North Kingstown High outlines academic recovery plan, seeks capital support for CTE expansion

North Kingstown High School principal Shivali presented the high school's School Improvement Plan during the April 16 North Kingstown School Committee meeting, describing goals to restore pre-COVID English language arts (ELA) proficiency and to address sharper declines in math achievement.

Shivali said the school had aimed for a 5% year‑to‑year gain in ELA proficiency and noted a decline after COVID that the staff expects to recover from, while math scores showed a steeper drop and will require different interventions. "The math piece is far different than the ELA piece," she said, describing lost foundational algebra instruction during the pandemic as a long‑term driver of lower SAT math performance.

The presentation laid out targets by subgroup and noted improvements for some categories (for example, students with disabilities showed gains) while economically disadvantaged students and some English learner groups had not shown the desired progress. The school reviewed its diploma‑plus data and said roughly 80–85% of students matriculate to two‑ or four‑year colleges; the remaining 15% generally do not participate in AP or dual‑enrollment coursework and the school is working to expand career readiness options for that cohort.

Shivali and other speakers emphasized Career and Technical Education growth as a priority. The SIP team described additions already made — including a machinist program funded in part by grants — and said continued growth will require capital investments. The speakers cited culinary and digital design programs as examples where equipment and lab space are limiting expansion; the culinary teacher has partnerships with Johnson & Wales and local businesses but currently operates in a kitchen with only five stoves, the principal said.

Committee members asked how funding requests would be introduced to the committee and whether specific capital requests would be packaged through the district's annual CIP (capital improvement plan) review. Shivali said pathway proposals, required equipment, and potential grant funding sources would be documented and presented as part of the CIP process.

The principal also described school‑level program work including advisory restructuring to turn a daily 18‑minute advisory block into a more useful period for academic help or enrichment, and the addition of science proficiency to state accountability metrics with a modest target for growth next year.

The presentation closed with a request to the district to prioritize capital planning that would allow CTE expansion and to continue supporting in‑school tutoring, staffing for programs, and partnerships that can provide college credit or industry credentials.

Shavali (principal) also answered committee questions about process and next steps for presenting specific capital requests to administration and the CIP review team.