Next week marks the 100th day of the 2023-2024 school year for Barrington Public Schools. It is amazing to me how quickly the school year progresses and how much academic, social, and emotional growth our students experience from the first day of school to the hundredth.
As we leave January behind, I would like to share with you some noteworthy accomplishments. Highlights from December and January reflect our district’s commitment to empower all of our students to excel in character, citizenship, collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking.
The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) released its 2022-2023 school accountability and improvement results, which includes Rhode Island’s Star Rating. Our schools account for 22% of all 5 Star ratings in the state! Only 50 schools in Rhode Island, including all six BPS schools, received 4 Star or 5 Star ratings! Read more about the rating here.
Barrington High School Interact Club volunteered to assemble more than 400 holiday care packages for active service members overseas and raised $1,000 for the American Red Cross. See Interact in action here.
Three Barrington Middle School students received achievement awards from the Barrington Lions Club for their peace poster submissions. Check out their artwork!
Musical performances require collaboration, creativity, and lots of practice. They’re also a lot of fun! Barrington High School singers caroled for elementary students before winter break, BHS put on its annual winter choirs and band concert, and students across the district sang at Barrington’s Tree Lighting!
Student Council members at Hampden Meadows School organized a toy drive for children at Hasbro Children’s Hospital. They made important connections between their own acts of service and the power of community giving at a recent Providence Bruins game.
All of our schools are making strong progress toward impressive attendance rates this year! Governor McKee recognized Nayatt School, Barrington Middle School, and Barrington High School among the state’s top attendance leaders for January. See attendance achievements here and here.
The arts were alive in January! Hampden Meadows students and Arts Alive! Barrington put on a fun and phenomenal performance of Spongebob the Musical: Youth Edition. See photos from their performance here.
Our winter sports athletes are maintaining impressive records this season that include winning division championship titles, placing at inter-state invitationals, and staying atop Division I! Way to go, student athletes!
Deep learning is a cornerstone of our curriculum. Congressman Gabe Amo recently visited one of our classrooms to talk to students about real world applications of their academic learning! See the photos from Rep. Amo’s visit.
Strategic Plan Virtual Focus Groups for Staff and Families
Barrington Public Schools is working with G&D Associates to develop a new strategic plan that will guide our district's decisions, programs, and budgets for the next 3-5 years. As valued members of our BPS community, you have important insights and feedback. On Monday, February 5, G&D will be hosting virtual focus groups for staff and families so that your voice can inform the development of our next strategic plan.
The virtual focus group for BPS families will take place on February 5 from 5:30 - 6:30 PM. Click here to access the virtual meeting room.
Two virtual focus groups for BPS staff will take place on February 5: an hour-long morning session will begin at 6:30 AM and an evening session will begin at 6:45 PM. Click here to access the virtual meeting room.
RIDE Report Card Visualizations
In January, the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) released its school accountability ratings. Five of our six schools earned the highest rating of 5 Stars, which was known as commended under the previous accountability system. One of our schools received a rating of 4 Stars, which reflects achievement in the top 20% of Rhode Island schools and indicates opportunities for continuing growth. As a follow up to the release of these ratings, RIDE has updated the Report Card visualizations to provide a clear overview of overall performance with a focus on each indicator. You can access your school’s Report Card here.
February brings us to the half-way point of the school year, but there are still many days of instruction, events, and activities for us to anticipate. I look forward to seeing what our students and staff will accomplish over the next month! Thank you, as always, for your continued commitment to the success of our students and our schools. Your partnership empowers the mission and vision of our Barrington Public Schools.
Wishing you a fantastic February ahead!
Mike Messore
Michael B. Messore III
Superintendent, Barrington Public Schools