On May 13, Providence teachers lined up to elect new union leadership. Wait times ran as long as 90 minutes. Some educators left to run their errands, take care of their kids or let out their pets, before returning to cast a ballot. In the end, 845 teachers voted—triple the amount that voted last year.
Lindsay Paiva won 48% of the vote, beating out Ryan Connole (who ran under the Experience Matters slate) and Carol Pagan.
The Union Strong slate, led by Paiva, won all but one position in leadership. The newly elected officers said teachers face shifting expectations, a lack of support and retaliation for complaints after six years working under the State’s takeover of Providence Public Schools.
On May 18, Governor Dan McKee said Providence is ready to retake control of local schools. As administration prepares to change hands, the Union Strong slate will attempt to build a powerful voice for educators at every school in the district through rank-and-file organizing.
Democratizing the Union and Speaking Up for Members
Last year, Paiva ran for PTU Vice President in a special election alongside other members of the Providence Caucus of Rank-and-File Educators (PVD CORE). After losing to Carol Pagan, a candidate endorsed by PTU then-President Cindy Robles, CORE members resolved to build more relationships and expand their coalition this year.
“The actual level of disorganization of the union this year was much higher than it has been,” said Anna Kuperman, an English teacher at Classical High School who lost her race for office last year. This round, a lack of incumbents and a three-way race became an opportunity. “The space for saying ‘Let’s make a change, let’s do something different’ was more resonant also,” said Kuperman.
Returning as Union Strong, which includes candidates who are not part of CORE, the slate advocated for amplifying member voices, increasing educator support and winning a strong contract. This year’s victory was a result of five months of campaigning, with over 100 organizers talking to teachers one-on-one, pushing for a PTU president candidate town hall and trying to boost engagement.
“It’s something that other Union Strong members have been organizing around for many, many years,” said Caleigh Rockwal, a social studies teacher at Hope High School who was elected secretary. “It felt like a confirmation that we had created this grassroots movement within the union to create a more democratic space for teachers, and to really listen to and advocate for the needs of all members.”
This new leadership promises to boost teacher power in the same way they rallied teachers to the voting booth: rank and file organizing. The union plans to lead more contract teach-ins for educators to understand their guaranteed rights, especially those that have been ignored in years past. The slate said they will move away from a top-down leadership model by re-establishing school-specific committees for feedback and fighting back against retaliation.
“Folks are pretty disillusioned and have a hard time seeing themselves as part of the union. So it’s sometimes difficult to get them to even come out and vote,” said Paiva, a third-grade teacher at Webster Avenue Elementary School. “We’ve seen our rights stripped away slowly over time and have watched very little resistance from union leadership.”
PTU elections take place every two years, so this leadership will prepare to negotiate a new contract after their current one expires on August 31, 2027. However, it remains unclear who exactly they will be negotiating with. The City of Providence is still attempting to wrestle control of the school district back from the State’s Department of Education.
School Takeover Puts Pressure on Teachers
“The main shift with the takeover has been that there’s more responsibilities with fewer supports and resources,” said Paiva. “Teachers are just constantly being asked to do more and to do different things and to try different approaches, and we’re never consistently seeing if something works first before we change our approach.”
Paiva began teaching at Webster Avenue Elementary in 2017, where she was mentored by three senior teachers and received support from teacher induction coach Melissa Palumbo.
“We had a nationally renowned […] induction program. And with the takeover, that was cut immediately,” said Palumbo, who was elected Vice President of Special Groups. “I do think it’s played a role in the 600 resignations we’ve had in four years because teachers are not feeling as supported as they have in the past.”
Providence Public School District instead hired compliance officers that monitor teachers to ensure students are meeting specific benchmarks.
“Our job is very hard already, so people don’t want that additional layer of scrutiny,” said Paiva, who also points out that the power of the Providence School Board was scrapped in 2019 and only began to re-establish itself last year. “It just has sort of taken the public layer of accountability out. There’s been a huge uptick in retaliation and intimidation during the takeovers.”
PPSD issued 17 non-renewal notices last year. Organizers alleged three non-binary members of PVD CORE were targeted, and Union Strong leaders said tenured teachers can face increased scrutiny and harassment from administrators after speaking out.
“There is some top down management, and we’re forced to follow through or carry through mandates that we don’t agree with,” said Palumbo. “I was in a lot of committees and I was kind of like a bridge between PTU and administration. And when they cut all of those positions, I think it led to a change where teachers just don’t feel heard.”
The State took over PPSD in 2019 after a damning Johns Hopkins report found that a “great majority” of Providence students were not learning near grade level, teachers were “demoralized,” and the buildings themselves were “dangerous to students’ and teachers’ wellbeing.”
This week, Governor Dan McKee and Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green said Providence is ready to retake control of the school district. It’s the result of years of negotiations, including Providence agreeing in 2024 to restore municipal funding owed to the school district under state law. In addition, the PPSD school board was reformed to include elected members as well as members appointed by the Mayor.
“I’m truly excited to see Lindsay elected as PTU President,” said School Board President Ty’Relle Stephens. “Throughout more than 20 community listening sessions across Providence, CORE consistently showed up and stayed engaged with families, students, and educators.”
Providence has a plan to take back public schools and is investing $1 billion dollars into building new facilities or improving old ones. Whether under the State or the City, more and more Providence teachers are pushing for change.
“With this new slate coming in, it’s going to be nice because it coincides with the return to local control,” said Palumbo. “So we’re going to have a seat at the table and have an authentic voice where we can get students and community involvement, where in the past that’s kind of been stifled.”
Eric Halvarson is a City News Reporter for The Providence Eye.
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