Letter: This is a unifying call for action, for our schools

Posted 4/12/22

There are many reasons that brought our families to Barrington and keep us here. But at the top of everyone’s list is an excellent school system that promises to “empower all students to …

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Letter: This is a unifying call for action, for our schools

Posted

There are many reasons that brought our families to Barrington and keep us here. But at the top of everyone’s list is an excellent school system that promises to “empower all students to excel.” Barrington Public Schools’ strategic plan states that it will achieve this goal by “making student-centered decisions” and “creating purposeful, inclusive, and responsive dialogue.”

Over the past several years, the district administration and majority of the School Committee have failed on both fronts. It is time for a change. Our community is reeling from this year’s failed shift from Honors-level English classes to an independent Honors Designation project, resulting in honors participation dropping from over 50% of students to under 30%.

This was a major policy change with no clearly-stated goal or implementation plan, during a pandemic that left students and teachers stretched thin. The adverse impact this would have on college merit scholarship eligibility was not discovered until AFTER the change was implemented; this lack of due diligence by our leaders has left many high school students caught in the middle of this debacle.

This is just the latest example of a clear pattern of self-inflicted wounds due to the administration and School Committee taking actions without regard for stakeholder input, and lack of accountability for failures. A few examples:

Elimination of bus eligibility for many families, which was communicated only a few weeks before school started in September;

Neighborhood elementary schools on the chopping block, with reluctant acknowledgement that families should have input;

Removal of conceptual classes (which offered content that met individual student needs) early in the pandemic, without engagement of students and families impacted;

Inability to resolve an ongoing dispute that has resulted in an unused state-of-the-art auditorium gathering dust almost two years after the opening of our new Barrington Middle School;

Lack of a timely response to a four-month gap in 8th grade math instruction due to a middle school teacher leaving;

Numerous lawsuits/legal actions brought by teachers, students, and their families, in response to the gross overreach by the majority of this School Committee.

Barrington schools are our town’s greatest asset. We, engaged parents, students, BHS graduates, and taxpayers, have spent hours trying to convey our perspectives and lived experiences. We have written countless emails and spoken at endless school committee meetings. The lack of any response, of accountability, of listening to understand, of any semblance of community partnership, is stunning.

To be clear, we applaud our teachers and are thankful for all they are doing - day in and day out - for our kids. Our entire learning community deserves better than these failures of our leadership.

The signers of this letter are diverse; we are Democrats, Republicans and Independents; some voted for the current school committee members, and some did not. But we will ALL vote for change in November, because these issues are more important than party.

This is a unifying call for action. Our kids and our school system are counting on us.

Julie & Brett Owens, 16 Chachapacassett Road

Neile & Fred Hartman, 18 Great Road

Shelli Edgar & Devyn Smith, 14 South Meadow Lane

Kelly Andreoni & Alec Waugh, 2 Ledge Road

Hermano & Melissa Pereira, 17 Old River Road

Cassie & Paul DiGiacomo, 23 Great Road

Karen and Mark Ceseretti, 1 Alfred Drive 

Todd & Lisbeth Kenyon, 5 Vincent Paul Dr

Chris & Jill Hughes, 20 Mayfield Drive

Liz & Dave Henderson, 1 Northwest Passage

Craig & Pam Van Ness, 30 Lillis Ave

Jon & Heather Magnussen, 3 Carriage Trail

Nate and Jenn Gravelle, 48 North Lake Drive

Chase Kazounis, 3 Fairview Circle

Emily & Andy Ford, 1 North Lake Drive

TR Rimoshytus, 1 Howard St

Heather & David Piazza, 10 Briarfield Rd

Andrew and Jamie Triebwasser, 139 Nayatt Rd

Lisa Daft, 5 Robbins Dr

Dianne Tine, 154 Lincoln Ave

Dena Davis, 38 Highland Ave 

Danielle Zavada & James Robinson, 141 Alfred Drown Rd

Jessica & Gerasimos Liberatos, 4 Deep Meadow Rd

Andrew & Brittany DiOrio, 450 Maple Avenue

Karen & Keith Montecalvo, 7 Bullock Avenue

Hope and Sam Parish, 30 Oak Grove Ave

Gina Pine, 479 New Meadow Rd

Brian and Emily Hughes, 18 Eton Road

Leah & Aaron Hoffmann, 30 Broadview Drive

Christian & Melissa Rigamonti, 1 Carver Road

Kiela Daley, 7 Greenbrier Drive

Richard Guerra, 15 Bullock Ave. 

