Superintendent's Update
Newport Public Schools | October 15, 2025
Dear Newport Schools Parents, Families, and Staff:
I hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend!
Happy Wednesday! I want to once again remind all of us on how important it is for parents and guardians to take charge of your child’s education. You are in charge of setting the stage for your child every day. At the core of this work is talking with your child every day about how their school day went. Ask about specific classes, teachers, assignments, friends they are making, academic or other challenges, and after school activities. Again, this will take time and practice. It may also take time for your child to open up. So keep at it. Let them know how much education matters and how much you want to support them at school and get them ready to live their dreams- the bigger the better. If you stay at it, you’ll be surprised just how much they’ll share with you. So talk, talk, and more talk every day about school! We need you to take charge and work with us.
Attendance is holding steady- and ahead of last year’s trends. More students are coming to school on a regular basis. Woo-Hoo! So thank you everyone and let’s keep up the good work on attendance. We need all of our students in school, every day. Promoting excellent attendance and being ON TIME every day is important. It builds a strong work ethic for our children’s futures.
Finally, this week at our regular school committee meeting, I served notice as part of my amended contract of 2023 that I will be stepping down as Superintendent of Newport Public Schools as of June 30, 2026. It has been an honor and privilege to serve and work for the Newport Public Schools. I am here until June 2026 and plan on continuing our work on the RHS building project and demolition, implementing our strategic plan, and focusing and doing every day what is best for our students. I will continue to work on powerful partnerships opening opportunities to the world for our children, as well as professional development and support for our teachers, setting the stage for a great future for our school system. I want to thank everyone-parents, guardians, community partners, elected officials, teachers, staff, and our administrators for being part of the NPS team and all you do every day. It takes all of us every day working together to move forward. We must continue keeping our focus on what is best for students as the central core of all our decisions. So let’s keep students at the heart of every decision we make every day. Here is the letter given to the Chair and members of the NSC - and always remember, “We are One Newport”.
A reminder that next Friday, October 24th is a professional development day for our teachers so there will be no school for students.
Have a great week of learning everyone, and parents remember to talk with your child every late afternoon / evening/early morning about how their school day went!
Colleen Burns Jermain, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
The Thompson Middle School PTO is hosting Tips for Thompson at The Parlor on Friday, October 17 from 3pm-8pm. Guest bartenders donate all tips from the event to the TMS PTO.
The Newport Public Education Foundation raises funds to support Newport Public Schools. They are a wonderful partner and will be hosting their annual social fundraiser and awards evening on Thursday, October 23rd, from 6:00-8:00pm at Innovate Newport (513 Broadway). Come show your support for our teachers and Newport Public Schools. Click here to purchase tickets.
