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North Kingstown releases 2026–29 strategic plan with modest academic targets, nine major capital projects
Summary
School officials presented a 2026–29 strategic plan that narrows academic growth goals to more modest, achievable targets, doubles down on instructional coaching and curriculum review, and identifies nine capital projects — including a new Wickford Middle School and NKHS roof work — to complete by 2029.
Superintendent Dr. Duva and district staff presented the North Kingstown School Department’s strategic plan for 2026–29, framing it as a roadmap for resource allocation, school improvement plans and progress monitoring.
The plan, submitted to the Rhode Island Department of Education on June 1, keeps five priorities from the prior plan — academic achievement, closing achievement gaps, safe and supportive schools, the districtwide “vision of the learner,” and school facilities — but scales back numerical growth targets. The district said it will aim for roughly 3% growth over three years in ELA, math and science, and roughly 5% growth over three years for students with disabilities in ELA and math. “We set very ambitious goals as far as percentage increase that we didn't quite meet,” the presenter said, adding that the revised targets are “challenging but achievable.”
Administrators listed initiatives to support the goals: an expanded student‑writing initiative, instructional coaching at the elementary level, instructional rounds to gather classroom evidence, curriculum review, and professional development in the Building Thinking Classroom model for secondary math. Assistant Superintendent Mazanati described instructional rounds as classroom observations that collect evidence around student engagement and a specific “problem of practice” to guide teacher collaboration and feedback.
Facilities comprise the plan’s fifth priority. The district intends to undertake nine capital improvement projects by June 2029 — upgrades at five elementary schools, one middle school, North Kingstown High School and construction of a new Wickford Middle School. Near‑term work includes an NKHS roof replacement scheduled for the summer and ongoing Wickford Middle School construction. The presenter said the district will complete annual building condition audits and maintain a district‑wide facilities inventory.
Committee members pressed administrators on subgroup outcomes — noting that achievement gaps for historically marginalized students are not named as a separate priority in the plan — and asked for clearer linkage between targets and specific school‑level interventions. The administration said the district remains committed to subgroup work and will surface that work in school improvement plans.
Administrators also pledged to monitor any changes in state aid and to present budgetary impacts to the committee if preliminary state numbers change. The district said it will publish the final strategic plan and that school improvement plans tied to the district goals are due July 1.
What happens next: administrators will return with implementation plans and timelines. The plan’s submission to RIDE begins a feedback and approval process; committee members asked that the district present a more explicit line for subgroup strategies and a clearer financial accounting of plan initiatives.
