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Rhode Island's Charter Public Schools

Rhode Island's charter schools are public schools authorized by the State of Rhode Island to operate independently from many state and local district rules and regulations. Each charter public school is able to establish educational strategies that meet the specific student achievement goals and objectives outlined in each school's charter.

Rhode Island General Law 16-77-5.1(b) designates the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education (the Council) as the authorizer for charter schools. In this capacity, the Council is responsible for charter school approval, renewal and revocation. RIDE is delegated with the authority and responsibility to manage a comprehensive system of charter school accountability, review, and monitoring, and system management. With the support of RIDE’s charter team, the Council plays a fundamental role in maintaining and advancing the quality and accountability of the charter sector. Rhode Island is one of only seven states in which the SEA, in conjunction with the State's Board of Education, is the sole authorizer. As the sole authorizer, the Council bears substantial responsibility for balancing the statutory goal of increased autonomy of charter schools against the accountability required by the state and federal authorities.

Types of Rhode Island Charter Public Schools


  • District Charter Schools: Schools created by existing public schools, groups of public school personnel, public school districts, or a group of school districts.
  • Independent Charter Schools: Schools created by: (i) Rhode Island nonprofit organizations provided that these nonprofit organizations shall have existed for at least two (2) years and must exist for a substantial reason other than to operate a school or (ii) Colleges or universities within the State of Rhode Island.
  • Mayoral Academies: Schools created by a mayor of any city or town within the State of Rhode Island, acting by or through a nonprofit organization (regardless of the time said nonprofit organization is in existence) to establish a mayoral academy.

Attributes of Charter Public Schools


The charter public school differs from the traditional public school in the following ways:

  • Autonomy: Charter public schools are created and governed by independent boards and operated separately from the policies of traditional school districts. In exchange for this autonomy, the state has certain expectations.
  • Accountability: Charter public schools are held accountable for meeting student achievement goals and face charter revocation if they under-perform.
  • Choice: Charter public schools provide choice for parents and students seeking alternatives to traditional public education.
  • Innovation: Charter public schools are expected to be vanguards in improving and expanding opportunities within public education.

List of Charter Public Schools

Rhode Island charter public schools are free and open to the public. Use the Family Information Tool (FIT) to search through the charter public school options available in Rhode Island. Explore academic programs, compare schools and find more information within each school’s profile. Information for every Rhode Island charter public school can be found in the Family Information Tool.

The complete list of charter schools, grades served, their locations and enrolling communities are also listed below. This printable List of Charter Schools in Rhode Island provides information in a single page for all charter public schools, links to each web-page, grade levels served, communities served and charter type

Name Grades
(Fall 2020)		 Grades
(Authorized)		 Location Enrolling Communities
Achievement First Providence Mayoral Academy Elementary K-4 K-4 370 Hartford Avenue
Providence, RI		 Cranston,
North Providence,
Providence,
Warwick
Achievement First Providence Mayoral Academy Middle 5-8 5-8 370 Hartford Avenue 
Providence, RI 		 Cranston,
North Providence,
Providence,
Warwick
Achievement First Providence Mayoral Academy High  9  9-12 315 Laurel Hill Avenue
Providence, RI 		 Cranston, North Providence, Providence, Warwick
Achievement First Iluminar Mayoral Academy Elementary  K-4 K-4 85 Garfield Avenue
Cranston, RI		 Cranston,
North Providence,
Providence,
Warwick
Achievement First Iluminar Mayoral Academy Middle 5-7 5-8   85 Garfield Avenue
Cranston, RI		 Cranston, 
North Providence,
Providence,
Warwick
Achievement First Promesa Mayoral Academy Elementary   K-1 K-5 234 Daboll Street 
Providence, RI  		 Cranston, 
North Providence,
Providence,
Warwick
Achievement First Envision Mayoral Academy Elementary  K-1  K-4 370 Hartford Avenue
Providence, RI 		 Cranston, North Providence, Providence, Warwick
Beacon Charter School 9-12 9-12 320 Main Street
Woonsocket, RI		 Statewide
Beacon Founder's Academy 6-8 6-8 1 Social Street
Woonsocket, RI		 Statewide
Blackstone Academy Charter School 9-12 9-12 334 Pleasant Street
Pawtucket, RI		 Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence
Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy - ES1 K-4 K-4 291 Broad Street
Cumberland, RI		 Central Falls, Cumberland, Lincoln, Pawtucket
Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy - ES2 K-4 K-4 52 Broad Street
Cumberland, RI		 Central Falls, Cumberland, Lincoln, Pawtucket
Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy - ES3 K-4 K-4 3357 Mendon Road
Cumberland, RI		 Central Falls, Cumberland, Lincoln, Pawtucket
Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy - Upper Elementary 5-6 5-6 3 Fairlawn Way
Lincoln, RI
 Central Falls, Cumberland, Lincoln, Pawtucket
Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy - Junior High 7-8 7-8 909 Lonsdale Avenue 
Central Falls, RI		 Central Falls, Cumberland, Lincoln, Pawtucket
Blackstone Valley Prep Mayoral Academy - HS 9-12 9-12 65 Macondray Street
Cumberland, RI		 Central Falls, Cumberland, Lincoln, Pawtucket
Charette High School 9-12 9-12 335 Westminster St
Providence, RI 		 Providence
Highlander Charter School PK-12 PK-12 Upper School (Grades 7-12)
360 Market Street
Warren, RI

