The Henry Barnard School was founded in 1898 as the Observation School of Rhode Island Normal School (later Rhode Island College) with ten classrooms on the first floor of the Normal School. In 1920, the school was renamed in honor of Henry Barnard (1811-1900), Rhode Island’s first commissioner of public schools and the nation’s first commissioner of education. In 1928, the Barnard School moved into its own four-story building next door. In 1958, the Henry Barnard School and Rhode Island College moved to the location of RIC’s present campus on Mount Pleasant Avenue. In 1969, the junior high was dissolved due to its small size and limited scope. In 1973, the Barnard School began a daycare program and added a full-day Kindergarten in 1984.
Principals of the Henry Barnard School include Clara Craig (circa 1920s-1936), Mary Tucker Thorp (1936-1958), Clement Hasenfus (1958-1969), Terrence Boylan (1969-unknown), Richard Sevey (circa 1980-circa 1987), Ron Tibbetts (circa 1990s), Lou Lloyd-Zannini (circa 2010s), and Jeannine Magliocco (2014-unknown).
In August 2020, Rhode Island College announced the closure of the Henry Barnard School at the end of the 2020-2021 school year due to budgetary concerns; by December of that year, HBS announced they would continue to operate as an independent school without RIC’s affiliation and the Parents’ Association negotiated a deal to rent the existing school space. In March of 2021, the Parents’ Association announced a partnership with Providence Country Day School, and HBS students and faculty moved to the main PCD campus in 2023.
The materials in this collection were primarily created by faculty and staff of the Henry Barnard School. They include curricula, attendance and enrollment records, correspondence, newsletters, writings, yearbooks, and photos. The materials in the collection reflect the history of early childhood education in Rhode Island and shifts in pedagogical approaches across time. The Schools at War series and the pamphlets in the Henry Barnard School pamphlet collection illustrates how American schools shifted their pedagogy and responded to World War II.
Researchers are advised to contact Rhode Island College Special Collections for questions regarding permissions to reproduce, distribute, or otherwise publish material from this collection. Although Rhode Island College has physical ownership of the collection, it does not necessarily hold literary rights. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them.
The collection is open for research. One folder of materials is restricted due to the presence of social security numbers.
Henry Barnard School records, CA-0200, Special Collections, James P. Adams Library, Rhode Island College
The collection is arranged into 11 series:
Records were received through a sequence of transfers in 1974, 1975, 1981, 1985, and 2021. Images taken of the building in 2023 were added by Special Collections staff.
The collection was arranged by Molly Bruce Patterson in 2021. The collection was further arranged and described and additional materials added by Special Collections Assistant Anne Boylan in 2026.
Works used in preparation of inventory: https://www.henrybarnard.org/continuity https://www.henrybarnard.org/information https://web.archive.org/web/20160128181718/http://henrybarnardschool.org/index.php/about-us/legacy
Technical requirements: The “class photos” subseries includes some photo CDs which have not been digitized and can be viewed in the Special Collections Reading Room.
Digitized copies: “Early Childhood conference recording” has been digitized and is available for listening in the Special Collections Reading Room.
Digital materials: Materials listed in box 16 (subseries “Time capsule”), box 17 (subseries “Mentor program”), box 18 (subseries “Henry Barnard School photos and videos”), box 19 (series “Class projects”), and box 20 (subseries “Family history videos”) consist of born digital images and videos and are only available electronically. These materials are not available online, however, they can be accessed in the Special Collections Reading Room, or by request. Please contact the Adams Library Special Collections for further information.
Rhode Island College Special Collections also holds the papers of Dr. Mary Tucker Thorp, principal of the Henry Barnard School from 1936-1958; other materials related to the Henry Barnard School can also be found in other collections in the college archives.
Pamphlets from the “Schools at War” series were separated and catalogued for the Henry Barnard School pamphlet collection in Special Collections. Student records were removed to offsite storage. Please contact Special Collections for more information.
This series contains materials related to the institution of the Henry Barnard School. Materials in the series relate to management of the school, its curriculum, institutional memory, the school’s history, strategic planning, and history. The series is arranged in chronological order.
This subseries contains materials related to the pedagogical goals and administrative structures of the Henry Barnard School. The materials in the series include handbooks, curriculum guides, workbooks, and evaluation materials. The subseries is arranged in chronological order.
The series contains faculty notices, which are typescripts for announcements to be made to faculty daily. The series is arranged in chronological order.
The subseries contains materials related to academic conferences attended by representatives of the Henry Barnard School or hosted at the Henry Barnard School. Materials primarily consist of conference packets and presentation notes. The “mentor program” subseries contains some additional conference materials that are specific to the mentor program.
The series contains correspondence organized by topic.
The series contains newsletters, brochures, promotional materials, and communications produced at and about the Henry Barnard School. Issues of Folio are about Henry Barnard School and its students. One additional newsletter, The Link, the newsletter of the Henry Barnard School Parents’ Association, is in series 6, Henry Barnard School Parents’ Association.
The series contains projects created by students at the Henry Barnard School. These consist primarily of books of art, poetry, and fiction created by students, as well as a script for and recording of a stage performance on the history of the Henry Barnard School.
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
The subseries contains a digital time capsule created to celebrate “122 Years of Joyful Learning at Henry Barnard School.” It contains student writings, poems, artwork, and video recordings. All folders in this subseries are digital-only materials accessible via the Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
The series contains digital video recordings of students from Jennie Schwab’s third grade class presenting from the perspective of their first ancestor in their family to come to the United States based on a yearlong interdisciplinary research project into their family histories.
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
Electronic access only via Special Collections Reading Room or by request
The series contains materials related to events held by the Henry Barnard School, organized by event when possible. Materials include planning documents and correspondence as well as promotional materials and products created by events.
This subseries contains materials related to the Henry Barnard School graduation. Materials are organized chronologically.
The series contains materials related to and produced by the Henry Barnard School’s Parents’ Club, previously known as the Mothers’ Club. Materials include various newsletters, The Link and Highlights; materials documenting the structure and bylaws of the group; and scrapbooks produced by members of the group.
The series contains materials related to the activities of the Henry Barnard School during World War II as part of a national program run by the U.S. Treasury Department called “Schools at War” to incentivize students to sell stamps and bonds to contribute to the war effort. Materials are organized by type.
This subseries contains materials related to the Henry Barnard School/Rhode Island College mentor program. This program paired Henry Barnard students with a Rhode Island College student mentor for social and personal development. Materials are organized chronologically.
The series contains yearbooks of the Henry Barnard School organized chronologically.
The series contains photos that do not match any other events or subjects documented elsewhere in the collection. In cases where photos correspond to materials in other series, they are located in those series. Reproductions of photographs are restricted.
This subseries contains posed photos, mostly from school picture days. Subjects include individual students, faculty, and whole-class photos. In some cases, a typed list of students is included with physical photos, or an electronic document with a list of students is included on CDs containing student photos. Reproductions of photographs are restricted.
This subseries contains photos and videos of the physical space of the Mount Pleasant Avenue campus of the Henry Barnard School, taken after the school closed in 2023.
The series contains awards, including those awarded to the Henry Barnard School as well as its teachers and students, organized chronologically.
The series contains objects such as plaques and decorative objects, as well as some documents related to their planning and execution, organized chronologically.