Henry Barnard School (Rhode Island)

Last updated
Henry Barnard School
Location
Henry Barnard School (Rhode Island)
600 Mt Pleasant Ave, Providence, RI 02908
Coordinates 41°50′32″N71°27′48″W / 41.8422°N 71.4632°W / 41.8422; -71.4632
Information
TypePrivate, co-educational
Established1898
Faculty14
GradesPre-K - 5
GenderCo-ed
Enrollment100
Color(s)Blue and orange
Website www.henrybarnard.org

Henry Barnard School (often abbreviated to the initials HBS) is a private elementary school, founded in 1898. Located on the campus of Rhode Island College in Providence, Rhode Island, it serves approximately 100 students in grades pre-kindergarten through 5. [1]

Contents

Administration

History

Henry Barnard School was founded in 1898 as The Observation School of Rhode Island Normal School – later named Rhode Island College (RIC). It consisted of ten classrooms in the Normal School, where young women trained to become teachers. The Normal School was originally located in downtown Providence. In 1920, the school was renamed in honor of Henry Barnard, Rhode Island’s first commissioner of public schools and the first U.S. commissioner of education, while the Normal School changed its name to Rhode Island College of Education. [2]

In 1928, Henry Barnard School moved out of the Rhode Island College of Education into a separate building, with Dr. Clara Craig, one of the first critic teachers in the Normal School, as principal. The new building had 23 classrooms to accommodate grades K through Grade 9. The school also housed a library, auditorium, art room, cafeteria and a health clinic. Tuition was $75 for Rhode Island students and free for any Providence students unable to afford the tuition. Dr. Mary Tucker Thorp was named principal in 1936 and remained in that position for the next 23 years. During her tenure, the school grew and became nationally known for its reputation for excellence in education. In 1958, Henry Barnard School and Rhode Island College moved to their present location on Mount Pleasant Avenue. In 1969, the junior high was dissolved due to its small size and limited scope. A day care program began at the Henry Barnard School in 1973. In 1984, a full-day Kindergarten was added. [3]

In August 2020, Rhode Island College announced the closure of HBS at the end of the 2020-2021 academic year, due to ongoing budgetary concerns at RIC. This came after years of declining enrollment and operating at a financial loss. [4]

By December 2020, HBS announced that it would remain open as an independent school, ending its affiliation with RIC while remaining on its campus. The Parents Association negotiated a deal with RIC to rent the existing school space. [5]

On March 9, 2021, the HBS Parents Association announced a partnership with Providence Country Day School, beginning in the 2021-2022 academic year. The school would retain the Henry Barnard name with PCD Head of School Kevin Folan serving as Head of School for both campuses, while a Head of Lower School would be hired to manage the HBS campus. There are plans to build a new school for Henry Barnard, but that will take three to five years. [6]

In April 2021, Kyle Quadros was named Head of Lower School for HBS, beginning the 2021-2022 academic year. [7]

Henry Barnard's influence

When Henry Barnard was appointed as Rhode Island’s first education commissioner in 1842, he campaigned for a state-supported normal school and public school system. Part of his plan was a belief that the normal school should have a model school attached to it, where prospective teachers could apply what they had learned in the classroom. While he was unable to immediately establish the normal school, Barnard greatly improved public education, introducing uniform textbooks to schools across the state and convincing Rhode Islanders to pay higher school taxes to build new school houses and hire more qualified teachers. Barnard also established a professional journal for teachers and helped create a body of professional literature designed to improve teacher quality. [8]

In 1845 the state of Rhode Island gave him the authority to found a normal school. However, the state did not offered any resources, financial or otherwise, to create the school. Barnard was able to gather private supporters who offered property and funds to be matched by public ones. Unfortunately, increasingly poor health forced Barnard to resign his position in 1849. His goal would be achieved in 1851, when Brown University created a small normal department, led by Professor Samuel Stillman Green e, and in the following year, a private normal school opened in Providence. Brown’s success spurred Providence to reopen the Rhode Island Normal School in 1854. Before the school reopened, the Rhode Island General Assembly voted for a $3,000 appropriation to transform the school into a state school. It would be the first fully state-funded normal school in the nation. [9]

Academics

Curriculum is guided by experiential learning and inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach. Younger students learn in a play-based environment, while in upper grades, students conduct their own research and observations, experiencing math, science and other subjects in real-life applications. Weekly classes in art, music, technology education, library, Spanish, and physical education instruction are also offered. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Barnard</span> American politician

Henry Barnard was an American educationalist and reformer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Providence College</span> Catholic private university in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.

Providence College is a private Catholic university in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1917 by the Dominican Order and the local diocese, it offers 47 undergraduate majors and 17 graduate programs. The college requires all of its undergraduate students to complete 16 credits in the Development of Western Civilization, a major part of the college's core curriculum. In the spring of 2021, it enrolled 4,128 undergraduate students and 688 graduate students for a total enrollment of 4,816 students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhode Island College</span> Public college in Providence and North ProvidenceRhode Island, U.S.

