Superintendent's Update

Dear South Kingstown Families,

I'm pleased to share an important milestone in our district's planning process to start November’s Update. On October 14th, 2025, our School Committee approved the strategic priorities and goals that will guide our work through SY 2030. These priorities will form much of the work in our complete Strategic Plan, which is currently under development.

Our Foundation: Every Student Will THRIVE

As you are aware, this summer the South Kingstown School Committee adopted our mission and core beliefs: In partnership with the community, our students will THRIVE.

THRIVE represents six core beliefs that guide every decision we make:

• Trust - Building strong, positive relationships

• High Expectations - Believing every child can succeed

• Respect - Honoring each person's dignity and worth

• Inclusion - Ensuring everyone belongs

• Voice - Listening to students and families

• Equity - Providing what each child needs to succeed

The School Committee has approved four key priorities that will shape our district's direction:

Priority 1: Close Achievement Gaps and Raise Proficiency for All Students

Every child deserves to meet or exceed grade-level expectations. Our goal is to eliminate achievement gaps so that by 2030, all student groups perform within 10 percentage points of each other. This means:

• Strong early literacy skills for every child by 2nd grade

• Higher proficiency rates in reading and math throughout elementary and middle school

• Equal access to advanced courses and career programs in high school

• Graduation rates above 90% for all student groups

Priority 2: Create Schools Where Everyone Feels They Belong

Your child should feel safe, welcomed, and valued every day. We're working to ensure that, as measured annually by the statewide survey- SurveyWorks- 80% of students in every school report feeling a strong sense of belonging through positive relationships and inclusive environments.

Priority 3: Strengthen Support for Students with Special Needs

We're committed to providing high-quality special education services and ensuring our identification and support practices are equitable. Our goal is to reduce disproportionate identification rates so that no student group is over-represented in special education.

Priority 4: Make Your Voice Matter

You know your child best, and your insights are invaluable. Every school will create formal ways for students and families to share input on important decisions. Our goal is to demonstrate how your feedback influences at least two major decisions per year at each school.

Next Steps

With these priorities now approved, we're working to finalize the new Strategic Plan, which will include specific action steps, timelines, and measures of progress. These priorities emerged from extensive input from parents, educators, students, and community members. They represent our collective commitment to your children and will guide how we allocate resources, support our teachers, design programs, and measure our progress. Please reach out with any questions or ideas. Your continued partnership and advocacy is essential to our schools’ and district’s success.

In Other November Updates…

1. Share Your Voice: End of First Quarter Family Survey

Your feedback is essential to strengthening our schools. Please take 5 minutes to complete our brief survey about your family's experience this past quarter. The survey covers safety, communication, and your child's access to academic, social-emotional, and technological resources.

Click here to access the survey

Please complete one survey per child by November 14th. Thank you in advance for lending us your voice as we help our students, schools, and district THRIVE.

2. Attendance Matters: Strong Progress Across All Schools

I'm pleased to share that every school in our district is improving attendance rates so far this school year. Compared to this time last year, we've seen these increases in daily attendance:

• SKHS: 25.47% improvement

• BRMS: 13.54% improvement

• MES: 28.53% improvement

• PDES: 12.44% improvement

• WKES: 4.71% improvement

While we understand that some absences are unavoidable, these numbers clearly demonstrate that every school day matters. For grade-specific strategies to support consistent attendance, visit these Attendance Works resources:

• Pre-K & Kindergarten

• Elementary

• Middle & Secondary

For more information about attendance and achievement in South Kingstown and across Rhode Island, visit the RIDE Data Center.