Lower School (Grades PK-6)
42 Lexington Avenue
Providence, RI		 Statewide
Hope Academy K-7 K-8 1000 Eddy Street
Providence, RI		 Providence,
North Providence
International Charter School K-5 K-8 334 Pleasant Street
Pawtucket, RI		 Statewide
Kingston Hill Academy K-5 K-5 850 Stony Fort Road 
Saunderstown, RI		 Statewide
NEL/CPS Construction & Career Academy 9-12 9-12 4 Sharpe Drive
Cranston, RI		 Statewide
Nuestro Mundo Public Charter School  K-1, 6  K-8 17-21 Gordon Avenue
Providence, RI 		  Providence
Paul Cuffee Charter School K-12 K-12 Upper School (Grades 9-12)
544 Elmwood Avenue
Providence, RI

Middle School (Grades 6-8)
30 Barton Street
Providence, RI

Lower School (Grades K-5)
459 Promenade Street
Providence, RI		 Providence
Providence Preparatory School  5-6  K-8 155 Harrison Avenue
Providence, RI 		  Providence
RI Nurses Institute Middle College Charter School  9-12 9-12 150 Washington Street
Providence, RI		 Statewide
RISE Prep Mayoral Academy K-6 K-8 30 Cumberland Street
Woonsocket, RI		 Burrillville,
North Smithfield, Woonsocket
Segue Institute for Learning K, 3-8 K-8 325 Cowden Street 
Central Falls, RI		 Central Falls
Sheila C. "Skip" Nowell Leadership Academy 9-12 9-12 150 Washington St.
Providence, RI		 Statewide
SouthSide Elementary Charter School K-5 K-5 135 Prairie Avenue
Providence, RI		 Providence
The Compass School K-8 K-8 537 Old North Road
Kingston, RI		  Statewide
The Greene School 9-12 9-12 94 John Potter Road
West Greenwich, RI		 Statewide
The Learning Community K-8 K-8 21 Lincoln Avenue
Central Falls, RI		 Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence
Times2 Academy K-12 K-12 Middle/High School (Grades 7-12)
50 Fillmore Street
Providence, RI

Elementary School (Grades K-6)
50 Fillmore Street
Providence, RI		 Providence
Trinity Academy for the Performing Arts 7-12 7-12 275 Westminster Street
Providence, RI		 Providence
Village Green Virtual Charter School 9-12 9-12 135 Weybosset Street 
Providence, RI		 Statewide

 

Charter Public School Resources and Lottery

Resources for Families and Community

2021-22 RI Charter Public School Common Application is now accepting waitlist applications. Visit EnrollRI.org/charter to learn more! 

Enrollment in a charter public school is nonselective and conducted by random lottery. 

