Nayatt School

Posted: July 6, 2023

As a single parent household with a neurodivergent ADHD child, my experience with Nayatt in 2020-2021 was horrific (truly traumatizing for both me and my child). My child's teacher quite obviously did not like him, and the principal backed up the teacher, and so the atmosphere was set that peers felt empowered to also shun my child.

He was pushed to complete a worksheet until he had a meltdown and was laying on the desk and yelling - they physically removed him from the classroom, despite not being a physical threat to anyone. When I called an IEP meeting, they refused to have anyone who had actually been present or participated in the restraint join the meeting, despite my written requests. My attempts to address any training gaps that led to this (honestly illegal) restraint situation were totally blocked. When I asked that he have a new aide for the following year as he (uncharacteristically) disliked that aide, and she had been the one to restrain him, I was told no, that she was the best one for him in their opinion.

They used his IEP as justification to basically bubble wrap him with services to keep him from being a bother to peers and the teacher. This meant he did most of his academics in the special educator's space rather than in the general education classroom, and the focus on academic success was exclusively test-based. When he scored poorly, and I pressed to see if that was because he was distracted and unmotivated or if he did not understand the material, the teachers seemed totally focused on simply the score rather than WHY he scored that way.

I honestly felt I either had to sue them, push for an out-of-district placement for my child, or just move - I moved to East Providence and have had an exceptional experience ever since. My child's test scores are now 80-90th percentile and he is thriving. He has friends, he knows he's liked, he sees his strengths and is given the appropriate supports to address his challenges and develop skills.

Having grown up in Barrington myself and then spent one horrible year with my child in Nayatt, I would say this: Barrington ranks highly because they care about rankings. For some children, that works. For mine, it was NOT the right environment. There is an air of wealthy elite privilege snobbery and I am much happier with a much less affluent environment for my children. I would advise anyone to consider if you want a highly ranked school or one where your student is more than a test score.

Posted: July 6, 2023

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Posted: January 18, 2023

This school is wonderful. The teachers go above and beyond, the community is very tight-knit and the PTO is outstanding. They were able to bring back Enrichment after school activities. It is a blue ribbon school for a reason!

Posted: January 18, 2023

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Posted: April 9, 2021

The school does not support neuro-diverse students and failed to proactively manage the educational outcomes for my child.

We moved from Chicago specifically to attend this school and it has been an overall terrible experience. While Nayatt scores well by Rhode Island standards, it is significantly behind in both capability and student centered outcomes when compared to schools in much better funded cities.

I would not recommend this school for any student that needs anything beyond a basic and standardized education.

Posted: April 9, 2021

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Posted: July 23, 2017

Daughter just finished her final year. Can't say 1 bad thing about our experience here. They're a National Blue Ribbon school for a reason!!!

Posted: July 23, 2017

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Posted: March 17, 2017

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Posted: March 17, 2017

Teachers are firm but caring. They do their best to cater to different student needs.

Posted: March 17, 2017

No routine homework for elementary school! Just meaningful projects.

Posted: March 17, 2017

Great school.
I like it even more since they changed their homework policy: Almost no homework! Way to go with the evidence-based actions! The teachers and the principal are very responsive to parent input.
I also like that they have two recess periods.
4/5 stars because: Nayatt tends to do too many indoor recess in the winter when it is not that cold outside, whereas other schools do better (eg Sowams). Another minor concern is the suburban demographics, ie lack of diversity or awareness/celebration of multicultural/ethnic backgrounds.