Meet the new principals at schools across Aquidneck Island

Jeffrey D. Wagner
·2 min read

NEWPORT – Aquidneck Island public schools will be starting this school year with new faces in key positions.

The three-town island will also see some familiar faces in different roles.

There are new principals are schools across Aquidneck Island. Left: Michael Brownell, Thompson Middle School; top to bottom, Donna Sweet, Middletown High School; Jeffrey Heath, Portsmouth High School; Jay Masterson, Portsmouth Middle School; Kaitlin Gibbins, Gaudet Learning Academy; Becky Silveira, Forest Avenue Elementary School.
There are new principals are schools across Aquidneck Island. Left: Michael Brownell, Thompson Middle School; top to bottom, Donna Sweet, Middletown High School; Jeffrey Heath, Portsmouth High School; Jay Masterson, Portsmouth Middle School; Kaitlin Gibbins, Gaudet Learning Academy; Becky Silveira, Forest Avenue Elementary School.

Frank E. Thompson Middle School

Michael E. Browner, a longtime Rhode Island educator in colleges and secondary schools, is the new Frank E. Thompson Middle School principal in Newport.

Browner worked as a teacher at the school from 1998 to 2021 before taking one year off during the 2021-22 school year to work as an assistant principal in Pawtucket. Browner has also served as an adjunct professor at Roger Williams University and at the University Of Rhode Island.

Wear your pride: A pair of Thompson Middle School teachers want to build school pride. How you can help.

Portsmouth High School

Jeffrey Heath, regarded by Portsmouth officials as one of the best principals in the state, made a one-town move from Middletown to Portsmouth. He is the new Portsmouth High School Principal after serving as Middletown’s High School Principal since 2020. Before that, he was an assistant principal at East Greenwich High School.

Heath was also a dean of students and a health teacher in Tiverton schools.

Portsmouth Middle School

Jay Masterson, an 11-year veteran school leader, is taking over as the Portsmouth Middle School principal. Before this new leadership job, he was the principal of Joseph L. McCourt Middle School in Cumberland. For the Cumberland school district, Masterson was also the chairperson of a safety committee.

Middletown High School

In Middletown, former Westerly High School Assistant Principal Donna Sweet has taken over as the MHS principal. She worked in Westerly as an assistant principal for two years.

Sweet also served as an assistant principal in North Kingstown for 13 years.

Scott Rollins was hired as the athletic director and as a teacher in the high school. Before the appointment, he was the Career Technical Education Coordinator in South Kingstown and the coach of the district’s girls’ and boys’ soccer teams.

Rollins also was the president of the Rhode Island Girls Soccer Coaching Association.

Forest Avenue Elementary School

Also in Middletown, Becky Silveira was appointed the Forest Avenue Elementary School principal, leading learners and educators in grades kindergarten through Grade 3.

Before this appointment, Silveira was the principal of the Gaudet Learning Academy in Middletown.

Gaudet Learning Academy

Kaitlin Gibbins, a former teacher of the year, is now the principal of Gaudet Learning Academy. Gibbins formerly worked as a reading specialist, Language Arts teacher, literacy and instructional coach, as well as a Multi-Tiered Systems of Support coordinator.

Lisa Birkett, the predecessor of Silveira as the Forest Avenue Principal, has taken over as the district’s student services director.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: New principals in Newport, Middletown, Portsmouth schools