For Immediate Release
April 19, 2021
Contact:
Maribeth Calabro
Mcalabro@proteun.org
401-413-1245
PROVIDENCE, R.I.—The Providence Teachers Union is running ads for the next three weeks on radio, Pandora and digital platforms, imploring school leaders to listen to teachers and parents about their solutions to fix the Providence public schools for the benefit of all Providence students.
Radio in English https://youtu.be/k_ofS5gwApQ
Radio in Spanish https://youtu.be/aLwAGf9E9wc
Digital https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1RKg9f-Zx7nuSNmPl3UZyB60G7clpCm1n?usp=sharing
The advertising campaign comes after PTU’s membership voted on March 23 that it had “no confidence” in state Education Commissioner Angelica Infante-Green and Superintendent Harrison Peters.
“Providence educators and parents are fed up for being shut out of the process to fix our schools. We have credible, proven solutions to improve our schools that aren’t being heard. Infante-Green and Peters have offered nothing to fix our schools, so why won’t they listen to our suggestions? Ignoring us only hurts our students,” PTU President Maribeth Calabro said.
The six-figure ad campaign will include radio ads on several Providence-area English-language and Spanish-language stations and Pandora. The digital ads will appear on Facebook and Google. They target parents and adults with an interest in education.
The script reads:
Student:
Listen to ALL our voices.
Parent:
Hear ALL of our ideas.
Announcer:
Providence parents and teachers have solutions to fix our public schools.
Parent:
We need community schools with wraparound services.
Student:
Safe and healthy learning environments.
Parent:
Hiring with a focus on teacher diversity.
Student:
More bilingual programs and a curriculum for our changing world.
Announcer:
We need the district to hear our voices. We demand a seat at the table so we can create the best schools Providence kids deserve.