NKHS Principal Accepts Job as Portsmouth Assistant Superintendent

Thomas Kenworthy, principal of North Kingstown High School, will soon be saying goodbye to the school he has led for the past five years by October after being appointed assistant superintendent in Portsmouth this week.

Kenworthy, who was Portsmouth Superintendent Ana Riley’s recommended choice among several candidates, said he was looking forward to meeting everyone in the district and “hit the ground running.”

“I’m looking forward to getting to meet all the great educators and community members in Portsmouth,” Kenworthy said before the unanimous vote.

Kenworthy said there will be a bit of a transition period from one job to the next but expects to be situated in Portsmouth by early October.

School Committee Chairwoman Terri Cortvriend read a letter from committee member Andrew Kelly, who was not at Tuesday’s meeting, which stated that Kelly was pleased that Kenworthy was educated in Rhode Island and referenced his background in the United States Marine Corps.

“Your service in the Marine Corp will being a different dynamic to school administration,” the note read, adding that Kelly welcomed Kenworthy on his Health and Wellness Subcommittee.

Kenworthy will be paid an annual salary of $125,000 with a 2 percent increase each year, according to figures presented to the School Committee before their vote on Tuesday.

Kenworthy, who holds a Doctorate of Education from Johnson * Wales, started his career in 1995 as a social studies teacher at LaSalle and came to North Kingstown in 2000. He taught social studies for two years before taking his first administrative-level position as assistant principal at McCourt Middle School.

Under his leadership at NKHS, Kenworthy is credited with steadily increasing achievement. The school is now one of the select schools with 95.3 percent of students testing at or above proficiency in reading.

Kenworthy told Portsmouth School Committee members that he was fortunate to become a Principal Fellow in the Office of Secondary Reform at the Rhode Island Department of Education state early in his administrative career in Cumberland.

During that time, Kenwory said it was a opportunity to get to see education issues from a statewide perspective.

“It was a great experience. . .to see what’s happening in all communities, Portsmouth included,” Kenworthy said.

Kenworthy started his career in 1995 as a social studies teacher at LaSalle and came to North Kingstown in 2000. He taught social studies for two years before taking his first administrative-level position as assistant principal at McCourt Middle School in Cumberland.