THE FALLOUT CONTINUES AFTER NEWS BROKE SUNDAY THAT TWO PROVIDENCE SCHOOLS WOULD BE CLOSING FOR GOOD AT THE END OF THIS SCHOOL YEAR. YESTERDAY, TEACHERS AND PARENTS WERE PULLED INTO MEETINGS WHERE THEY LEARNED WHICH SCHOOLS WOULD CLOSE... AND WHAT THEIR FUTURE WOULD LOOK LIKE AS A RESULT. 12 NEWS REPORTER ERICA RICCI LIVE IN PROVIDENCE WITH THEIR REACTION. (ERICA) IT WAS AN EMOTIONAL ONE. SOME OF THESE TEACHERS HAVE BEEN AT THE CARL G. LAURO AND FEINSTEIN AT BROAD STREET SCHOOLS FOR TWENTY, THIRTY YEARS. AND FOR THE FAMILIES WHO ATTEND, THIS ISN'T JUST THEIR SCHOOL BUILDING THAT'S BEING DISMANTLED, IT'S THEIR COMMUNITY. "he said, 'mom, dad the school's gonna be shut' and he start crying" "it was a sad day when my students asked me today 'where are we going?' I said 'we're all gonna go somewhere together, they'll find a place for us'". (ERICA) THE SENTIMENT IS ONE OF AN ORPHAN EVEN THOUGH THE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT, WHICH RUNS THE PROVIDENCE PUBLIC SCHOOLS... ASSURES TEACHERS THEY'LL HAVE A JOB IN THE DISTRICT AND STUDENTS THEY'LL HAVE A CLASSROOM. UNION EMPLOYEES WILL HAVE TO APPLY FOR AN OPEN POSITION IN THE DISTRICT AND ARE GUARANTEED A SPOT... IT JUST MAY NOT BE THE ONE THEY WANT. PARENTS WILL BE RECIEVING A PREFERENCE FORM WHERE THEY CAN CHOOSE WHERE THEY WANT THEIR CHILD TO ATTEND NEXT YEAR. RIDE SAYS CLOSING THE TWO ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IS THE NEXT PHASE IN THE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT'S 500-MILLION DOLLAR FACILITES PLAN THAT WILL RESULT IN TEN NEW, OR LIKE NEW, SCHOOLS IN THE DISTRICT. (ERICA) IT'S A SNAPSHOT OF A BIGGER PICTURE CONSOLIDATION CONCEPT KNOWN AS "NEWER AND FEWER"... AND ANOTHER PROVIDENCE SCHOOL IS ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK FOR THE FOLLOWING SCHOOL YEAR AS A RESULT. WE'LL TALK MORE ABOUT THAT STARTING AT AT THE END OF THIS SCHOOL YEAR, IT WILL BE THE END OF AN ERA FOR TWO PROVIDENCE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. THE CARL G. LAURO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND THE FEINSTEIN AT BROAD STREET SCHOOL WILL BE PERMANENTLY CLOSED AS PART OF THE DISTRICT'S 500-MILLION DOLLAR FACILITIES PLAN. (DANIELLE) AND LAST NIGHT WE LEARNED A THIRD SCHOOL IS ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK. 12 NEWS REPORTER ERICA RICCI LIVE IN PROVIDENCE WITH WHAT'S NEXT FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS IN PROVIDENCE. (ERICA) WE'RE HERE OUTSIDE THE GILBERT STUART MIDDLE SCHOOLL. IN ADDITION TO THE TWO SCHOOLS CLOSING DOWN... A PHASE OUT WILL BEGIN HERE NEXT YEAR... BECAUSE THIS SCHOOL IS EXPECTED TO SHUT DOWN AT THE END OF THE FOLLOWING SCHOOL YEAR... TO ALLOW FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW PRE-K TO EIGHT CAMPUS IN THE AREA. (ERICA) THAT'S PART OF THE IDEA OF THIS NEWER AND FEWER CONCEPT BEING IMPLEMENTED UNDER THE PROVIDENCE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT'S 500-MILLION DOLLAR FACILITIES PLAN. IT'S A SHIFT FROM A BREAKDOWN OF EDUCATIONAL LEVELS LIKE PRE-K, ELEMENTARY THEN MIDDLE SCHOOL... TO ONE SCHOOL THAT PROVIDES PRE-K THROUGH EIGHTH GRADE SERVICES. FIVE OF THOSE SCHOOL MODELS ARE ON THE DOCKET IN PROVIDENCE. THIS CONSOLIDATION PLAN, ACCORDING TO THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT THAT RUNS PROVIDENCE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, PUTS AN END TO "BAND-AID" FIXES... AND ADDRESSES DECREASED ENROLLMENT IN THE DISTRICT. OFFICIALS SAY THERE ARE 33-HUNDRED FEWER KIDS IN PROVIDENCE SCHOOL NOW THAN FIVE YEARS AGO. UNION LEADERS, THOUGH, NOT IMPRESSED WITH THE DATA IF THEY'RE NOT GIVEN A SEAT AT THE TABLE TO DISCUSS IT. "one of the risks of a state takeover is that it leaves those stakeholders who are in teh schools, and in particular the families that are in the commniit, feeling marginalized and there have been a lot of misteps along the way where it feels like things are done to people and not with people" (ERICA) THE PHASE OUT FOR GILBERT STUART WILL BEGIN NEXT SCHOOL YEAR. FAMILIES OF STUDENTS HERE EXPECTED TO BE RECEIVING COMMUNICATION ABOUT THE TRANSITION. LIVE IN PROVIDENCE, ERICA RICCI, 12 NEWS.