An Open Letter from the Board of De La Comunidad Bilingual School
To the families, educators, and communities of Providence, Pawtucket, and Cranston,
We would like to take a moment to introduce ourselves as the members of the De La Comunidad Bilingual School (DLC-B) board. We are Latinos, immigrants, and a part of families who have called Rhode Island home for generations. We are community leaders, educators, and advocates who have dedicated our careers to serving children and families in Providence, Pawtucket, and Cranston.
Recently, special interest groups have been spreading misinformation about our school to prevent us from opening. We want to write directly to you to share what our school is really about and why it is critically needed. Most importantly, we write compelled by mission, not pressure, to speak directly to the families, educators, and community members who deserve a clear answer: here is why this school must exist.
De La Comunidad Bilingual School is Rhode Island’s first tuition-free, K–12 dual-language, full-service community charter public school that will open in fall 2027, serving students from Cranston, Pawtucket, and Providence. Like all charter public schools, it will be open to every student in these communities. Our mission is to prepare all learners to graduate biliterate and ready to lead in their communities and beyond through rigorous dual-language education and a full-service community school model. Our students will graduate fluent in English and Spanish and ready for college and career. Our families will have access to wraparound supports, such as afterschool enrichment, physical and mental health services, adult education, financial literacy programs, and housing assistance– all conveniently located within the school itself.
The need for De La Comunidad Bilingual School is real, and it is urgent. Last year alone, more than 9,300 Rhode Island families applied for approximately 3,100 open charter public school seats, according to Rhode Island Department of Education data. Multilingual learners are the fastest-growing population in our schools, yet the 2024 Rhode Island assessment results show just 5.6% are proficient in English language arts and 8.2% in math. Far too many are still sitting in classrooms where they cannot fully access what is being taught.
We have read the claims that DLC-B is a "billionaire-backed big-box charter school" run by outsiders. This is not true. We are supported financially by Rhode Island companies and individuals, as well as foundations that support schools both in our state and across the country. And we are not outsiders. Our board chair, Carol Aguasvivas, is a public-school parent and an Iraq War veteran whose family has been serving our community for decades. Our board also includes Victor Capellan, a Central High School graduate whose career in education leadership and reform spans the school building to the Office of the Rhode Island Education Commissioner. Our secretary, Madalyn Ciampi, is a first-generation college graduate whose life’s work is expanding and advancing access to higher education for students who have been told it isn’t for them. Miosotis Alsina is an active member of the Providence Latino community and also a health care professional, and Krystel Acosta, a graduate of Central Falls High School, who works in higher education today.
Completing our board is Sarah Hesson, an educator, scholar, and a leading researcher in the field of translanguaging and bilingual education. As Assistant Professor and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Program Director at Rhode Island College, she oversees a nationally and RIDE-accredited program that equips in-service teachers to support multilingual learners and emergent bilingual students. Beyond our board, DLC-B’s founding principal, Jose Valerio, brings 30 years of hands-on experience building and strengthening bilingual education across Rhode Island's public schools in Providence and Central Falls. Founding superintendent, Joshua Laplante, adds more than two decades of leadership experience in Rhode Island schools, including nine years serving students and families in Central Falls as both a teacher and principal, and serving as Head of School at The Greene School from 2015 to 2024. Behind this team stands a community design team consisting of Rhode Island educators, families, and community leaders, all committed to driving DLC-B's growth and long-term success. The board continues to recruit members and is holding seats for school members, including parents of DLC-B students, to have representation.
De La Comunidad Bilingual School did not come to this community. It came from it. There are no billionaires in our boardroom, only neighbors who believe our children deserve more.
DLC-B means 'of the community. The idea was born from Rhode Island parents, many of them Latino, who wanted more and better options for their children. Our planning team of local parents, educators, and community leaders isn't a formality; they are actively shaping the school's vision, academic model, and partnerships to ensure DLC-B reflects the real needs and aspirations of the families it will serve.
The public process designed to vet schools like ours was followed completely and transparently. DLC-B was the only applicant this year called before three public hearings. We spoke with public school leaders in Cranston and with the Mayors of Providence and Pawtucket, and we gathered over 1,750 statements of support from families. After one of the most thorough reviews in recent memory, we received preliminary approval from the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education in January 2026. We will return to the Council later this year for final approval.
After our school was approved, elected officials in Cranston and Pawtucket filed a lawsuit alleging that the proper legal process was not followed, while special interest groups have continued to repeat that false narrative. The truth is the opposite. We followed every step of Rhode Island's charter approval process, and then some. Just 24 people commented against our school during the approval process, and not one of them raised the procedural objections that are now the basis for the lawsuits filed by Cranston and Pawtucket. We respect that the courts will review this matter, and we are confident the established legal process we followed will be upheld.
There are damaging falsehoods being spread by people who don’t believe all families should have school options. One is that DLC-B will "drain" or "harm" the districts our students come from. That is not who we are, and it is not how we were designed. From the very beginning, we built DLC-B to grow slowly and intentionally, opening with two sections of kindergarten through second grade for a total of 140 students in year 1, with a 9-year growth rate intentionally designed so that no district would feel a sudden enrollment or budget impact. We envision DLC-B as a laboratory school: a place where promising practices in dual-language instruction and full-service community schooling can be developed, refined, and shared with our partner districts to benefit students across all three cities.
Opposing De La Comunidad Bilingual School doesn't strengthen any other school. It just takes an option away from families who already have too few.
To the families who have stood with us: thank you. To the families who are still learning about DLC-B, we invite you in: our doors are open, and so are our inboxes. Reach out to us at info@dlcbilingual.org. Visit our website to sign up for our newsletter. Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
We remain committed to doing this work transparently, alongside the community, and for the children of Providence, Pawtucket, and Cranston until DLC-B opens its doors in fall 2027.
Sincerely,
The Board of De La Comunidad Bilingual School
Carol Aguasvivas, Chair
Victor Capellan, Treasurer
Madalyn Ciampi, Secretary
Krystel Acosta
Miosotis Alsina
Sarah Hesson
