Superintendent's Message

Dear Newport Schools Parents, Families, and Staff,

Welcome to May! As we celebrate National Teacher Appreciation Week, I want to extend a huge thank you to all of our dedicated teachers! Every day you empower our students to expand their horizons, embrace academic challenges, and ignite a lifelong love of learning. The lasting power of your influence extends far beyond the walls of your classrooms. On behalf of Newport Public Schools, thank you for everything you do to make our schools stronger, our future brighter, and the invaluable role you play in enriching our students' learning experience!

Incredible progress is being made to finish construction of our brand new Rogers High School, and we are on track to receive the keys to the building on June 6th. Principal Vance and our Rogers teachers and staff are busy packing up materials and planning their move into the building’s new classrooms and learning spaces. After everyone is moved out, the old RHS building will start to come down. During the summer, work will continue as we freshen up our NACTC building, connect the utilities, and get the parking lots and driving paths up and ready for September. It is a very exciting time and we want to thank our amazing School Building Committee and our Co-Chairs Mrs. Becky Bolan and Ms. Louisa Boatwright for all their time, energy, and efforts over these many years. This whole discussion started back in 2016-17! Wow!!!

Don’t forget to mark your calendar for the official ribbon cutting for the new Rogers High School on August 22nd at 10:00 AM. We’ll be joined by the many community leaders who helped make this project a reality. It’s going to be a wonderful day to celebrate together and I hope you are able to join us.

We are now in the final 7 weeks of the 2024-2025 school year and learning is still very much in full swing with our Pell and Thompson students taking their RICAS Math exams this week, our Rogers students taking AP exams and working towards final exams, along with many projects and end of year presentations. Before you know it, RHS graduation will be here. Let’s all keep focused on Attendance Matters, Every Day, and supporting our students as they close out the school year strong. Every day, in every home and school, learning matters!

The end of the school year is filled with joyous milestones, including yesterday’s NACTC Signing Day and NCAA Athletics Signing Day. Congratulations to NACTC students on landing good paying jobs with local employers, and to our Rogers athletes who will be continuing their sports and academic journeys at the college level! See more below about these Signing Day celebrations.

Have a great week of learning everyone!

Colleen Burns Jermain, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Yesterday was also NCAA Athletics Signing Day, with our graduating Rogers athletes announcing which colleges and universities they have committed to. Congratulations to:

Adrien Nacci, RI College/Track & Field

Julia Page, Salve Regina University/Lacrosse

Naiden Threats, Curry College/Football

Next Wednesday, May 14th will be a district-wide day of professional development for our teachers. There will be no school for students.