Welcome

Principal

Dear Prospective Students and Parents,

Welcome to the Henry Barnard School. As part of your virtual visit to the school, I thought you might like to know a little about us. We are a preschool through six grade elementary school with a current student population of two hundred and ninety. The Henry Barnard School is a Department in the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development at Rhode Island College. As Rhode Island College's Laboratory School we have a dual purpose: to educate elementary students and to assist in the preparation of future teachers.

The Henry Barnard School is one of the more than one hundred laboratory schools that are associated with colleges and universities worldwide. The faculties of these schools are scholars, master teachers, and researchers involved in early childhood, elementary, secondary, and higher education. Laboratory schools are innovative in their approach to educational reform, and are committed to excellence at all levels of education. A direct result of this commitment is that the children in laboratory schools receive an outstanding education from top scholar/practitioners who are master teachers and prospective teachers are exposed to models of educational excellence.

As a laboratory school, the Henry Barnard School shares this commitment to educational excellence. We also actively participate in all five of the functions of a laboratory school as described by NALS The International Association of Laboratory and University Affiliated Schools.

Functions of a Laboratory School

Clinical Teaching Experience
Provide for observation and participation in a setting of quality educational practice and may provide a higher level experience for selected education majors who are in need of advanced, more rigorous experience prior to certification.

Research
Provide a setting for a variety of investigations that can be conducted by professors, graduate students and others.

Experimentation
Provide a laboratory of human resources to engage in the trial, development and refinement of innovations that may not be necessarily research based.

Curriculum Development
Provide a setting to create, test, pilot, and evaluate new curriculum materials and teaching strategies.

Staff Development
Provide a site conducive to educational staff development for the diversity of personnel found in schools.

I hope that your visit has been informative and enjoyable. If any of the faculty or I can provide additional information about the school, please do not hesitate to ask. More information is available at this web site, and I may be reached via email at rtibbetts@ric.edu.

Sincerely,
Ronald Tibbetts,
Ed.D. Principal