The mayoral academy idea in Rhode Island was originated by then-Mayor Daniel McKee and developed by a coalition of Rhode Island mayors and town administrators, Cumberland Director of Children, Youth, and Learning Michael Magee, Progreso Latino CEO Ramon Martinez, and policy experts Bryan Hassel of Public Impact and Martin R. West of Brown University.
Prominent business and community leaders working on behalf of its passage included Alan Hassenfeld, Chairman of the Executive Committee at Hasbro; Angus Davis, Rhode Island Board of Regents for Elementary and Secondary Education; Laurie White, Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce; Stephanie Chafee, Founder, Rhode Island Free Clinic; and Ron Wolk, Founder of Education Week and Chairman of The Big Picture Company.
In fall 2009, Seth Andrew was recruited to found the first Mayoral Academy, Democracy Prep Blackstone Valley (DPBV) (now known as Blackstone Valley Prep), which serves students from Central Falls, Cumberland, Lincoln and Pawtucket who were selected through a random lottery.
Democracy Prep is one of the highest performing schools in the City of New York, and the network currently serves more than 5,000 low-income students across five regions.
After the Rhode Island gubernatorial election of 2010, Democracy Prep parted ways with the board of Rhode Island Mayoral Academies citing major concerns about the political and financial risks presented by the Mayoral Academy model to their mission and model.