Melanie & Scott Edwards, 255 Rumstick Road

Ellen and Philip Schaffer, 2 King Philip Ave

Krystal and Matthew Higgins, 7 Heritage Rd.

Colleen & Christopher Hoagland, 5 Telford Rd 

Kira & Lyle Richardson, 61 Whipple Ave.

Tanya Bernier, 22 Columbus Avenue

Wendy & Bruce Duncan, 18 Lantern Lane

Chad & Rachel Mellen, 2 Nayatt Point Court

Meredith & Nick Guerriero, 324 Rumstick Rd 

Jon and Katherine Kittredge, 6 Brick Pond Drive

Jeremy and Kelly Hardison, 2 Hunt Drive

Elizabeth & Imran Salahuddin, 552 Middle Hwy 

Kip and Kate Godbout,135 Ferry Lane 

Andrew Gaynor, 118 Ferry Lane

Andrew & Rebecca Porter 3 Driftwood Dr.

Alyson & Abbas Abbas, 91 Nayatt Rd

Elizabeth and Christopher Kirk, 6 Harbour 

Bahar Bilgen & Deniz Bac, 19 Chapin Rd

Tammie Guerra, 15 Bullock Avenue

Amanda R. Ferreira, 2 Bluemead Farm Lane

Anthony and Dawn Bucci, 6 Fireside Drive

Michelle Gray, 14 Burr Ave

Greg & Parisa Beers, 10 Robbins Drive

Carolanne McTaggart, 160 Adams Point Rd 

Kristen & James Pearse, 47 Chapel Rd

Stephanie & Louis Benevides, 181 Rumstick Rd

Elizabeth & Vishal Singh, 2 Regal Point

Alan & Sherri Cantara, 7 Ridgeland Rd

Barbara Waliga, 16 Pine Top Rd

Frank and Katie Lucas, 5 Sakonnet Drive

Kimberly & Brian Durkin, 8 Bayberry Lane 

Swetha Nataraj and Kishore Lakshman, 320 Rumstick Road

Yajni Warnapala and Zufni Yehiya, 32 Linden Rd

Madhri Yehiya, 32 Linden Rd, (BHS 2020)

Jenna & Bear Marchal, 2 Colley Court

Gina Campbell Helm & Benjamin Andreozzi, 61 Primrose Hill Rd

Debbi and Jordan Jaffe, 17 Woodhaven Road

Alison and Michael Reuter, 91 Mathewson Road

Tinsley Kampmier-Williamson and Dominic Williamson, 19 Meadowbrook Dr

MiNa Chung, 3 Sherwood Lane

Chris Gauthier & Heather Nelson, 5 Meadowbrook Rd

Mimsey and Bill Cauley, 7 Jennys Ln

James and Rosemaria Cowden, 18 Highland Ave

Karen Occhialini, 5 Copper Kettle Lane

Mylie & Emerson Leonard, 2 Glenfield Rd

Anthony and Amanda Bruneau, 4 Craig Drive

Andy and Anita Sattlberger, 22 Thomas Street

Maria Vassilieva, 11 Anthony Rd 

Bethany Aspinwall, 276 Narragansett Ave

Priya and Arvind Bansal, 3 Boxwood Court

Laura and Emma Larrivee, 140 Promenade St.

Jessica and Zeke Fortin, 10 Zompa Rd

John and Loredana Tuttobene, 15 Puritan Ave 

Jennifer and Andrew Macaulay, 61 Jennys Lane

Jennifer and Bryan Jay, 9 Harbour Road

Anne Merlino, 15 Mallard Cove Way

Melissa and Brent Squires, 8 Olive Lane

Natalie and Matt Leonard, 20 Mallard Cove Way 

Kim and Matt Gilmore, 29 Richmond Ave. 

Michelle Ristuccia and Jeffrey Mattos, 47 Meadowbrook Drive

Shufen Tian, 130 Church Street 

Dan Gilman (BHS 1996) and Jessica Zuehlke, 29 Knapton St. 

Yang Wang, 19 Wildflower Rd. 

Erin Rose, 70 Alfred Drown Rd.

Cheryl Marley, 3 Viall’s Dr.

