As the new school year begins, Cranston Public Schools welcomes 13 principals/directors to new roles within the district. From seasoned educators switching schools to new educators entering the district, the Cranston Herald will highlight those taking on new principal/director roles in the following weeks.

Cheryl Anderson

This year, Cranston Public Schools welcomed Cheryl Anderson to its Special Services Program as the new Director of Multilingual Learners.  Anderson has held many roles within the district including serving as assistant principal at Bain Middle School for three years, Eden Park principal for four years, assistant principal at Cranston West for five years and – most recently – carrying out the position of principal at Park View Middle School for four years. 

“I have always loved working with children,” said Anderson. “It is a joy to see their excitement when they are engaged in a lesson and begin to understand the concepts. I see the pride on their faces every time when this occurs.”

As director of multilingual learners, Anderson is looking forward to working closely with families and students to support their acquisition of the English Language. 

“I want to support the teachers and administrators as they collaborate with families and students of multilingual learners. As we all work together, this will help to ensure a successful educational experience for Cranston’s MLL students and families,” said Anderson.

As for this year’s plans/initiatives, Anderson said that as the district moves forward with a greater sense of normalcy, she’d like to see more opportunities to partner with families and students to provide access, information and fun for MLL students and families.

“I want families to feel welcome in our school community as they navigate the Cranston system. With Covid, we have had limited opportunities for this to happen. Let’s get back together,” Anderson said.

Anderson graduated from Rhode Island College in 1993 with a degree in Elementary Education; she later attended Providence College to receive an endorsement in Middle school Mathematics, Social Studies and English as well as an ESL endorsement in each of these subjects. In 2002, Anderson received her master’s degree from the University of Rhode Island which led to her Administrative Certification from the Rhode Island Department of Education. 

“I am honored to have had such a variety of experiences in education,” Anderson said. “I have enjoyed every experience and have learned so much and will continue to grow and learn in my new role as Multilingual Learners Program Director.”

Bryan Byerlee and Ashley Cardarelli

With the new Garden City Elementary School being built, Garden City Principal Bryan Byerlee is also the principal of Daniel D. Waterman Elementary; Assistant Principal Ashley Cardarelli is new to both schools.

Byerlee and Cardarelli said this year they are working on bridging the two schools and will hold joint events and some PTO meetings while sharing the same communications with families from both school buildings. The two will also spend time in both schools getting to know the kids, families and staff in order to have a more seamless transition next year once students are in the new Garden City Elementary building.

Byerlee has spent 26 years in the education field. He taught fourth grade in North Smithfield, served as North Scituate Elementary School’s principal and spent the last six years as Garden City’s principal. Cardarelli, who is new to the district, spent one year at Smithfield schools and worked at Clayville Elementary School in Scituate where – for eight years – she held roles as a fourth grade teacher and in special education.

Byerlee said this is the first time he’s had the opportunity to work directly with another administrator; he is looking forward to the collaboration between Garden City and Waterman.

For Cardarelli, she’s excited about building relationships. This is her first time in an administrative role, and she said it’s a unique opportunity to get to know two different populations of students and staff.

Cardarelli said she’s always envisioned being in education and had played school growing up. Helping others and making a difference piqued her interest. She didn’t see herself going into an administrative role, but the more leadership opportunities she took part in as a teacher, she recognized the broader reach administrators could have to impact students. Being someone who loves to learn new things and share them with others, Cardarelli saw administrative work as an exciting opportunity.

Byerlee also played school growing up and idealized many of his teachers – saying he remembers every one he had. He saw the impact teachers had on students and wanted to have that same effect on people. Like Cardarelli, Byerlee didn’t originally anticipate taking on an administrative role. He was a member of an after school improvement team and had become a mentor to other teachers, and eventually he decided to go into an administrative role since he was able to support others and collaborate with them just like he was already doing in his teaching role.

Byerlee and Cardarelli will be working together on school culture and, as a district, attendance. Some of the fun events the two have planned include Dot Day – which will take place on Sept. 15. The day focuses on identity, making a difference and showing that you as an individual matter.

Both administrators attended Providence College for their master’s in education and administration. For their undergraduate degree the two had attended Rhode Island College and earned a Bachelor of Science in education.

Tom Barbieri

Cranston East – recently nicknamed the Emerald City – has welcomed Thomas Barbieri as its new principal.

“An emerald is rarer than a diamond, and we want people to know this school is one of the gems we have in RI,” said Babieri.

This year, the school is focusing on three pillars: community, consistency and culture.

 “I’m a culture guy – I believe culture is the foundation to every single school. We talk about school safety, educational programs, a school can’t continue its journey if it doesn’t have culture, and so I will be looking to continue celebrating their culture that they have at Cranston East,” Barbieri said.

Barbieri loves working as an administrator at the school-based level; he said graduation is what he gets his “why” from. His favorite part of the job is walking around and saying good morning to students because he gets to see teaching and learning in action.

“Getting that enthusiasm and energy and bringing it forward and celebrating their [students’] accomplishments is one of my priorities,” said Barbieri.

Barbieri started his career in Cranston Public Schools as a substitute teacher and in 1993 started a full time job at East. Since then, he has served as a special education teacher at Hugh B. Bain Middle School, assistant principal at Bain, assistant principal at Cranston West, and West’s principal. 

He added that East is letting people know it’s on the map. From a student pride group that will be at sports games to the student ambassadors wearing “We are East” shirts, the school is continuing to make great things happen and come together as one; the school is currently working on a collaboration to get banners around the sports stadium.

Barbieri said going back to East is like coming home and is looking to build upon the foundation that prior Principal Sean Kelly left for him. He said the school wants to continue to provide students with educational programs that put them in a position to go into their next phase of life and be successful.

Barbieri has lived in Cranston for the past 22 years with his family.