It was a tough decision, but it’s the community where I live and my kids go to school.”

Superintendent Thomas Kenworthy, on leaving Portsmouth to take a job in East Greenwich

PORTSMOUTH — The Portsmouth School Committee is expected to accept the resignation of Superintendent of Schools Thomas Kenworthy at a special meeting on Thursday, July 17, said Emily Copeland, who chairs the board.

Kenworthy is leaving the district to become the new superintendent in his hometown of East Greenwich. The East Greenwich School Committee announced Kenworthy’s appointment on July 8, after a 7-0 vote. 

Kenworthy has been Portsmouth’s superintendent since January 2020, succeeding Ana C. Riley. He had served as assistant superintendent in Portsmouth since the fall of 2014.

“We are so sad to see him go,” Copeland said on Tuesday. “Tom really served the district so well. He came in after Superintendent (Ana) Riley left us a little unexpectedly to take a position with (the R.I. Department of Education), and Tom stepped in with what was a very seamless transition.”

Kenworthy has been an outstanding team leader, and has made some excellent hiring recommendations, she said. 

“He put Principal (Danielle) Laurie in place at Melville and hired Dr. (Elizabeth) Viveiros as our deputy superintendent,” Copeland said. “He’s always been very upfront with us. We’re very grateful for the time we’ve had with him.”

Taking the next steps in hiring a new school leader is also on tap for Thursday’s meeting, the agenda for which has an item calling for discussion and action on the “Appointment of Superintendent.”

Copeland said Viveiros “has a clause in her contract that says we will meet with her first, and then we’ll go from there.”

‘Tough decision’

On Monday, Kenworthy said while he’ll miss Portsmouth, leading the schools in East Greenwich was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

“It was a tough decision, but it’s the community where I live and my kids go to school,” said Kenworthy, who moved to East Greenwich with his family in 2007. The East Greenwich superintendent’s job, he said, was actually open a few times during his tenure in Portsmouth, “but the timing wasn’t right.”

Obviously, he’ll have a much shorter commute in East Greenwich, which he acknowledged was a factor. 

“It’s about 40 to 45 minutes (to Portsmouth), so about a 90-minute commute each day,” said Kenworthy, whose official last day is Aug. 11. When he starts his new job on Aug. 12, he’ll be only a few minutes away from his office in East Greenwich. “Everything is right there in town.”

Kenworthy said he’s proud of the way he and his staff managed his first few months in office in 2020, which was sort of a trial by fire.

“When Ana Riley had left at the end of 2019, I was appointed in December 2019 and came aboard officially in January 2020. Then of course, Covid came very quickly. I think we did a good job in how we managed our way through with the schools with students and staff,” he said.

Portsmouth returned to full in-person instruction in the fall of 2021, while some other districts were still doing remote learning, he noted.

Academic growth

“I think we’ve accelerated our academic growth since then. When you look at RIDE accountability in the past few years, it’s right up there with anyone in the state,” he said, adding that Melville Elementary School became the first five-star school in Portsmouth late last year. (All the other schools are rated at four stars by RIDE.)

Kenworthy said he’s also proud of the $21.44 million bond that voters approved in November 2021 for major repairs to the town’s four public schools. “It wasn’t a forgone conclusion, and it’s made much-needed improvements in the schools,” he said.

Lastly, he’s proud of the school system’s leadership team, which he said is outstanding. 

“The families have been great here, and the community has so much going for it,” Kenworthy said. “It’s certainly a great location here on the island. The staff here has been excellent to work with.

“It’s definitely bittersweet but I know the district will be in good hands, and hopefully it will be a great opportunity for me in East Greenwich.”