NK Schools on Low End in Absenteeism

A Channel 12 study of school absenteeism found that NK had some of the lowest rates in Rhode Island.

North Kingstown schools fell on the lower end of the scale in what the state Department of Education terms "chronic absenteeism," meaning students who miss more than 18 days of the school year. WPRI Channel 12 recently reported that 17 percent of all students in Rhode Island were classified as chronically absent during the 2011-12 school year, with four Providence high schools reporting more than 50 percent of students on the list. Locally, North Kingstown High School recorded 15.60 percent chronic absenteeism, followed by Suzanne M. Henseler Quidnessett Elementary School with 13.12 percent, Davisville Middle School wth 8.36 percent, and Wickford Middle School with 5.06 percent. The other elementary schools all had fewer than 5 percent of …

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Rose

9:22 pm on Thursday, June 6, 2013

Chronic absenteeism is a technical term that refers to specific amount of days that a student is absent. It is not always as simple a matter as it might appear. For example, in Providence, where I teach, if a student has not shown up for 110 days, our school cannot take them off the roster without going through the court system. Finding the parent(s), ensuring that they show up to the truancy …   more ›

Calling All NK Students: Need a Scholarship?

THe North Kingstown Chamber of Commerce's Charitable Foundation is offering scholarships to North Kingstown students.

You Ask, Patch Answers: When Is the Last Day of School?

With delays, snow days and more throughout the year, when do students get out of school this year in North Kingstown.

  The 2012-2013 school year has been laden with delays and cancellations for North Kingstown schools. First, the start of the school year was delayed after a strike by the North Kingstown Educational Support Professionals, protesting the outsourcing of the district's custodial staff. Then, Hurricane Sandy closed schools for two days in late October as crews worked to restore power across the state and NK. Several NK schools were without power for several days. Suzanne M. Henseler Quidnessett Elementary School was closed for three days due to the power loss. Who could forget the blizzard we just saw a few weeks ago, which closed schools for two days? With all the confusion, one parent is wondering when does "summer" start for her child this…

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NECAP Scores Steadily Improving

The latest NECAP scores have been released.

Across the board, North Kingstown students are making steady increases on their NECAP (New England Common Assessment Program) test scores. Superintendent Phil Auger and Asst. Superintendent Michelle Humbyrd presented last fall’s scores, which tested third, eighth and eleventh graders across the state, to the North Kingstown School Committee at its Tuesday meeting. According to Humbyrd, North Kingstown is one of 13 districts in Rhode Island that has shown “statistically significant” gains in both reading and math from 2008 to 2012. North Kingstown was also one of eight districts that showed a significant improvement in writing scores across all three levels – elementary, middle and high school. In reading, North Kingstown students scored at…

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elizabeth

9:04 am on Thursday, February 21, 2013

Just FYI, Eugene, most of our eighth graders know that "math", "science" and "writing" would not be capitalized in the context in which you use them, and I'm pretty sure that most of them could spell "performance" properly as well. Feel free to criticize when your own performance is up to par.   more ›

School Committee Approves Preliminary Cuts; Looks at Alternate Budget Scenarios

North Kingstown schools may see deep cuts, including the elimination of the athletics program, if level-funded.

  The North Kingstown School Committee approved the superintendent’s proposed $59 million budget with a 6 to 1 vote (Bill Mudge opposing). The budget, though tentative, assumes that the school department will receive a four percent increase in taxpayer funding – the most allowed under state tax caps. Adding to the cuts approved last week, the committee approved the elimination of one school bus. According to Superintendent Phil Auger, this cut would not impact start times next year. Mudge did not agree with approving of the proposed budget assuming a four-percent increase and asked that the budget sub-committee be given more time work on the numbers and find further cuts. (The sub-committee is set to meet again later this week.) At the …

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Politics Sheriff of NK

10:44 pm on Saturday, February 16, 2013

Your welcome Ma'am. Its important to stay in focused on our values and prevent recurrence of corruption issues that were proven absolutely true, and quite harmful. In fact Halley and his stooges even tried to use Lynda Avanzato's child's illness against her, proven in a suit and reported in the projo and locals. Remember that some readers were not here during that time and the NKGOP still has …   more ›

NK Students Back to School Tuesday

Classes will resume Tuesday.

  North Kingstown's extended weekend is coming to an end as classes are set to resume Tuesday. Superintendent Phil Auger announced that schools would reopen Tuesday after being closed since Friday after this week's blizzard. School was cancelled Monday after three schools (Wickford Middle School, Suzanne M. Henseler Quidnessett Elementary and Stony Lane Elementary) were still without power. Town Manager Michael Embury recommended schools close on Monday as roads were still not safe for buses.

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NK Schools Closed Friday

North Kingstown public schools will be closed Friday due to an incoming blizzard.

  North Kingstown schools will be closed Friday as the area prepares for a potentially historic blizzard. School Superintendent Phil Auger announced Thursday afternoon that the entire district will be closed Friday. All before and after school activities have also been cancelled. Snow accumulations are projected anywhere from 18 to 24 inches for the area with wind speeds as high as 35 mph and gusts up to 60 mph. Get more storm updates by checking our Blizzard Blog here.

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Politics Sheriff of NK

1:36 pm on Friday, February 8, 2013

No. He is "has-been" category. Besides, if he tried to make a storm we'd get an Earthquake. Nothing but incompetent destructive/divisive from him, now thankfully a fossil hanging on the edges in NK for a little longer then just a footnote no one will even want to remember. Funny how that happens when you tear at a community that is paying your salary then get caught screwing special needs kids …   more ›

How to Use North Kingstown Patch for the Rest of the School Year

Five things staff, PTO members, parents and students need to know.

School is now back in session after the holiday break for North Kingstown public schools and North Kingstown will be there to cover all the big news. But we can’t do it without your help. To make sure you get the most out of Patch for the remainder of this school year, we invite you to get active in the news-gathering process. There are five things you can do to make sure your school and its students get all the coverage they deserve from Patch: You can also become a blogger and share your school's news directly with North Kingstown Patch readers on a regular basis. To find out more about using North Kingstown Patch this school year, just email samantha.turner@patch.com.

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Power Restored at Quidnessett El

SMH-Quidnessett Elementary School will resume classes Thursday.

It's back to school Thursday for students atSuzanne M. Henseler Quidnessett Elementary School. Students enjoyed a five day vacation of sorts after the school was shut down for three days this week due to Hurricane Sandy. SMH-QES opens a day later than the rest of the district, however. National Grid restored power to the school Wednesday just before noon. According to National Grid's Power Outage Map, about 1,400 customers are still without power in North Kingstown as of 1 p.m. Wednesday.

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Quidnessett El Closed, All Other Schools to Open Wednesday

All except one North Kingstown school will be returning to class tomorrow.

Only one North Kingstown school won't be holding class tomorrow following Hurricane Sandy. School Superintendent Phil Auger announced that most schools in the district will be up and running Wednesday after two days off of school following the storm. Suzanne M. Henseler Quidnessett Elementary School will be the lone school not back online Wednesday. According to Auger, National Grid representatives said the school's power is not likely to be restored until Wednesday and that most of the surrounding neighborhood is also without power at this time. 

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