Кристина агилера

PROVIDENCE — Instead of helping students succeed, a new, tougher curriculum in Providence high schools is setting them up to fail by falling short on academic supports, say a group of juniors and seniors at Central High School.

Yeyscol Ortiz, a junior, said his best effort was good enough for the honor roll last year, but not anymore.

And, Staci Cherwinski, a senior, says she was put into a greater number of advanced-placement courses than she signed up for, with first-quarter results that could hurt her college applications.

Since October, Staci, Yeyscol and others have been learning how to turn their concerns and frustrations into a plan for effective action.

They have worked twice a week with a Brown University undergraduate mentor sent by Generation Citizen, a nonprofit