Education in Newport has been top of mind for the last few weeks and we as parents and taxpayers are paying particular attention to one issue.
Last week the city of Newport and the Town of Middletown hosted a joint information session on the topic of School District Regionalization.
For those of you who are interested but were not able to attend in person we’d recommend taking the time to watch and listen to a recording of the session. Of particular interest is the first 15 minutes of the recording as the consultants and the objectives are introduced.
June 20, 2022 Joint Regionalization Meeting
The Presentations made at the meeting (PowerPoints) are also available online.
We encourage you to watch the consultants presentation directly. However of particular interest are a few key steps and milestones to track:
The consultants are introduced that they are seeking inputs in three specific sprints:
1) June 2022 initial studies & look ahead
The consultants starting point is a review of Principal questions a) What do we hope to achieve for your communities and your students b) what do we solve for and what do we caution against. As well as analysis of case studies and financial impacts.
2) July 2022 consultants report the end goals
Defining the end goals with the results of the financial, academic and the selected case studies.
3) August 2022 refined considerations on how to proceed.
Based on feedback received from the community and the consultants the path forward can be plotted.
As outlined, these are audacious goals in a tight summer window.
The Meeting broke into small group conversations with the following discussion outline.
To close the meetings the small groups presented to the other groups the focus on table level conversations and the development of the questions.
While the good work of the consultants is definitely appreciated, the recurring theme for those in attendance was a question if the regionalization is REAL and that academic outcomes and students needs are being fully considered by the process and in the communities. Stay tuned or follow our EDUCATION conversation for updates and info.
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