Laurie and Greg Dubel, 95 Mathewson Rd

Robert Swarts, 421 Sowams Rd 

Anastasios and Marianthy Barakos, 5 Northwest Psge

Helaina Barakos, 5 Northwest Psge

Anthony & Erin DiOrio, 1 Hunt Dr

Herminio and Patti Agustin, 616 County Rd

Laura Lass, 149 Narragansett Ave

Ted Paull, 149 Narragansett Ave

Rob and Holly Gonsalves, 4 New Hampshire Ave

Carissa and Ty Paup, 6 Sowams Rd

Brian and Ashlee Cabral, 417 Maple Ave

Sharon Santos, 11 Western Ave

Brian and Jessica Rawnsley, 24 Hazelton Road 

Dennis & Shannon Staton, 27 Lantern Lane

Debra C. Nyser, 30 Adelaide Ave 

Ray and Allison Clark, 5 Mathewson Rd

Bryan & Jennifer McLane, 3 Roberta Dr.

Erika and Tim Twohig, 4 Eleanor Drive

Julie Sanfilippo, 82 Massasoit Ave

David and Elizabeth Clegg, 6 Bullock Ave

Kirsten Gonnevile, 31 Ferry Lane

Anna Amoiradaki, 20 Burr Avenue

Kara and Mike Kelley, 6 Jennys Lane

Jarrod and Heather Ryan, 99 Roffee Street

Justin & Danielle Kupperman, 5 Oak Manor Drive

Scott and Emily Hughes, 20 Appian Way

Seth & Keri Fisher, 47 Lamson Road

Rick & Karen Desimone, 5 StarBrook Drive

Daniela and Chris Jensen, 9 Boxwood Ct. 

Rob & Shannon Spear, 9 Northwest Passage

Stacy & Jean-Paul Dujardin, 29 Broadview Drive

Peter Alarie & Amy Breslin, 2 Windward Dr

Angie Salem and John Buffum, 5 Half Mile Rd

Mac Dolan & Lisa Treat, 23 Bradford Street

Amy and Mike Silvia, 8 Ledge Rd

Eric and Carrie Newton, 307 Rumstick Rd

Elizabeth and Mario Sturla, 12 Third St

Tom and Lauren Martin, 314 Rumstick Rd.

Alexandra Martin, 314 Rumstick Rd.

Bill & Lauren Loehning, 14 Stone Tower Lane

Sara Catanzaro, 368 Rumstick Rd 

Jeff Schles, 368 Rumstick Rd 

Ransom and Alexandra Griffin, 5 Elton Road

Beth and Tom Conlon, 9 Highview Ave

Motryja and Roman Bejger, 36 Jennys Lane

Stuart and Michea Kiely, 114 Rumstick Rd

Matthew & Melanie Fletcher, 81 Prince’s Hill Ave

Michael & Carla Silva 45 Chapin Road

Dara & Phil Colacchio, 7 Glenfield Road

Alexia & John Hatjopoulos, 3 Annies Way

Denise & Paul Languirand, 10 Starbrook Dr

Yomar & Silke Marquez-Scholz, 387 Nayatt Rd

Kim Perez &  Liam Kenny, 17 Terrace Dr

Molly & Bill Magnuson, 17 Burr Ave

Brendan & Laurel Gibbons, 500 Washington Road 

Anna Titova, 96 Lincoln Ave

Karen & Brendan Whittet, 16 Pine Cone Drive

Eric Gardner, One Bowden Avenue

Katie and John Bavier, 10 Milton Rd

Jennifer Paredes, 5 Stone Tower Lane

Tim and Amy Forbes, 11 Adams Point Road

Jessica Cabral-Lafreniere and James Lafreniere, 9 Elton Rd

Elizabeth and Rich Demopoulos, 9 Half Mile Road

Susannah P. Holloway, 64 Fales Ave. 

Paul & Kimberley Montour, 18 Chapel Rd.

Kristie and Tod Sirmalis, 13 Roberta Drive

Michelle and Alan Daniels, 26 Bluff Road

Andrew & Krissi Resmini, 309 Rumstick Road

Dina Egge, 55 Washington Road

Paul Dulchinos, 20 Walnut Road

Leigh & Joshua Riazi, 116 Governor Bradford Drive 

Kristen Martel, 11 Winsor Drive

Elizabeth Buckley, One Bowden Avenue

Elisa & Michael Sholes, 7 Maudsley Avenue 

Carlos & Nicole Dominguez, 8 Glenfield Road

Xin He & Yu Yang, 37 Washington Rd

Elizabeth Holmes, 16 Milton Rd

Julie & Matt Bromberg, 15 Broadview Drive

Peter & Julie Romano, 9 Briarwood Drive 

Morgan Hollenbeck, 100 Rumstick Road

Scott & Pamela Fuller, 23 Belvedere Avenue

Cari & Glenn Wojcik, 5 Woodmont Ct

Augie & Lori Almeida (BHS 1975), 54 Hammond St, Seekonk

Derek & Jennifer Stern, 10 Wright Place

Nelson & Christine Pires, 24 Bullock Ave

Jill & David Josephson, 34 Anthony Road 

Noelle Robinson (BHS 2021), 9 Cold Spring Road

Cortney and Timothy Oswald, 4 Teakwood Ln

Melina and Adam Hill, 5 Blount Circle

Gail Dunphy, 74 Martin Ave

Jody & Glenn Tanzman, 166 Nayatt Rd. 

