Superintendent's Update
Newport Public Schools | May 6, 2026
Dear Newport Schools Parents, Families, and Staff,
I want to start off with a huge thank you to all of our Newport Public Schools teachers as we celebrate National Teacher Appreciation Week from May 4-8! Teaching is a calling that requires immense patience, dedication, and hard work, and the lasting power of your influence extends far beyond the walls of your classrooms. Your work and actions impact the fabric of our community.
On behalf of Newport Public Schools, thank you for everything you do. Your work matters now more than ever. Everyone, please join me in taking the time to thank a teacher this week!
Today is also National School Nurse Day and an opportunity to thank our dedicated school nurses who keep our students and our schools healthy and safe. Thank you for keeping us healthy and safe!
As we enter the final weeks of the school year, all of our schools will have state mandated assessments, finals, and other exams. State testing continues this week at Thompson. Good luck to all our TMS warriors! AP Exams will be underway during the next two weeks at Rogers and make-ups are in full swing at Pell.
Early Monday morning, I attended the Rhode Island Kids Count Fact Book breakfast with Member Stephanie Winslow, Councilor Lynn Ceglie, our student counselors, PE teachers and Athletic Director. This is an annual event that reviews key metrics of how our students and families are doing- and is the playbook used by our state leaders, Governor, and policy makers. This year’s Fact Book identifies and acknowledges Newport as a Core City and urban, due to the consistent child poverty levels over the years, even surpassing some of the other core districts, Providence, Woonsocket, Pawtucket, and Central Falls, in our state. The 2026 Fact Book is well worth a read to see the demographic and other trends that our schools and our community are working to address. I encourage everyone to take the time and learn more about Newport and all our schools in RI.
Budget season is in full swing as we continue to work with the Newport School Committee and the Newport City Council to close a budget gap for this year and a significant budget deficit for next fiscal year. Recently the Auditor General did send a letter sharing his hope that as a community we can work collaboratively to create a budget deficit plan for this year and next year’s FY20-27. On Monday evening, the School Committee passed a deficit reduction plan for this year’s fiscal budget. We will share this plan with the City and hopefully move forward with a plan for now and the future. Multi-year planning is a must as we move forward.
Tonight, as part of the budget process, the City Council will hold its first meeting on the proposed budget for FY 2027 at 6:30pm at City Hall. The City Finance Director has tentatively scheduled a 4% increase for the school department. Thank you! This is the largest allocation the Council can approve without a special request from the Newport School Committee and super majority vote of the Council.
I want to end this week with a shout out to Bike Newport who helped us host Bike To School Day this morning! It was great seeing so many of our students and families safely pedaling the streets of Newport and arriving at our schools excited to learn. Thank you for being such a wonderful One Newport community partner!
Have a great week of learning everyone!
Colleen Burns Jermain, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Saturday’s RI STEAM Expo will be a vibrant, hands-on celebration that brings together families, students, educators, higher education, and industry partners to engage in STEAM learning. The event is from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM at Providence Career & Technical Academy, 41 Fricker Street, Providence RI. Click here to register.
The annual Charlie Holder Sr. Memorial Run is an amazing day of community fun and togetherness. Charlie Holder Sr. was a beloved Newport local with a passion for running. His family holds the race each year in his honor to carry on his legacy and support the community he loved. The race benefits the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center and the Newport County YMCA in memory of Charlie.
There are options for everyone at this event. There’s a competitive run, a walk, a virtual component, a 100-yard dash for kids, and lots more fun in store as the event grows each year. Click here to register.
Click here to purchase tickets for Newport Little League’s fundraiser on May 14th at O’Brien’s Pub.