Rhode Island College (RIC) is a public college in Rhode Island, with much of the land in Providence, and other parts in North Providence. The college was established in 1854 as the Rhode Island State Normal School, making it the second oldest institution of higher education in Rhode Island after Brown University. Located on a 180-acre campus, the college has a student body of 9,000: 7,518 undergraduates and 1,482 graduate students. RIC is a member of the NCAA and has 17 Division III teams.

Johnson & Wales University (JWU) is a private university with its main campus in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded as a business school in 1914 by Gertrude I. Johnson and Mary T. Wales, JWU enrolled 7,357 students across its campuses in the fall of 2020. The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.

The Providence Country Day School is a co-educational independent school founded in 1923. Located in East Providence, Rhode Island, United States, it serves 375 students in grades PreK through 12. The school has no religious affiliation and has been co-ed since 1991. It has maintained accreditation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleagues (NEASC) since 1952.

A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretary of the State Board of Education where he began a revival of common school education, the effects of which extended throughout America during the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wheeler School</span> Private school in Providence, Rhode Island, United States

Wheeler School is a private school located on the East Side of Providence, Rhode Island, United States. The school serves students from the nursery level through twelfth-grade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Salle Academy (Rhode Island)</span> School in Providence, Rhode Island, United States

La Salle Academy is a private Roman Catholic college preparatory school run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded by the Christian Brothers in 1871. the Academy currently enrolls 1,478 students in the sixth through twelfth grades, with the majority of students coming from the Providence metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smithville Seminary</span> United States historic place

The Smithville Seminary was a Freewill Baptist institution established in 1839 on what is now Institute Lane in Smithville-North Scituate, Rhode Island. Renamed the Lapham Institute in 1863, it closed in 1876. The site was then used as the campus of the Pentecostal Collegiate Institute and later the Watchman Institute, and is now the Scituate Commons apartments. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

Richard Walton was an American writer, teacher, and politician. He was the vice-presidential nominee in 1984 of the short-lived Citizens Party; Sonia Johnson was the party's presidential nominee that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Providence Public School District</span>

The Providence Public School Department is the administrative force behind the primary public school district of Providence, Rhode Island. As of July 2022, it serves about 21,700 students in pre-K through 12th grade. It has 21 elementary schools, seven middle schools and nine high schools, along with two public charter schools.

Cumberland High School is a public school located in Cumberland, Rhode Island. In its current location since 1962, the school serves approximately 1,500 students.

The Gordon School is a coeducational, independent school located in East Providence, Rhode Island. Students are educated from nursery through eighth grade. It is located on a 12-acre (49,000 m2) site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Community College of Rhode Island</span>

The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) is a public community college in Rhode Island. It is the only community college in the state and the largest community college in New England. The college's primary facility is located in Warwick, with additional college buildings throughout the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Rhode Island</span> Public university in Kingston, Rhode Island, U.S.

The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of Rhode Island. The university is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". As of 2019, the URI enrolled 14,653 undergraduate students, 1,982 graduate students, and 1,339 non-degree students, making it the largest university in the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pentecostal Collegiate Institute (Rhode Island)</span> United States historic place

The Pentecostal Collegiate Institute was a co-educational interdenominational collegiate institute located at North Scituate, Rhode Island from September 1902 to 1918. PCI was incorporated in Rhode Island and operated by its own board in association with the Association of Pentecostal Churches of America. The Church of the Nazarene operated it after 1915. It is considered a predecessor to Eastern Nazarene College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Central Falls High School</span>

Central Falls High School (CFHS) is an urban Senior High School in Central Falls, Rhode Island that serves students from grades nine through twelve. It is centrally located within the city of Central Falls so that students are able to walk to and from school. It is a part of the Central Falls School District. Beyond academics, the high school offers a wide variety of co-curricular activities and clubs. Their co-curricular activities and clubs help their students develop their individual talents and achieve personal goals outside the classroom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westerly High School</span> Public school in Westerly, Rhode Island, United States

Westerly High School is a public high school located in Westerly, Rhode Island, United States. The school is part of Westerly Public Schools.

Mary Tucker Thorp (1899–1974) was a teacher, educator and school principal at the Rhode Island College. She chaired the committee which investigated and made recommendations for accreditation standards for preschool education and which were adopted in the State Board of Education Codes in 1954. She was the first Distinguished Professor of Rhode Island College and both the first residence hall and a Professorship at the school are named in her honor. She was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 1969.

References

  1. ↑ "Henry Barnard School - More Information". www.henrybarnard.org. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  2. ↑ "Henry Barnard School - Continuity". www.henrybarnard.org. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  3. ↑ "Legacy". 2016-01-28. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  4. ↑ List, Madeleine. "RIC says it will close Henry Barnard School". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  5. ↑ Staff, Journal. "Henry Barnard School to remain open". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  6. ↑ Borg, Linda. "Henry Barnard School to merge with Providence Country Day School but retain its own identity". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  7. ↑ Fenton, Josh. "Education Leader Quadros Named Head of Henry Barnard School, Now in Partnership with PCD". GoLocalProv. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  8. ↑ Bastia, Arden. "Parents take action to save Henry Barnard School". Johnston Sun Rise. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
  9. ↑ "Rhode Island College: Meeting the State's Needs Through Time".
  10. ↑ "Henry Barnard School - Curriculum". www.henrybarnard.org. Retrieved 2021-10-22.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.