Oyster River, Barrington reaffirm student agreement as high school leaders review enrollment, supports and program access

Oyster River School Board and the Barrington School Board met jointly to reaffirm a continuing enrollment agreement and review academic and program data for Barrington students at Oyster River High School. Oyster River officials presented enrollment trends, Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) interventions, and participation figures for career and technical education (CTE), early college and Expanded Learning Opportunities (ELOs). The meeting included discussion of middle-school to high-school transition work and the timing of demographic shifts that could affect capacity and programming.

The presentation, led by Oyster River staff and counselors, summarized five years of data showing Barrington students make up roughly 21% of Oyster River High School enrollment and that their participation in specific programs has remained steady or increased. Officials said Barrington students accounted for about 17% of students accessing CTE in the most recent year, 23% of early-college enrollments and about 21% of ELO placements. Oyster River staff also reported that Barrington students represented 40 students enrolled across AP classes and that 13 AP exams were taken in 2024 by Barrington students.

District leaders said MTSS work at Oyster River High School combines universal, targeted and intensive interventions. Shannon Karen, director of counseling at Oyster River High School, described universal supports such as advisory groups that “students stay with their advisories for all 4 years,” peer tutoring, planners club and a flex period used for both academic help and enrichment. She outlined targeted Tier 2 supports (small-group interventions such as Learning Lab and flex math support) and Tier 3 work including a behavioral-health counselor who provides intensive, family-centered supports and regular check-ins.

Presenters said the school has expanded student-driven flex enrichments, added peer-instructor opportunities, and resumed peer tutoring in the library. They noted the counseling team has shifted an organizational planning session (planners club) from Fridays to Mondays to increase student participation and described a mindfulness group led by a licensed counselor.

Officials reviewed academic achievement metrics that they said show Barrington students performing at or above state benchmarks in several measures. Oyster River staff reported higher average SAT scores for the class of 2025 compared with the previous year and stated that fall 2024 STAR assessment results showed roughly 95% of Barrington students at or above benchmark in reading and about 87% at or above benchmark in math. The presentation also highlighted strong Spanish-language preparation from Barrington middle-school programs and that about 95% of Barrington students earned a B or better in Algebra I in the fall reporting period.

Career and college access data prompted discussion of capacity limits: Oyster River staff said eight Barrington students withdrew CTE applications and two were waitlisted because of full seats at regional centers. Sean Peschel, identified in the presentation as the district CTE director, was described as doing outreach during course selection to help Barrington students complete applications and reduce barriers.

Board members from both districts asked about practical transition issues. Barrington members raised concerns students face moving from a Google-based work platform in middle school to Microsoft-based systems at Oyster River; Oyster River staff noted freshman orientation and advisory sessions that introduce Microsoft tools. Middle-school grading-scale differences also received attention; Oyster River staff said a pilot in Barrington eighth-grade math will provide both competency-based and 100-point-scale grades so students better understand the numeric scale used at the high school.

On demographics and planning, Oyster River officials said the next three to four years will see a modest decline in incoming cohorts before enrollment rebounds, making the timing of Barrington’s renewed contract helpful to stabilize course offerings and staffing. Barrington trustees cautioned that rapid growth in Barrington could, several years out, increase demand for seats. Oyster River and Barrington officials said they will continue joint planning and examine transition programming, academic placement, and attendance monitoring as part of ongoing coordination.

There was no formal change to policy recorded at the meeting; the transcript records a motion to adjourn at the end of the session.

The boards closed the meeting after questions and brief comments of appreciation for the partnership and the staff work on alignment and student supports.