Superintendent's Message

Dear Newport Schools Parents, Families, and Staff,

Welcome to March. Daylight savings time and spring are just around the corner.

Last week the Newport School Committee voted to retain our NACTC building and to keep the automotive and cosmetology programs based in the building. This is a big win for our school district and most importantly our students. These two popular CTE programs will continue to operate on our combined new Rogers High School / NACTC campus, and provide students with a proven pathway to careers in the automotive and cosmetology sectors. Thank you to our NSC members and our community that shared the importance of these programs to be kept for now and the future. Administrative offices will move back into the building and we will be ready for the new RHS school opening in September. Woo-Hoo!! Congratulations and thank you!

So now we move forward to a very important time in the school year. In the next few weeks there is a critical stretch of learning time for our students that they must be taught and learn before they take state mandated RICAS and SAT exams. Parents/families, please do your part, continue to emphasize the importance of Attendance Matters, Every Day, and be sure to drop your child off on time. (Remember no more late coffee stops, please.) We are still seeing too many of our students arriving 1-2 hours late on a regular basis at the high school. This means they are missing out on hours of important classroom learning. So let’s do a reset and get our children to school on time every day.

The second request for parents/families is to attend your schools’ Report Card Night. School Report Card nights at Pell Elementary, Thompson Middle School, and Rogers High School will be held this month. School Report Cards, issued by the Rhode Island Department of Education give us important insights into how our students are doing in English Language Arts, Math, Science and our district-wide graduation rate. I strongly encourage all of our parents/families to attend School Report Card nights to better understand where our schools are and the impact on our students. Mark your calendars now for School Report Card Nights!

TMS - March 17th at 5:30pm

Pell - March 27th at 5:30pm

RHS - March 25th at 5:30pm

Last week observing learning in our classrooms, I was able to see many math lessons at the high and middle school levels. From quadratic equations, factoring, bisectors in triangles, and depreciation/along with waiving fees when seeking a loan, to mapping out data. It was a great day. I observed an excellent presentation of the quantitative and qualitative information one must know when making math decisions. The lesson was mapped out succinctly and the real life connections really had students prepared for the following lesson.

At the elementary level, I saw literacy instruction using read alouds with teachers facilitating sounding out and tapping out words. Drums and more drums in music class was fun and engaging as our very young learners counted out and echoed back to the teacher. It was great to see our youngest students so absorbed in learning.

There are great things happening in our schools and if we all come together as a One Newport community, focus on Attendance Matters, getting children to school on time, and ensure that our students feel supported, they are going to do well on upcoming exams and show us their full potential!

Speaking of helping our students achieve their full potential, this week’s Administrator Spotlight is about Rogers High School Principal Jared Vance. Thank you Mr. Vance for all that you do!

Have a great week of learning everyone!

Colleen Burns Jermain, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Jared Vance has proudly served as the Principal of Rogers High School for the past 8 years. A graduate of the University of Rhode Island, Mr. Vance furthered his education by earning a Master's Degree from Cambridge College in Special Education and a Certificate in School Leadership from Providence College. Mr. Vance continued his education at Roger Williams University earning a certificate in Blended and Personalized Learning. Throughout his tenure at Rogers High School, he has overseen all aspects of education and school operations, focusing on fostering a positive school culture and a strong sense of community.

A passionate advocate for student voice and empowerment, Mr. Vance has been a consistent champion for all students building out a strong and robust student government; giving students authentic real world experience and input into the inner workings of Rogers High School as an institution. He has worked tirelessly to ensure that students, staff, and the community are united in the pursuit of student success, with a particular emphasis on college and career readiness.

Mr. Vance is especially excited about the completion of the new Rogers High School and the opportunities it brings as they embark on the next chapter in the school’s long and proud history.

The Newport Public Education Foundation supports learning in our schools with generous grant funding for a number of classes and programs. NPEF recently awarded a grant for our life skills program at TMS. This particular grant allowed students in the Life Skills program to learn cooking skills and make chocolate chip cookies for ice cream sandwiches, sliders, and smash potatoes. Thank you NPEF!

We need ALL of our Newport Public Schools families to take the Rhode Island Department of Education’s annual SurveyWorks survey. The feedback we gain from survey results is invaluable and the participation rate from families helps us in our accountability. We need to show parent/family participation and feedback. So please help us take a few minutes to complete the survey for your school by the March 31st deadline:

Claiborne Pell Elementary School

Frank E. Thompson Middle School

Rogers High School

With a growing population of multilingual learners (MLL), our dedicated teachers need the tools to engage with and meet these students where they are. That’s why we’ve been working with Seidlitz Coaching who have been providing MLL training sessions for our MLL certified teachers. This past week they provided their third of four training sessions this school year. Thank you to Dr. Mooney for setting up these workshops and Dr. Lora Escalante for her amazing work.