence school system back to local control, about a year and a half earlier than expected. Monta帽ez鈥檚 contract is up for renewal in 2027.

For now though, it鈥檚 about taking the small wins and pushing forward as a team.

鈥淚t took one teacher to change my life,鈥� Monta帽ez said. 鈥淭hat teacher didn鈥檛 take pity on me; that teacher had high expectations. 鈥�  We need to set those expectations for our students [and] for ourselves as educators.鈥�

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