Bristol superintendent outlines priorities: student voice, staff input, mental health and fiscal transparency

Superintendent White on Aug. 6 told the Bristol School District Board of Education she will prioritize creating a districtwide climate statement, expanding student and staff advisory groups, increasing mental-health supports, improving communications and pursuing fiscal strategies including grants and partnerships for the 2025–26 school year.

White opened by announcing two back-to-school items: the district’s annual Back-to-School Bash on Aug. 20 with free backpacks for the first 150 students and district convocation scheduled for Aug. 25 at Muzzy Field, weather permitting. She said the convocation schedule will allow staff to report to their school buildings before convening districtwide.

Why it matters: White framed the priorities as steps to support academic achievement by improving school climate and supports. She said the district is awaiting Smarter Balanced assessment data, due at the end of the month, that will guide more specific academic goals.

On school climate and mental health, White proposed a districtwide climate mission statement aimed at fostering respect, trust and shared responsibility. She said the district will provide supports and resources to make that statement visible and actionable in schools and classrooms and will continue to expand student mental-health services and supports for stress and anxiety.

White described ongoing work to enhance student voice. She said Bristol has partnered with the nonprofit Partners for Educational Leadership and will send teams from Bristol Eastern, Bristol Central, Chippens Hill and Northeast Middle School to a student-voice institute next year to collect and analyze student feedback to inform school improvement.

She also said she plans to form a superintendent’s student advisory council and to develop a superintendent’s advisory council for staff representation, with an external facilitator already identified. Both councils, she said, would surface recommendations she could bring to the board.

On communications, White said she is evaluating more visible public engagement such as town halls, “coffee with the superintendent,” and more direct social-media updates to respond more quickly to community concerns. She asked for feedback from board members about engagement strategies.

On fiscal responsibility, White said the district will pursue shared services, partnerships and state, federal and private grants—particularly to support mental health and the arts—and explore ways to make the budget process more transparent, including earlier workshops or presentations so the public can see decisions earlier in the process.

Board members responded positively and asked White to return with more specific, measurable goals tied to student achievement after the state assessment data are released. One commissioner also requested that future reports include background narrative and fiscal context so the board and public can better interpret the numbers.

White said more detailed goals and reports will follow once assessment and other data are available.