Paul Cuffee School

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LATEST NEWS

Welcome

Paul Cuffee School (PCS) is a maritime charter school for Providence public schoolchildren currently serving 625 students from kindergarten through tenth grade. We provide rigorous academics, individualized teaching and hands-on learning within a school culture of mutual respect and personal responsibility. At PCS, our teachers differentiate instruction so that our students work to their fullest potential every day.

We welcome you to learn about our dynamic school, its unique program and our ambitious goals for PCS students.

Annual Giving Campaign

We are steadily moving toward our goal of $150,000 in the annual giving campaign. These funds help provide essentials for our students that are not covered in our operating budget. Find out how you can help.

fundraising update

Recent Highlights

“On the boats and on the planes, they're coming to America.” —Neil Diamond January 31, 2012

oral histor project “Coming to the U.S. as a young child all I remember is the sight of coconut trees, the blue seas, the sound of Spanish music, the delicious plantano with rice and beans, the sight of my loving family and being with my brother.” So began one 8th graders’ presentation of her father’s memory of coming to the United States from the Dominican Republic when he was four years old. Read more and see additional photos

Paul Cuffee High School Finalist To Participate in Shakespeare Recitation Contest January 19, 2012

Three sophomores stood before our assembled High School community and shared the passion of Lady Macbeth, the pathos of Hermione, and the dejection of Romeo in soliloquies from Macbeth, The Winter's Tale, and Romeo and Juliet. Heidi Silverio, Africa Smith, and Elvis Artigas, the finalists from a month-long competition, shared their interest in and ability for performance and Shakespeare. Read more

Paul Cuffee Student's Essay on Empathy and Compassion Airs on NPR January 18, 2012

Fiona Carey, an eighth grader at Paul Cuffee School, became part of statewide and national storytelling project on January 18 when her essay, “Empathy,” aired on RI National Public Radio's “This I Believe” series. Fiona’s essay, which she read for the broadcast on WRNI, focused on the value of empathy and compassion—traits she needed in abundance when her sister Grace was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Fiona’s essay can be heard on the WRNI website.

PJ party hones literacy skills and broadens horizons January 12, 2012

chorus

On the days leading up to vacation, bedtime came early for a huge crowd of Paul Cuffee elementary students as they enjoyed a pajama party and book give away hosted by the Title 1 Department. One end of the cafeteria was transformed into a comfy zone filled with blankets and comforters. Two long boats were filled with cushions and sleeping bags that made enticing beds for relaxation and reading. Read more and see additional photo

The Paul Cuffee chorus wows State House audience January 3, 2012

chorus

Bedecked in handsome navy blue polo shirts that proudly said “Paul Cuffee Chorus,” our fourth and fifth graders performed beautifully at the State House. Singing several selections, including Celebrate With Joy, A Song Of Peace, We Wish You a Swingin' Holiday, I Hear Those Jingle Bells, Noche de Paz (Silent Night), and Siyahamba (South African Hymn meaning “We Are Marching”) by Teresa and Paul Jennings, the students, under the superb direction of Ms. Frances Cruz-Candelario, filled the world’s fourth largest unsupported marble dome with song and cheer. Read more and see additional photos

Holocaust speaker visits with PCS 8th graders December 20, 2011

PCS 8th graders sat mesmerized as the petite, soft-spoken woman began. "I'm here to tell you about two perfectly ordinary people," Lilliane Birch began. "The only thing was, they were Jewish." Ms. Birch told the story of her parents, Anka and Janek Birch, born on two different sides of the tracks in Krakow, Poland. Anka grew up enjoying a privileged childhood in a wealthy family. Read more and see additional photos

Paul Cuffee High School Students Create Treasures from “Trash” December 20, 2011
As a part of an art class at the High School, ably and expertly led by Art Teacher Kelly Stoos, students designed and constructed a number of trash cans for the high school building. Africa Smith, Kyla Brazenor, Bryeshia Jennings, Lauren Bartels, and Jorge Guzman worked with Ms. Stoos and a local artist, Brent Bachelder, to create art from “trash.” A Paul Cuffee School parent generously donated funds for purchasing the materials and securing the services of Brent Bachelder. In total, four trash cans were completed in collaboration between the students and the artist during six weeks in the autumn. Read more and see photos of other trash cans created by students

Paul Cuffee School Participates in the Connecticut Stacking Championship December 16, 2011

On Saturday Dec 3, 2011, two of our elementary school students traveled to Baltic, CT, for the 4th Annual Connecticut State Sport Stacking Championships. Our students have had a history of performing well at the tournament, and this year was no different. It was the first ever tournament for Liam Sheldon and Willem Hawthorne, and their performance tells us that it will not be their last. Congratulations to them both! They have made the Paul Cuffee School very proud.

Our Wish List Has Been Updated! December 8, 2011
Click here to see how you can make our wish come true!

The Carol Montrond Book Club Reads Gifted Hands
December 7, 2011

In this year’s second installment of the Carol Montrond Book Club, the High School sophomores and freshmen read the inspirational story of Dr. Benjamin Carson, an African-American neurosurgeon who rose from stifling poverty in Detroit to directorship of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. His odyssey, which included surmounting poor grades, a hot temper that almost led to the death of his best friend, a mother with a third-grade education who suffered from terrible bouts of depression, and racism among other challenges, led him from the slums to Yale to the University of Michigan for medical school to Johns Hopkins for his residency. Read More

MS Students at Roger Williams Univeristy

Middle School and High School Students Visit 11 Colleges
December 6, 2011
At Paul Cuffee School, not only do we want to educate our students, but also, and equally important, we want them to imagine the next steps in their educational process. With that in mind, on Friday, October 28, the entire Middle School boarded four school buses bound for 11 local colleges: Brown University, Rhode Island School of Design, Rhode Island College, Providence College, Wheaton College, University of Rhode Island, Salve Regina, Roger Williams University, Clark University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Holy Cross. The High School students visited the same 11 colleges one week later on 4 November. Read More

Paul Cuffee 7th Graders Create Plant and Animal Cells
December 1, 2011
In science class, where the essential question for the year is, "What makes a sustainable community?" the seventh grade students construct models of plant or animal cells. All models, which feature materials that will neither spoil nor fall apart easily, contain cell walls, ribosomes, nuclei, mitochondria, vacuoles, cytoplasm, and other elements of cells, depending on whether they are plant or animal cells.

Each student, through the construction and labeling process, learns about the types of cells, what cells need to function and survive, energy transfer, the difference between plant and animal cells, and the function of each part, in a fun, hands-on creative-expression project. A student can use any material, edible or non-edible, to represent the anatomy of the cell. The project concludes with an informal voting process on the most accurate, most attractive, and most disgusting cell model! Considering seventh graders, the most disgusting may be the most honored prize! Of course the most edible are consumed after the grade is recorded.

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