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Hamilton Elementary principal outlines school improvement plan, flags climate, math growth goals
Summary
Hamilton Elementary School’s new principal presented a school improvement plan emphasizing climate and culture, MTSS, literacy focus this year and a shift to math next year; he noted the school’s current three‑star accountability rating and described near‑miss growth results in math.
Hamilton Elementary School Principal presented the school’s improvement plan to the North Kingstown School Committee on June 3, describing priorities in climate and culture, reading and math growth, and science instruction.
Principal said the school was recently rated three stars in state accountability. He told the committee the school narrowly missed the second growth point in math, reporting a growth score of 0.84 of 2 (0.85 is required for two points). He said the school’s priorities this year included strengthening climate and culture after a low staff perception score and focusing on reading interventions; next year the school will increase targeted math supports.
Key initiatives the principal highlighted included using MTSS (Multi‑Tiered System of Supports) and the Branching Minds platform to track interventions, reworking the use of WIN/block time to focus on small‑group instruction, increasing teacher collaboration through learning walks and co‑planning, and expanding GEMSNET professional development for science instruction. He also described schoolwide PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) activities — kindness awards, safety “buckets” in every classroom, and cross‑grade team activities the school calls “shock houses” — designed to build belonging and reduce chronic absenteeism, which he said stood at about 20–21% as of late May.
Committee members asked whether professional development days align with school improvement goals; the principal said district and school PD has generally been aligned to the plan and to district priorities, and said the staff uses common planning time to implement initiatives such as on‑demand writing calibration and a multi‑tiered behavior support system.
What’s next: The principal said Hamilton will continue to refine MTSS approaches over the summer and early fall, shift intervention staffing toward math next year, and build on existing community outreach programs to address attendance and family engagement.
