On Thursday, August 12 at 10:00 am, Newport Public Schools, joined by city and state officials, students, teachers, and families will celebrate the expansion of Pell Elementary School at a construction groundbreaking ceremony.

Scheduled to attend the event are General Treasurer Seth Magaziner, Mayor Jeanne-Marie Napolitano, Newport School Committee Chair Raymond Gomes, Superientant Colleen Burns Jermain, Pell Elementary School Principal, Traci Westman, and Pell Elementary School students, teachers, and families.

Newport voters last November approved a $106.33 million school bond that will finance the Pell Elementary School addition and a new Rogers High School. The total bond authorization for the Pell Elementary School expansion is $7,472,300.

The groundbreaking ceremony is open to the public.

Rendering of the expansion at Pell Elementary School. Newport Public Schools

Ryan Belmore is the owner and publisher of What's Up Newp. He took over the publication in 2012 and has grown it into a three-time Rhode Island Monthly Best Local News Blog (2018, 2019, 2020). He was named LION Publishers Member of the Year in 2020 and received the Dominique Award from the Arts & Cultural Society of Newport County the same year. He has been awarded grants for investigative and community journalism, and continues to coach and mentor new local news publications nationwide. Ryan...