Our Mission
The Newport Public Education Foundation (NPEF) supports equitable, innovative, and impactful education in the Newport community. To accomplish this, NPEF funds educational projects, invests in educators, and builds strong partnerships with families and the community to expand opportunity for every student.
Our Values
- Show equity and inclusion by being culturally aware, appreciative, and responsive.
- Be open-minded and respectful.
- Center the voices closest to the work.
- Act with integrity and transparency.
- Support deep, meaningful learning and growth.
- Work from a mindset of possibility and abundance, not scarcity.
Strategic Goals
In 2026, NPEF updated its strategic goals to reflect the evolving needs of Newport Public Schools:
Goal 1: Equitable Access to Innovative and Impactful Learning
Goal 2: Strong and Sustained Donor Engagement and Stewardship
Goal 3: Meaningful Engagement with Multilingual Learners and Families
Goal 4: Authentic and Sustained Student Voice and Leadership
Goal 5: Community Awareness, Engagement, and Visibility
Our History
The Newport Public Education Foundation (NPEF) was founded in 1991 with a simple idea: community support could help Newport Public Schools offer opportunities beyond what the district’s operating budget could provide. Superintendent Don Beaudette brought local leaders together to create an independent organization that could attract private investment, encourage innovation, and connect schools with the wider community.
NPEF’s first grant was a $10,000 gift from Raytheon for science and technology. Since then, the Foundation has awarded more than $1 million to teachers and community organizations, supporting learning experiences for thousands of Newport students.
Throughout its history, NPEF has helped turn ambitious ideas into lasting resources. Early support for summer learning, the Books Open Life’s Doors reading initiative, and the Thompson Middle School Human Services Mall showed what schools and community partners could accomplish together. In the late 1990s, NPEF played a central role in a $1.35 million campaign to furnish and equip the renovated Thompson Middle School. A landmark $1 million gift from the Alletta Morris McBean Charitable Trust helped make that campaign possible.
In 2013, NPEF became the fiscal agent for the Pell Technology Enhancement Campaign, which established a $1 million endowment to support classroom technology at Claiborne Pell Elementary School. More recently, donors have partnered with the Foundation to establish the Rogers High School Technology Fund.
Today, NPEF continues to invest in Newport students through School Enrichment Grants, Community Enrichment Grants, and scholarships for Rogers High School graduates. Grants support innovative approaches that connect students with Newport’s cultural, environmental, and civic organizations.
More than three decades after its founding, NPEF remains rooted in the belief that students benefit when educators, families, donors, and community partners work together to expand what is possible in public education.
