At the Sept. 18 meeting of the Smithfield School Committee, the superintendent recognized custodial and maintenance staff, noted observance of Yom Kippur, congratulated National Honor Society inductees and introduced Kristin Ward as the new high school principal. The superintendent also previewed an upcoming assessment report that shows districtwide gains in English language arts and math on state and national assessments.

The superintendent thanked custodians and maintenance staff for keeping learning environments clean and safe and acknowledged National Custodians Day. She also noted that 44 students were inducted into the National Honor Society at a recent ceremony and thanked NHS President Marvin Laguerre and organizers.

Kristin Ward, the newly hired high school principal, began this week. The superintendent said Ward comes to Smithfield with more than 20 years of experience as a teacher and administrator, most recently serving as an assistant principal in the Cranston School District. Ward participated in an extensive selection process that included student, faculty and community panels; the superintendent said Ward will be officially introduced at the next school committee meeting.

The superintendent said district assessment results improved in 2025: she cited gains in both ELA and math, and highlighted Old County Road School, where the ELA proficiency rate rose by more than 15 percentage points to “almost 53%” and math increased by 8.6 percentage points year over year. She said a full assessment report (covering RICAS, PSAT and SAT results) will be presented to the committee at the next meeting.

These remarks were presented as informational updates; no formal action was taken on staffing or assessment items during the recorded segment.