Superintendent Message

Dear Newport Schools Parents, Families, and Staff:

We are now in week 5 of the 2024-2025 school year. Hopefully all of us are setting rituals and routines at school and at home so our students are fully engaged in classroom learning. Attendance is still a priority for all of us. Students need all of us present and we need them to learn. So please continue to emphasize that Attendance Matters, Every Day, and establish a strong school day routine to support your child.

I am pleased to share that the Learn 365 initiative, the Governor’s initiative for more after school support aimed at improving attendance and student literacy in reading and math, is showing real promise. Thank you to the Mayor and the City Council for their leadership and partnership with the schools, and our community partners. Early data for our Learn 365 initiative indicate that students in the afterschool program have shown improvements in their attendance and learning. This is a testament to our amazing Learn 365 community partners, FabNewport, Boys and Girls Club, EBCAP, MLK, and our wonderful Pell teachers that were working after school with our community partners to support learning beyond the classroom in a joyful and fun environment. For Pell families interested in learning more and participating this year, Learn 365 will be holding their 2024-2025 school year kickoff on Thursday, October 10th from 6:00-7:30 pm at Pell. So come to our opening and let’s work together to support our students.

I want to end this week’s update with three big shout outs:

1. Let's give a shoutout to our amazing principals this National Principals Month! Our school community is grateful for the tireless work of principals Traci Westman at Pell Elementary, Dr. Michael Browner, Jr. at Thompson Middle School, and Jared Vance at Rogers. Your dedication to our students, families, and teachers makes a huge difference. Thank you!

2. Congratulations to Rogers students Victoria Ramos, Kamilya Thaxter, and Similaki

Vanderveer Lui on winning College Board National Recognition Program awards, which honor students with high GPAs and who demonstrate strong academic performance on the PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT 10, or AP exams!!

3. A shout out to our Director of Teaching, Learning and Professional Development, Patricia Aull, who is our October staff spotlight (see below). Your work implementing our rigorous curriculum and providing our teachers with the professional development resources they need is simply invaluable. Thank you for all that you do.

Have a great week of learning everyone!

Colleen Burns Jermain, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Patricia Aull is our Director of Teaching, Learning, and Professional Development. She is a former middle school principal, assistant high school principal, high school math teacher, and has been involved in many aspects of education from RI Middle School League Chair to participant and leader in educational change. She is responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of educational strategies and programs that enhance teaching effectiveness, learning outcomes, and professional growth for educators and staff. Here’s what she has to say about her work:

“As Director of Teaching, Learning, and Professional Development, I collaborate with administrators, teacher leaders and external organizations to integrate best practices, develop and implement systems for assessing teaching effectiveness and evaluate the impact on student outcomes. NPS is working very hard to implement strong Tier 1 core instruction for all students; we are using our data, working with teachers and principals to strengthen effective teaching practices. In three years from now we would expect to see all students owning their learning and teachers guiding and supporting student understanding. All this work is to support the district to continually improve its effectiveness in meeting the educational needs of the students to improve student learning and achievement. Keeping students at the forefront of our work is paramount to our success.”

Thank you Patti for your work supporting our teachers, students, staff, and community partners!