I knew everything yesterday, and I wanted to walk through this building and give them a big hug, but I couldn’t do anything.”

Lisa Little, principal of Hathaway School

PORTSMOUTH — Howard Hathaway School Principal Lisa Little knew Thursday that her school had earned its first five-star rating from the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE).

The hard part was keeping it a secret.

“I knew everything yesterday, and I wanted to walk through this building and give them a big hug, but I couldn’t do anything,” Little said Friday, shortly after the results became public. “It was so fun to look at all the faces today.”

Hathaway earned the highest possible designation under the state's school accountability system for the first time, while Portsmouth's three other public schools weren't far behind.

Melville Elementary School, Portsmouth Middle School and Portsmouth High School each received four stars in the state's newly released 2026 school report cards.

RELATED: Dip in Portsmouth scores called statistically insignificant

Little credited the entire Hathaway community for the achievement.

“I'm pretty proud, and I'm excited for the people who are part of it,” she said. “It's the environment we create — it's ‘Happy Hathaway’ for a reason. The kids are loved and they feel connected. And then there's staff, who goes above and beyond, meeting students where they are and helping them to grow. And then there are the families, who are fantastic.”

The ratings offer a broader assessment of school performance than standardized test scores alone, taking into account academic achievement, student growth, chronic absenteeism and other indicators.

Hathaway's five-star designation comes despite modest declines in its 2026 Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System (RICAS) proficiency rates.

English language arts proficiency fell from 58 percent in 2025 to 55.7 percent this year, while math proficiency declined from 67.1 percent to 60.8 percent. Neither decrease was statistically significant, according to RIDE.

Strong growth

However, Hathaway recorded strong academic growth, with an average student growth percentile of 69 in both subjects. That indicates its students generally made greater academic progress than students statewide who had similar previous test scores.

Little said the growth figures were particularly encouraging.

“I've only looked at the data today. I think our growth was really amazing for both scores; that means we're reaching all kids,” she said. “I think we're headed in the right direction.”

The distinction between proficiency and growth is important. Proficiency measures whether students meet grade-level expectations, while growth measures their academic progress over time.

The districtwide ratings are particularly noteworthy given that just 56 percent of Rhode Island schools received three stars or higher in 2026, according to RIDE. All four Portsmouth schools exceeded that threshold.

The state's accountability system assigns individual schools ratings ranging from one to five stars. School districts themselves do not receive an overall star rating.