Barrington’s Patrick Guida took the gavel last Saturday, Oct. 13, in Chicago as the new president of the National Association of State Boards of Education.

Guida is chairman of the Barrington School Committee and vice chairman of the Rhode Island Board of Regents of Elementary and Secondary Education. He will begin his term as president of NASBE in January. He has been serving as president-elect this year.

"This is a great opportunity to bring my local and state policy-making to the national stage," said Guida. "It's a good opportunity for Barringon and Rhode Island because they can benefit from the resources and the energy of the national board."

Guida was handed the gavel by the outgoing president, Gayle Manchin of the West Virginia State Board of Education.

"I was physically passed the gavel," he said. "It was a nice event. It gave a presentation of what I hoped to achieve going forward."

NASBE includes one member from each state board of education. The board meets at least four times a year and has monthly conference calls to collaborate on national initiatives, such as the current reauthorization of the secondary education act, known as "No Child Left Behind," and the implementatino of the Common Core of Learning, Guida said.

“Patrick Guida is a leader whose experience in and knowledge of education policy will provide the board and our membership with a clear vision of what we need to accomplish in the coming year,” said NASBE Executive Director Jim Kohlmoos. “States are now the leaders in education innovative, but there is also considerable uncertainty surrounding many facets of this change. Patrick and the rest of the board of directors can provide the support and experience needed to help move us forward through these critical years.”

Guida has been chairman of the School Committee for more than 10 years . The Republican is running for re-election on Nov. 6. He was first elected to the School Committee in 1996.

Guida has served on the Board of Regents since 2001, and was elected its vice-chair in 2005. He has served as chairman of several of its standing and ad hoc committees, including those involving secondary school reform, standards and assessments, educator quality and education funding formula.  

Guida was the chair of NASBE’s Government Affairs Committee in 2009, 2010 and 2011. He has also served on the executive committee and as president of the Rhode Island Association of School Committees (RIASC), and has represented RIASC on the Policies and Resolutions Committee of the National School Boards Association.

Guida is a partner at the Duffy & Sweeney law firm in Providence, where he represents institutional lenders and developers on a variety of commercial and real estate related transactions.