Newport School Committee hopefuls talk regionalization, test scores at candidate forum

NEWPORT — From the proposed district regionalization to improving test scores, the eight candidates for the seven-seat School Committee shared their thoughts on how they would contribute to the city's public school system if elected into office.

On Thursday, the hopefuls participated in a forum hosted by Newport This Week, the Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce, the League of Women Voters and Involve Newport, formerly known as Alliance for a Livable Newport.

Only one incumbent, Raymond Gomes, is not seeking reelection, leaving the door open for at least one of the two newcomers to be elected onto the next School Committee: Kendra Muenter, who served as president of the Parent-Teacher Organizations for both Pell Elementary School and Thompson Middle School and now serves as a member of the School Building Committee, and Robert Power, a former Newport Public Schools acting superintendent and School Building Committee member for Pell Elementary.

One candidate, incumbent Stephanie Winslow, was unable to attend, but moderator Chris Gross of FabNewport said she would be provided the questions from the forum to answer later on.

Candidates answered four prepared questions and two audience questions. Each had about a minute to respond and drew slots to determine the order they would respond.

Question 1: Supporting the growth of the English Language Learners Program

“In your opinion, has Newport Public Schools been able to dedicate sufficient resources to support English Language Learners Program students and what is your vision for how this program will continue to evolve moving forward?”

The English Language Learners Program at Newport Public Schools is designed to help increase English proficiency for students who do not speak the language at home. Before reading the question, Gross explained the population of students within the program has increased from 3% to 18.5% over the course of 10 years.

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The majority of the candidates agreed the district is doing a good job managing with what it has to help English learners match pace with their peers, but that additional resources could only benefit the program.

The district receives federal grant money through the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to spend on improvements for certain populations of students. Title III funds, of which Newport received $42,248 for 2021-2022, are designated for supporting English Language Learners.

Incumbent James Dring said the district could use more federal funding to aid with this cause, while incumbent Robert Leary said the district already has a surplus of funds and the district instead should focus on increasing the amount of time spent learning in the classroom.

In terms of what schools are doing now, incumbent Sandra Flowers mentioned teachers are taking courses in Spanish to better communicate with many of the English Language Learner students and their families, which incumbent Rebecca Bolan corroborated.

Muenter said in addition to getting more teachers certified in Spanish, there is a new multi-language program at Rogers High School to address the growing need. Power suggested the need for a more intensified English learning program as students enter the schools before introducing them to the common core.

Incumbent Lousia Boatwright also argued the high turnover in the English Language Learners program, from students either completing the program, graduating, or otherwise leaving the course, makes progress difficult to determine.

Question Two: Improving test scores

“What do you believe are the primary causes of low test scores, what should be done to address them, and how will you work to overcome the stigmas associated with low rankings as the ambassador for Newport Public Schools?”

Newport ranks in the bottom half of Rhode Island school districts when it comes to test scores, Gross explained to the candidates. According to the state Department of Education Assessment Portal, just 43.3% of Newport Public School students scored at “Meeting” or “Exceeding” expectations on the English Language Arts section of the SAT, compared to 50% of students statewide. The district similarly was behind the rest of the state in the Mathematics section.

Power, who has worked at several districts across the state, said socioeconomics plays a large factor in test scores, and the district should invest in more field trips so the disadvantaged student population has as many experiential opportunities as their wealthier peers.

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Dring said the school needs to work more to reduce truancy and improve the public image of the school district. Muenter agreed the district needs to promote the quality of its schools, but said test scores will improve by addressing all of the needs of the children, many of whom might have issues at home preventing them from focusing on school work.

Boatwright said they have several quality programs and their students regularly receive awards, but the large turnover of students coming in and out of the district each year impacts the progress they can make on individual scores, a point with which Bolan agreed.

Leary disagreed with his peers, as he admitted he does often on the School Committee, saying other districts similar to Newport have better test results and said the district should have an action plan to turn these scores around.

Flowers, a former Newport Public Schools teacher, said increasing reading and English proficiency early on is the first step to improving test scores because every test is fundamentally a reading test, but test scores are not the only indicator of student success.

Question Three: Spending COVID-19 relief funds

“Can you describe your understanding of what American Rescue Plan Act funds are available and how you believe it should be expended?”

The school district received $6.9 million in relief funding through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to be used to address learning loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine and for specific programs, services and materials the district might need. In addition, the school district has a surplus of unused budget from the pandemic it also has available.

There were two camps of thought among the candidates: Power and Flowers were eager to see the money to go toward non-recurring, experimental programs that otherwise would not have received funding, whereas Dring and Leary want to treat the funds more conservatively by either saving them or spending them on non-programs, respectively.

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Muenter said her biggest concern was spending money on programs that prove successful but can not be funded again later as the money runs out, however Bolan and Boatwright said the district has earmarked some of these funds to help continue these programs if needed.

Question 4: Navigating regionalization

“What are the pros and cons of regionalization? If elected, how would you guide conversations with Middletown and Newport about regionalization?”

This November, Newport and Middletown residents will vote to decide whether to combine school districts under one, unified administration. The proposal has been the subject of debate since the municipal councils moved to put it on the ballot earlier this year, as the current plan has both school districts retaining their current stock of schools.

Some candidates voiced hard opposition to regionalization as it has been proposed, including Leary and Muenter. One candidate, Dring, argued cautiously in favor, because of the financial reimbursements and benefits it could have for the district moving forward.

More: Is the state pushing for regionalizing Newport, Middletown schools? RIDE officials weigh in.

Other candidates were mixed about the issue. Flowers said she's been trying to keep an open mind and is cautiously optimistic about the proposed financial benefit, but is concerned about the overall focus on saving money through this merger.

Bolan, who served on the Steering Committee to study the impact regionalization would have on the two communities, also was conflicted, because of the impact on taxes and Middletown’s current school budget issues.

Boatwright shared her concerns about the impact on class sizes and how Middletown rejected their proposal to regionalize their high schools three years ago. Power, who pushed for regionalization years ago, also recalled Middletown’s rejection, and said he needs a few more questions answered before he can come out for or against regionalization.

Audience Question 1: Employing teachers

“Do you feel Newport Public Schools provides an attractive, competitive employment opportunity? Why or why not?”

All of the candidates argued the district and community were great places to work, but the issue was the ability for teachers to live and teach in Newport.

Muenter said more needs to be done to get graduates of Newport Public Schools to return, live and work in Newport, to which Power agreed. In that same vein, Bolan and Boatwright argued Newport’s cost of living is a barrier to retaining staff, and Boatright and Dring called for increased benefits and resources to support lower salary staff like teachers aides, which the school department has been struggling to hire.

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Flowers said the profession should also be marketed more toward Newport Public School students as a possible career path, and Leary said the hiring issue is not unique to Newport, but is rather a country-wide issue.

Audience Question 2: Addressing student issues

“What best practices are you aware of to address some of the pressing issues facing students, such as school safety, mental health or the prevention of bullying, that you feel should be introduced to our schools?”

Power and Flowers pointed to the large amount of support already available to students dealing with these issues. Power said he helped invest and usher in support services for students when he worked as a vice principal at Thompson Middle School, and Flowers said the School Committee has helped draft robust anti-bullying policies.

Boatwright said investing in support services and improving relationships with the students can help in addressing behavioral and mental health concerns. Bolan and Muenter both argued for making school an inviting and comfortable place for students to come to every day.

Leary and Dring touched on school safety, where Dring said improvements already have been made to Pell Elementary, and the new Rogers High School building plans to make them secure, however Leary argued the need for an increased police presence at all three schools.

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Newport School Committee candidate forum held at Innovate Newport RI