On Thursday, January 11, 2024, Coventry Public Schools Superintendent Don Cowart presented a plan to reorganize the elementary schools in our town. 

Part of his plan was to split the students from Blackrock Elementary into other schools and repurpose their school as an early learning center for the town.  The remainder of his plan was to create a split elementary system where students would either attend Tiogue (K-2) and then Hopkins HIll (3-5) or Washington Oak (K-3) then Western Coventry (4-5) before moving on to the middle school.

He made several references to other towns in which this works as a reason why the school committee should approve his plan.  We repeatedly heard him tout the success of a split model in Exeter/WG, East Greenwich, and Barrington.  While most of us immediately argued that Exeter/WG is not a comparable school district, we have done research into the others and what we have found has led to this petition.

Both Barrington and East Greenwich have voted to reverse their move into a split model and go back to all elementary grades in one building.  In Barrington, they are returning to a K-5 model to "reduce the number of transitions for their students."  In East Greenwich, they are moving back to a 1-5 model in two schools that will house approximately 300 students each.  (Our student body at Blackrock is currently around 300 students as a comparative note.)  

If this information were so easily available to us on the internet, how is it that Supt. Cowart was unaware of it before claiming that those towns are happy and successful with the split elementary schools?  It is our position that he either did not do his due diligence or that he lied to us when presenting the information.  Either way, this is not someone we trust to continue in a leadership position within our town.

We request that you review our petition and consider our position.  As parents, we trust the school committee to ensure our children are getting the best education possible.  Part of that is ensuring that the leadership of our schools is doing their job to the best of their ability.  We no longer believe that Supt. Cowart belongs at the helm of the Coventry Public Schools.