John Alessandro, Jr (BHS 1989), 15 Meadowbrook Dr.

Mary Teixeira, 5 Josal Drive

Dorothy Andreozzi, 8 Josal Drive

Lee Ann Macrae, 10 Josal Drive

Joe Mac Rae, 10 Josal Drive

Nick and Sheila Fluet, 4 Greenbrier Drive

David Kagan and Rachel Simmons, 30 South Street

Jeremy and Maura Spector, 7 Chachapacasset Rd.

Kerri-Anne Mallet, 5 Westwood Ln 

Meg & Brad Whelan, 22 Broadview Drive

Chunli Ye, 1 Phillips St.

Jill & Seb Martens, 22 Townsend St.

Cassidy Owens (BHS 2021), 16 Chachapacassett Road

Mike and Michelle Perugini 25 Highview Ave.

David and Elizabeth Norton, 16 Thomas Street

Matt and Haley Holland, 12 Blount Cir, (BHS 2003)

Allyson Naperotic, 105 New Meadow Rd 

Elizabeth and Jim Watson, 216 Nayatt Rd

Erica and Adam Resmini, 178 Adams Point Road

Denise & Raymond Lombardo, 46 Rumstick Road

Doug Dubel (BHS 2021), 95 Mathewson Road

Sheila and Nick Fluet, 4 Greenbrier Drive

Michael and Sharon Monsour, 7 Crestwood Rd.

Laurie Tickle and Ralph Coutant, 50 Alfred Drown Rd.

David and Angela Jewell, 1 Middle Highway

Karen and Martin Rasnick, 9 Meadow Circle

Rachel Rasnick, 9 Meadow Circle

Maxine Rasnick, 9 Meadow Circle

Matthew & Jennifer Gill, 6 Oak Manor Drive

Michael & Beth Machado, 4 Mallard Cove Way

Lauren & Jim Fox, 143 Church Street 

Peter and Michelle Lucas, 22 Old Chimney

John and Kate Reagan, 1 Collins Court 

Maura McCrann, 4 Woodford Road

Megan and David Redmond, 4 Knapton St

Michele & Phillip Bennett, 170 Sowams Road

Elisabeth McGowan & Andrew Tolley, 17 Robbins Drive

Jeff & Sarah Gaines, 8 Honeysuckle Court

Jyothsna Parachuru, 4 Pine Top Road

Betsy Dolan, 102 Walnut Rd

Megan Capozza, 3 Atlantic Crossing

David Beal, 17 Oak Manor Drive

Kelley LeBlanc, 4 Westwood Lane 

Kristen Moran 22 Carpenter Avenue 

Jackie Zhu, 2 Cranberry Court

Michael and Jennifer Horne, 13 Preston Drive

Barbara Celico, 21 Central Ave

David and Samantha Currie, 6 Old Chimney Road

Alfredo & Holly Gil, 17 Adams Point Road

Andrew & Lucille Cresho, 16 Fairway Drive

Vivienne Mueller (BHS 2022), 6 Ronald Road

Lucy Dreier (BHS 2022), 4 Libby Lane

Steve & Kerri Payne, 6 Alfred Dr.

Bill & Melinda Quinn, 14 Old Chimney Rd. 

Joe and Amanda Hope, 5 Deep Meadow Rd

Beatrice Lechner and Marian Mueller, 6 Ronald Rd

Cilla and Peter Donatelli, 7 Preston Drive

Kristie Feroce, 303 New Meadow Rd.

Noelle & Jared Pruzan, 5 Boxwood Ct.

Elizabeth Zimmermann, 15 Ridgewood Rd.

Brian & Justine Rua, 2 Deep Meadow Rd

Zhijin Wu, 25 Pine Top Rd

Betty Vohr and Thomas Gidley, 4 White Birch Lane

Zach & Mary Tronti, 2 Driftwood Drive 

Ellen & Carmine Rondinelli, 3 Colonial Ave.

