Three Rhode Island Schools Receive National Blue Ribbon Award

Published on Friday, September 16, 2022

Barrington High School, Captain Isaac Paine Elementary School, and Fort Barton Elementary School Receive Top U.S. Department of Education Honor

PROVIDENCE, RI – The U.S. Department of Education has named Barrington High School, Captain Isaac Paine Elementary School in Foster, and Fort Barton Elementary School in Tiverton as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2022, honoring the three schools’ achievements in academic excellence. Captain Isaac Paine Elementary School is recognized as an Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing School, while Barrington High School and Fort Barton Elementary School are Exemplary High Performing Schools. State leaders applauded the schools for their recognition.



“I am thrilled to celebrate this outstanding accomplishment of Barrington High School, Captain Isaac Paine Elementary School, and Fort Barton Elementary School,” said Governor Dan McKee. “Our students, educators and administrators should be exceptionally proud of their hard work and dedication. Despite all the obstacles the COVID-19 pandemic presented, our educators went above and beyond to ensure our students achieved. Their work paid off, and I congratulate these three Rhode Island schools for this top honor.”



“We’re deeply proud of Barrington High School, Captain Isaac Paine Elementary School, and Fort Barton Elementary School for their exemplary work and this well-deserved recognition,” said Lieutenant Governor Sabina Matos. “The members of each of these school communities have worked incredibly hard to ensure students continue to move forward and to promote academic excellence. We wish these schools continued success.”



“The National Blue Ribbon Award is a prestigious designation, and I could not be happier for our Rhode Island students and staff who earned it,” said Chair of the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education Patti DiCenso. “To receive this honor after such disruption to our education system nationwide is truly remarkable, and further proof of the strength of Rhode Island educators and students. Thank you to each of these schools for serving as shining examples of academic excellence.”



“Congratulations to the teachers, school staff, students, and families of Barrington High School, Captain Isaac Paine Elementary School, and Fort Barton Elementary School. I hope you carry this designation as a badge of honor and allow it to invigorate and inspire you as we begin this new school year,” said Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green. “Thank you to the educators and administrators who consistently help students realize their full potential and close achievement gaps. We are so proud to work alongside you.”



The National Blue Ribbon School award affirms and validates the hard work of students, educators, families, and communities in striving for – and attaining – exemplary achievement. National Blue Ribbon Schools serve as models of effective school practices for state and district educators and other schools throughout the nation. A National Blue Ribbon School flag gracing a school’s entryway or on a flagpole is a widely recognized symbol of exemplary teaching and learning. The U.S. Department of Education recognizes all schools in one of two performance categories, based on all student scores, subgroup student scores and graduation rates:

• Exemplary High-Performing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests.

• Exemplary Achievement Gap-Closing Schools are among their state’s highest performing schools in closing achievement gaps between a school’s student groups and all students.

“Barrington is honored and excited regarding the news of being recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School,” said Barrington Public Schools Superintendent Michael Messore. “This is an extraordinary achievement for our community. Being recognized as a Blue Ribbon School is a reflection of the hard work of our students and educators, as well as our community’s continued commitment to supporting our schools and students.

"This noteworthy recognition is a direct result of the hard work of our amazing teachers, staff, students, and administrators, coupled with the support of our families,” said Foster Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Michael Barnes. “Before, during, and after the pandemic the dedicated professional staff at Captain Isaac Paine Elementary School embraced new pedagogical strategies and maintained a steadfast commitment to advancing the grade-level learning of all students while fostering the sense of family that permeates our school."

"We are very proud of the accomplishments of the staff and students at Fort Barton Elementary School,” said Tiverton Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Peter Sanchioni. “It is indicative of the great work happening in our district at all of our schools."

The Rhode Island recipients of the award are three of only 297 schools nationwide selected to join more than 9,000 schools who have been recognized by the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program since its inception in 1982. Up to 420 schools may be nominated each year. You can learn more about this year’s winners at www.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/index.html; photographs and brief descriptions of the 2022 National Blue Ribbon Schools are available at https://www.nationalblueribbonschools.ed.gov/.