Should Barrington school class sizes be limited to a certain number of students each year? And if so, does that need to be made a policy by school officials?

That was one of the topics Barrington School Committee members discussed during their meeting earlier this month. 

Committee member Liz Singh said she had been thinking about creating a policy that limits class sizes for elementary school students — kindergarten through fifth grade. 

Singh said other school districts in Rhode Island already have similar policies, such as East Greenwich. According to school officials, East Greenwich limits class sizes to 21 students for kindergarten through third grade, and 26 students in grades four through six. 

Singh said committee members are often provided enrollment projections but she wants to see concrete class size information. Singh said she wants to ensure that the district is being fair and equitable. 

According to a Barrington student enrollment presentation included in the packet of information for a January school committee meeting, class sizes at the K-3 level varied from school to school in 2025. For example, at Primrose Hill School, some of the kindergarten and second grade classes had 18 students, while some third grade classes at Sowams School had 25 students. Class size projections for 2026 also varied from school to school and grade to grade. The largest class projections were for third grade classes at Primrose Hill which are expected to have 25 or 26 students, while first grade classes at Sowams were expected to have 16 or 17 students. 

For fourth- and fifth-graders, the class sizes were consistent at grade levels. All fourth grade classrooms had 26 students each this year, while all fifth grade classrooms had 21 students each.

During the June school committee meeting, chairman TJ Peck said he would like to discuss class size limits again, and wants the talk to be supported by data, including a robust look back at recent class sizes in Barrington schools, as well as projections. 

Peck made a motion calling for a future discussion on class size limits. The motion passed 4-0 (committee member Karen Rasnick was not at the June 12 meeting). 

Equitable traffic patterns

Singh was also looking for equity among schools when it comes to traffic patterns. Singh said she does the drop-off and pick-up at Primrose Hill School and it is the only elementary school in Barrington that does not have a semicircle drive located in front. 

The lack of a semicircle drive results in some challenges for parents, Singh said. She described having to turn around in a nearby resident’s driveway. Committee member Frazier Bell said he had to do the same thing when his children attended Primrose Hill School.

Singh also mentioned the pre-kindergarten parking lot at Primrose Hill School as needing some attention from school officials. 

Peck later suggested to Singh that she make a motion to have the school construction design team discuss the traffic sites at the next school building committee meeting. (The district is in the early stages of a $250 million school construction project which will impact all the elementary schools.)

Sing made the motion, which passed 4-0.