Use the Family Information Tool (FIT) to find the school(s) that meets the performance, accessibility, and programmatic targets you are seeking. Next, use the EnrollRI Common Application to apply to any participating charter schools you are interested in and for which your child is eligible to attend. Participating charter schools will hold their 2022-2023 admissions lotteries on April 1 and will communicate your student’s enrollment status soon after that time. If a charter public school you are interested in is not currently participating in the EnrollRI Common Application, reach out to the school directly to apply. 

State of Rhode Island's Charter Public Schools: a report providing data and descriptive information on charter public schools across Rhode Island. - April 2014 [PDF]

      Resources for Charter School Administrators

       

      Charter Public School Accountability

      Charter Public School Accountability

      In addition to being classified just as any other Rhode Island public school, charter public schools are reviewed and held accountable for meeting student academic and organizational performance goals and face charter revocation or non renewal if they under-perform. If successful, each charter may be granted a term for up to 5 years.

      Please review the Charter Performance Review System Handbook for more detail on the charter performance indicators and information about the renewal process.

      Charter public schools in Rhode Island are held to common measures of academic, financial and organizational performance. Specifically:

      • Student Academic Performance
      • Financial Performance
      • Organizational Performance
      • Legal, Regulatory and Charter Contract Compliance

      The handbook has been updated to reflect the revised Statewide Accountability System in alignment with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

      Each year beginning with the 2016-17 school year, RIDE compiles an annual Charter School Performance Dashboard, for each charter public school, based on the indicators above. The report template can be found here.

      Starting or Expanding Charter Public Schools

      Starting or Expanding a Charter Public School


      Requests for Proposals for New Student Seats

      The resources on this page are for all charter proposals to open new student seats (new charter schools and expansions) in the fall 2021. RIDE invites members of the public to submit applications in response to the Request for Proposals for New Charter Seats to open in academic year 2021-22.The authorization process for new and expanding charters is in one centralized document, to help provide consistency and clarity for charter applicants. 

      RIDE will prioritize proposals that focus on increasing the number of high-quality education options for students who would have otherwise attended a school identified as in need of Comprehensive Support and School Improvement and for educationally disadvantaged students: economically-disadvantaged students, differently-abled students, and/or multilingual learners.

      The updated deadline for submission for proposals in 2020 was 12PM EST on September 28, 2020. All complete proposals under review, as of September 29, 2020, are available on this website in charter school proposals under review. Please reference the updated timetable of anticipated dates for more information. 

      Technical Assistance

      RIDE will provide technical assistance throughout the spring of 2020 for applicant teams submitting proposals in 2020. RIDE hosted several sessions to provide an overview of the process, resources and Q&A.  Any party that has specific questions, interest in future proposal opportunities, or questions about the process should email RICharters@ride.ri.gov.   

      Charter School Program Grant Startup Information

      • The CSP application is available for new seat applicants who indicate an intent to apply for CSP through the new seat RFP process. Please email wendy.wallace@ride.ri.gov with questions regarding the Charter School Program Grant. For a copy of the application, please click here. 

      Sharing Practice

      Urban Core Education Summit

      The Rhode Island Department of Education serves as host to a meeting series called the "The Urban Core Education Summit," where we aim to lay the foundation for collaboration between school leaders in Providence Public Schools, Central Falls Public Schools, and charter schools in those cities. This initiative launched in Summer 2021 and is ongoing.

      The core objectives are relationship building and identifying common areas for further discussion and potential collaboration. The summit is facilitated by Dr. Kenneth Wong, Annenberg Professor and Director of the Urban Education Policy program at Brown University.

      For further questions and/or comments, please contact RICharters@ride.ri.gov.

      Pending Major Amendments - Public Feedback Needed

      No Pending Major Amendments at this time - Please check back at a later Date

      Thank you.

      Charter Public School Proposals Under Review and Public Hearings

      No new information at this time - Please check back at a later Date

      Thank you.

      Related Resources

      Contact Information

      Charter School Office

      Email Charter School Team
      Phone 401-222-8399 or
      401-222-8438