The top reported proficiency rate is 16% in Math. The lowest is 12% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Frank D. Spaziano Elem School
Frank D. Spaziano Elementary School sits on Laurel Hill Avenue in Providence, serving children from prekindergarten through fifth grade. It is a regular public school within the Providence Public School District, the largest district in Rhode Island and one that encompasses the full breadth of the capital city. The school's enrollment is sizable for an elementary building in this district, with children spread fairly evenly across the early grades and a prekindergarten classroom rounding out the lower end.
The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with smaller populations of Black, white, multiracial, Native American or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places Spaziano among the higher-poverty schools in the district. Data on individualized education programs and English learner status was not reported, so those figures are absent here; a parent may want to ask the school directly about special education and English language support services.
On Rhode Island's state assessments, Spaziano's results are low. In math, the percentage of students scoring proficient or above sits well below state expectations, and English language arts proficiency is lower still. Science proficiency, measured only at fifth grade, is also low. Nearly all eligible students participated in testing, so these results reflect the school's full population rather than a narrow slice. Only a single year of assessment data was available, so there is no trend to report. Whether these numbers reflect a recent dip, a longer-standing challenge, or the beginning of an upward shift is not clear from the data at hand. A parent considering this school would be right to ask what improvement plans are in place and how the school supports students working below grade level.
The Providence district is a large urban system serving the entire city. The district brief turned up no recent policy, curriculum, referendum, or tax changes that cleared a lasting-impact threshold, so there is little to report on that front. Providence itself is a mid-sized capital city with a dense downtown core, several college and university campuses, and an active waterfront district that has seen ongoing redevelopment. The I-195 corridor, a publicly reported area of continued investment, has brought new construction and mixed-use development to formerly industrial land. These citywide dynamics shape the context Spaziano families live in, though the school itself sits in a residential section west of downtown, away from the core redevelopment zones.
Housing in the school's zip code is more affordable than the Rhode Island state benchmark, sitting closer to the national midpoint. Typical home values are well below the state figure, and rents are moderate relative to the broader metro. The gap between the estimated monthly mortgage on a typical home and the average rent is modest, with renting coming in slightly cheaper. Home values in this area have risen only slightly year over year, while rents have crept up at a faster pace. For families weighing where to live within Providence, this part of the city offers a relatively accessible housing market compared with some neighboring communities.
No data was available on course offerings, extracurricular programs, staffing ratios, attendance, discipline, or school climate. The absence of these fields means a parent would need to go directly to the school or district for information about teacher experience, class sizes, arts or physical education programming, before- or after-school care, and any enrichment opportunities.
Spaziano is a neighborhood elementary school serving a predominantly low-income, largely Hispanic community in a city with active reinvestment in its central corridors. Its academic results, as measured by the state, are weak across all three tested subjects. Families weighing this school should look closely at what supports and interventions the school provides for students below proficiency, what the classroom experience looks like day to day, and how the district plans to lift outcomes at schools like this one.
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