Superintendent's Update
Newport Public Schools | April 15, 2026
Dear Newport Schools Parents, Families, and Staff:
To our parents, we NEED to hear from you! The SurveyWorks survey deadline has been extended to Friday, April 17th which means you have one more chance this week to fill out this critical survey. Tell us how we are doing-what works, what does not. By taking just 10-20 minutes of your time you’ll help our schools with valuable feedback and help our STAR ratings for parental engagement. Tell us the good, the bad, and the ugly so we can address your concerns and do better. If people are silent- we will never have a plan that really addresses your concerns. Remember this is anonymous- so please take this survey seriously and have your voice heard- and after you take the survey sign up for the RHS PTO event on May 2. See details further below.
Right now, less than 20% of parents have filled out surveys at each of our schools. Let’s turn that around this week! Please click here to take the SurveyWorks survey. Select your child’s school from the dropdown menu and use the translation tool in the top left corner to take the survey in another language. Just put Newport in the dropdown menu and the three schools will pop up so you can select the school(s).
Tonight, the Newport City Council will be holding a school budget workshop at City Hall at 5:30pm. As I have shared in recent newsletters, we are facing a challenging school year with a budget shortfall of approximately $2.8M and unfortunately next year the expenses continue to rise while our revenues decline forecasting a $4.9M possible shortfall. The school department has proposed staffing reductions to bring the gap down to $3.8M in an effort to work with the City. These reductions are not final, they are proposed for moving forward. The process of how we fund the schools is broken. The heavy reliance on property taxes is not sustainable and our discussions with the City Council tonight will highlight the urgency to come together for action to work together to create a realistic plan for next year and the future. The request for a 13% increase is not what any of us want to hear. It does however reflect what we need even with staffing reductions. This is just the first of several meetings that will be held until we get to a workable solution. Here is the link to tonight’s meeting, the budget presentation and 2027 financial budget working draft that will be presented tonight.
Now to more happy news…April is Month of the Military Child and an opportunity to recognize that Newport’s military children serve our country too, as part of a military family, not just in April, but all year long. These resilient children face challenges and enjoy triumphs along the way as many move from school to school during their parents’ military career. We want to give a shout out to our military children this April in as many ways as possible. Take a look at what Dr. Browner and his team at Thompson Middle School recently did as they held their annual luncheon, one of the many ways we are celebrating our young students.
Another shining star is the Sister City Program in Newport. It is well underway. Recently, as shared in our previous newsletter, Rogers students had the opportunity to meet high school students from our Sister City Shimoda, Japan as they stopped by over the weekend in early March. In May, some of our Rogers students who hosted students back in the fall will be taking the trip with our City Council members to visit Shimoda, Japan. What a life changing opportunity! We look forward to hearing about their visit upon their return. Now our Sister City from Imperia, Italy will be visiting with students who will visit Rogers, spend half a day in our school, and meet our high school students. The Imperia, Italy students need host families while they are here in Newport. If you and your family would like to host a student from Italy please contact Brenda Bachman at 401-662-1282 or bbachmanmsw@outlook.com. or my office and we will be happy to answer any questions/or lead you in the right direction to participate. Grazie!
More shout outs: Our schools are invested in teaching and implementing smart ways to reduce trash hauling fees and at the same time do more for our environment. Pell Food Rangers are already deeply involved in this work, helping their fellow students to increase recycling and encourage composting in our schools. Now we want our families to learn from our children and take the opportunity to extend this at home. The City of Newport has launched a curbside compost collection pilot program to reduce food waste going to the landfill. So let’s extend our students’ great work to home. You can learn more and sign-up here. What a great program and great leadership work from our Pell Food Rangers as we celebrate Earth Day this Saturday!
Finally: Read up on more accomplishments from our Ad Design students- Kaia Cutter (grade 10) and Lila Leys (grade 10). Congratulations to both of them for their fine work and creativity!!
Next week is Spring Recess. There will be no Superintendent’s Update next week. We will see everyone back in school on Monday, April 27th.
Have a great week of learning, and please attend or tune in to tonight’s Newport City Council school budget workshop meeting! We need to work together as a community to solve this universal problem for all school districts.
Colleen Burns Jermain, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
RI Pre-K provides free, high-quality Pre-K education to over 2,800 4-year-old children in 20 communities, including Newport, across Rhode Island. To be eligible to attend, children must be 4 years old on or by September 1, 2026, not be eligible for kindergarten and reside in the city where they apply to RI Pre-K. Click here to apply.
This week we are featuring some Indian classics. The unique scratch elements this week include creating a curry spice blend and making naan bread. Seaside Cafe will be open Wednesday - Friday from 9:30-12:30. Hot food starts at 10:30. Please call for a reservation if your party will be 5 or more, 401-236-2655. Please call in takeout orders, 401-236-2655.
In honor of the semiquincentennial, RENEWport will collect contributions from Newport’s youth to showcase and preserve their reflections about this milestone in our nation’s history and their hopes for the future. The archive will be donated to the Newport Historical Society and preserved for the future. Learn more here and send in your submission by emailing hello@renewport.org by April 30th.
Join the HEZ and Green and Urban Space partners for a fun-filled Earth Day at the Park this Saturday! Events will run from 9AM-1PM at Miantonomi Park.
Click here to register for this free community training.
Join the American Lung Association for an informative evening focused on helping parents understand and address youth vaping. Hosted by Conexión Latina in partnership with the Newport Prevention Coalition, this Spanish-language presentation will cover what vaping is, why young people start, how it affects a developing body, signs of use, and how to start the conversation with your child.
The event will take place on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, from 5:00-6:30 PM at Conexión Latina, 170 Broadway in Newport. Dinner and childcare will be provided. To register, visit bit.ly/4clmB4v or use the QR code on the flyer.
Kindergarten registration for the 2026-2027 school year is now open! Students registering for Kindergarten must be 5 years old on or before September 1, 2026.
The Rogers High School PTO will host an amateur cornhole tournament at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 2 at the Elks Lodge on Bellevue Avenue. Please join the PTO for a fun afternoon with Rogers parents, staff and friends. Only 16 teams are available – spectators are welcome and encouraged! Proceeds will benefit field trips, scholarships for graduating seniors, teacher appreciation events and more. See the attached flyer for details and registration.
Get ready for Bike Newport’s annual Bike To School Day on Wednesday, May 6th. Also, be sure to check out Bike Newport’s summer bike camps, which are now accepting registrations.
As part of the State’s Math Matters RI initiative, the 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 will feature a day of exploration, problem-solving, and creativity. The vision is to make STEAM “come alive” for students of all ages and highlight the deep connections between PK–12 schools, higher education, and local industries.
Providence Career & Technical Academy, 41 Fricker Street, Providence RI
STEAM Expo and Family Programming: 8:30 am to 12:30 pm
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.
The Newport Gulls are looking for host families. Click here for more information: https://newportgulls.com/host_families