Finance Committee approves GenerationTeach as Providence summer partner

The Providence School Board Finance Committee voted to approve GenerationTeach as a partner for the district's 2026 summer program after a presentation on the program's local results.

Jaya Lopes, director of strategic community partnerships for the Providence School Department, introduced GenerationTeach and said the nonprofit was selected following a competitive RFP process. Laura Zahn, a GenerationTeach representative, told the committee the organization has operated in Providence for nine summers and that an external impact evaluation showed students who participated in GenerationTeach's 2024 sixth-grade program made "six months of growth over the course of the summer in reading" compared with matched Providence peers.

Committee members asked for details about evaluation methods and long-term tracking. Zahn said the program conducts pre- and post-summer assessments and has contracted RMC Evaluation Partners to do the district-specific impact study; she added that GenerationTeach does not track long-term outcomes such as high-school graduation because many factors affect those results but that the program measures social-emotional and academic gains each summer.

The committee also asked how high-school students learn about teaching-fellow positions; Zahn said GenerationTeach recruits through the district and job platforms and that applications remained open through May 15 (genteach.org).

After questions and a brief public comment, the committee moved and approved item 4.1 by voice vote. The committee will record the approved partnership in the district's procurement records and GenerationTeach's program will proceed to operational planning with district staff.