Neil Yee, 63 Linden Road

Grace Murphy, 35 North Lake Drive

Leslie and Bill Brackett, 74 Fales Ave

Bart Stanzione, 424 Middle Highway

Dawn and Bill Clarke 28 Sherwood lane

Vasilios B. Kotsiris (BHS 1989), 16 Briarfield Rd.

Adam (BHS 1993) and Amiee Keenan, 16 Stanley Ave.

Kyeonghee Kim, 2 Mallard Cove Way

Nora and David Caldarella 16 Melrose Ave

John and Alexia Taxiarchos, 5 George W Finnerty Rd.

Daniel and Sara Mountain, 6 Mallard Cove

Kevin and Robyn Silvia, 14 Agawam 

Stephanie and Jarrod Brucato, 61 Annawamscutt Rd.

David and Kimberly Hood, 85 Rumstick Rd

Christopher and Megan Coleman, 210 Foote St. 

Ernie & Susan Giordano, 47 Washington Road

Christopher and Jean Ernster, 100 Ferry Lane

Lisa & Mark Biagetti, 2 Tallwood Drive

Erika Werner, 55 Alfred Drowne Rd 

Kathleen and Brendan Keefe, 583 Maple Ave

Heather and Dan Bairos, 3 Despirito Lane

Holly & Lance Sheffield, 85 Nayatt Rd

Molly and Patrick Franke, 100 Nayatt Rd.

Michael Morrissette Christopher Poirier, 11 Chantilly Drive

Kelly M Carrara, 61 Lamson Road

Melissa & Nick  Angert, 4 Copper Kettle Lane 

Christoper Gillam, 14 Chantilly Drive

Alyssa & Jack DaFonseca, 14 Bullock Ave

Rosalie Franks, 16 Terrace Drive

Saramsh Pandit & Anjana Gautam, 8 Meadow Circle

Thomas Chun, Audrey Sinesi, and Stephanie Chun (BHS 2020), 392 New Meadow Road

Sicheng Wen, Jing Ding, 71 Prospect street

Elizabeth Jacobs & Daniel Dickstein, 17 Echo Drive

Amira & Edress Othman, 7 Richard St

Konstantinos Dokos & Stephanie Tsimikas, 4 Hart Lane 

Sarah & Brady Case, 67 Bay Rd

Kristin and Michael Panasuik, 16 Mallard Cove Way

Mary Kathryn and Michael Cancilliere, 15 Fireside Dr

Jerauld and Sara Adams, 132 Nayatt Road

Julie and Jon Duffy, 33 Alfred Drown Road

Alex Rimoshytus (BHS 2012), 1 Howard St

Lauren Peck, 21 Thomas St

Robert Peck, 85 Whipple Ave

Dan & Laura Johnson, 4 Vero Court

Crystal & Michael Duarte, 5 Caldarone St

Jeff & Sara Brown, 31 Meadowbrook Drive

Pam Lewis, 3 Ridgewood Road

Ben and Becky Chwalk, 3 Woolett Court

Lisa and Larry Davis, 5 Veritas Way

Sophia Mecca, 35 Waldron Avenue

Stacey Munzert, 18 Manning Drive

Brad and Stephanie Morisseau, 1 Tanglewood Drive

Katherine & Matthew Donato, 7 Colonial Ave

Buddy and Kelli Hardiman, 77 Rumstick Road

Joyce and Greg Hughes, 177 Mathewson Road

Lisa Raposa, 34 Richmond Ave

Karynn Pilipski, 3 Preston Drive

Joanna Koutsoukos, 2 Belton Drive

Steve & Vanessa Sheehan, 35 Adelaide Ave.

Paul Ziino, 31 Great Road

Katie & Wallace Abbott, 49 Jennys Ln

Jong Hoon Park, 1 Atlantic Crossing 

Lisa Duffy, Whipple Avenue 

Kate Higginbotham, 42 Meadowbrook Drive

Jennifer Stern and Ted Chavez, 16 Chapin Road

Heather and William Glassner, 15 Cold Spring Road

Jessica and Brian Parylak, 4 Stratford Rd

KJ Hwang & Sora Park, 32 Walsh Ave

Bill and Marsha Clarke, 632 County Rd 

Phoebe Salten & Merrill Weingrod, 11 Bluff Rd

Dave and Katarina Oberg, 6 Puritan Ave

Brad and Kirsten Carlson, 139 Rumstick Rd

Thomas Cregan, 3 Tallwood Drive

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