Mount Pleasant High School is an urban, public high school located in Providence, Rhode Island. It is classified as a Title I school and serves approximately 925 students, where roughly 39% of students are English Language Learners (ELLs), 25% of students receive special education services, and 36% of students receive general education. The school is unique compared to other Providence Public High Schools because it not only houses the Birch Academy but also serves Newcomer students. The Birch Academy is an educational program serving children with cognitive and physical disabilities (moderate to severe), that uses a push-in model for integration with general education classes and a transition-to-work-program to equip them for success in the future. Newcomer  students are ELLs who have experienced interrupted formal education. In 2019-2020, Mount Pleasant’s Newcomer students represented approximately 10% of the student body. 

Despite the wide range of academic, social, and emotional needs that our student body presents, Mount Pleasant has become what many students feel is their second home and a safe haven. Faculty, families, students, and community partners would argue that Christopher Coleman, who was hired as principal in 2013, has influenced this dramatic change and improvement. 

In 2013, the Birch Vocational School was initially designed using a sheltered workshop model with no integration opportunities for special education students. After Mr. Coleman strategically hired teachers and staff to help make the school more equitable, his efforts have transformed the school. The Academy offers a transition-to-work program which allows students to explore different career pathways in the community while gaining confidence and skills. Under Mr. Coleman’s leadership, Mount Pleasant launched its first unified basketball program, which competed in the Special Olympics in Seattle in 2018. The school’s music program was revitalized, launching the only high school marching band in the city and attracting large numbers of Birch Academy and ELL students to its chorus. In 2015, the school developed its PreEngineering Academy. Mr. Coleman wrote and was awarded a $150,000 grant to attract and support ELL and female students to this Academy. The following year, Mr. Coleman led the school through the rigorous NEASC process, receiving accreditation in 2015.  The school hosts over 40 after-school activities, including the city’s only high school level robotics club. 

In 2017, Dr. Nicole Mathis joined the administration team at Mount Pleasant through a co-principal model. Upon her arrival, Dr. Mathis recognized the wealth of knowledge that existed within its faculty and students, and encouraged teachers to apply to become an Empowerment School. This opportunity is grounded in the philosophy that educators and students know what is best needed in a school, and positions members in the school to create a school-wide improvement plan aligned to specific criteria. After teachers developed the Empowerment application that includes goals and implementation plans for the school, the application was presented to the entire school to gain approval, and the majority of faculty voted in favor for this motion. On May 25, 2018, Mount Pleasant High School was approved as an Empowerment School. The school’s Empowerment application states, “In order to ensure our goals are achieved, we need to maintain the co-principal model we currently have at our school. In the interest of continuity and staff engagement, we feel strongly that our current administrators, Principals Christopher Coleman and Dr. Nicole Mathis should remain in their positions.” This would ensure no change in administration until 2022.

During the 2019-2020 school year, multiple changes were made in the school. On October 25, the principal of Evolutions High School, which is housed in MPHS, was unexpectedly removed. Mr. Coleman was directed to manage this school, which meant he was now principal of Evolutions, Mount Pleasant, and the Birch Academy. This additional responsibility further reveals the problem-solving mindset of Mr. Coleman. Despite being under pressure to ensure the academic, social, and emotional needs of all teachers and students were met, he gracefully accepted the additional responsibility. On March 14, when schools were directed to close, Mr. Coleman quickly organized faculty to help coordinate a smooth operation of distributing chromebooks and other resources, and communicating with families, teachers, and students, on a regular basis throughout Distance Learning.

On Friday, June 5, the newly-hired Superintendent Harrison Peters made an announcement to the school’s faculty that he would be removing Christopher Coleman and Dr. Nicole Mathis as Mount Pleasant’s co-principals based on the school’s low performance with regard to test scores and graduation rates as delineated below:

Participation rate for SAT Testing
2017: 51.7%
2018: 86%
2019: 88%
Number of students accepted into college
2017: 36.6%
2018: 49.3%
2019: 69%
Graduation Rate
2017: 62.0%
2018: 68.7%* (72.5%)
2019: 63.9%* (74.7%)

While improving Mount Pleasant’s graduation rate (most recently 62.9% in the 2019 academic year) is a constant focus for administration and faculty, the numbers alone do not tell the story of the school’s diverse student body made up of special populations.  Birch Academy students receive a diploma, but it does not count towards the school’s graduation rate.  Newcomer ELLs, entering high school without the benefit of a formal education and facing the formidable barrier of learning a new language, take an additional year to graduate, struggle harder than their peers with academic material and frequently do not pass classes.  Removing these special populations from the statistics raises the graduation rates considerably.  In 2018 and 2019, the graduation rates were 68.7% and 63.9%, respectively. Adjusting to account for Mount Pleasant’s Birch Academy and Newcomer students reveals the graduation rates are 72.5% and 74.7%, respectively. It is important to note that MPHS is the only public school in Rhode Island with the specialized special education 5-year configuration. 

Mount Pleasant has indisputably undergone a period of sustained, positive and significant change in seven years under the leadership of Christopher Coleman. Faculty and staff worked together to create a mission and vision for the school and that vision drives the faculty in all its interactions with students.  The school boasts some of the best teacher attendance not only in the state, but also in New England. Christopher Coleman and co-principal Dr. Mathis have created a collaborative, supportive environment with a strong emphasis on social/emotional learning and unwavering support for students.  Unilaterally judging school leadership based on its test scores and graduation rates, without regard for the larger picture of  its unique role in educating and supporting the largest populations of the city’s most vulnerable students is unfair and ill-advised.  This judgment overlooks the huge strides the faculty and administration have made in raising attendance rates, significantly increasing college acceptance, creating community, building a culturally-responsive school environment, and forging a second home that supports Providence’s most vulnerable students. Finally, removing Christopher Coleman and Dr. Nicole Mathis from their positions at the helm of Mount Pleasant represents an attempt to throw a “quick fix” at a complex issue, underestimates the morale issues frequent turnover engenders, and overlooks the importance of impassioned, caring, committed, longstanding, supportive leadership in our most challenging schools.