School Spirit

Every year, usually right before the winter break in February, our middle and high schools hold "Spirit Week".  It's usually a week of decorating contests, themed days, opportunities to wear unusual clothing, and activities in the gym.  It's a lot of fun for both students and staff and helps get everyone through the last (we hope) of winter.  Students are still in classes, teachers are still teaching, so why devote extra time and trouble on school spirit?  (Some students and staff work long into the night and on weekends to prepare skits and decorate!)

To define school spirit, I really need to talk about what it is.  It's the feeling you get when you watch your school team play in the soccer finals; or the feeling you have at a bon fire for homecoming; or watching the school band in the 4th of July parade; or encouraging each other in a skit; or raising money for a cause and topping it off with a plunge in the freezing ocean; or walking into the gym for a basketball game with a long time rival; - it's the emotional pride you feel with your classmates as well as with those who have walked these same halls before you.

We've all felt these feelings of pride about an important date or event and when this coincides with a school, school spirit is created.   Watching your teacher playing a volleyball game, even if they are not Olympic quality, shows students that it is OK to take risks and is a demonstration of the teacher's commitment and enthusiasm for our school, its students and all those who help make a school successful.  It is a demonstration of pride.

In between the seeming silliness that takes place, and the contests that appear to have nothing to do with education, our students are learning important lessons:  cooperation, good sportsmanship; community, responsibility, teamwork, kindness, good behavior, relationships, and belonging.  All of these things help foster and create a positive learning environment.

So, I say "Hurray for Spirit Week"- when it is age appropriate it's a great thing for our schools (don't be surprised if your child stays late at school or asks for an outrageous Hawaiian shirt this week.)

Making Sure "Every Student Succeeds"

On December 10, 2015, President Obama signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) which has come to be known as the "Every Student Succeeds Act".  What is this and where did it come from?  And, more importantly, what does that mean for our schools?

A little history lesson, first, to see how this all began.

• In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.  This act included Title 1 grant money to help cover the cost of teaching disadvantaged students. 
•  In 1968, new programs were added to this bill to include even more children with the focus on equity.  Now states needed to be held accountable for how this money was spent.
• President Carter, in 1978, reauthorized the law to include Title I as a "school-wide" program to serve students beyond those from disadvantaged families. He also established the US Department of Education.
• President Reagan consolidated many education programs under "Chapter I". 
• In 1988, School Districts began to be held accountable to make sure these federal programs were effective- test score data would be the benchmark for this.
• President George H.W. Bush held a summit to set in place a federal and state partnership to create standards and accountability.
• President Bill Clinton signed the renewal of the ESEA that called for states to determine schools not meeting "annual yearly progress" using the state-wide testing.
• In 2002, President George W. Bush signed the "No Child Left Behind Act".  This expansion of ESEA required teachers to be highly qualified, led to testing of all students grades 3-8 and once in high school, and called for all students to score "proficient" on the state tests, no matter their circumstance.
• In 2011, waivers were offered to states (once certain guidelines were met) to loosen many of the restrictions contained in the No Child Left Behind Act.
• After years of debates and stalling by Congress, the "Every Child Succeeds Act" was agreed to in a bipartisan effort.

What does all of this mean for us- for Raymond students? The purpose of this new act is to prepare our students to be "college and career ready".  How does this work?  First, we have standards to help with this and our teachers use these standards to teach lessons using real-world problems.  The standards will be assessed through state-wide testing that will generate useful data for schools to use.  This is the first time that standards are for all students- beyond state borders- insuring a high quality, rigorous learning experience no matter where a student lives.

This new act also continues to protect our sub-groups of students such as our special needs and disadvantaged students- the most vulnerable of our children.  And there will continue to be accountability to ensure that low performing schools make progress.

How do we make sure our students are "college and career ready"? Every year, in Raymond, our teachers and administrators use data to identify students who may need extra help for a variety of reasons and to identify gaps in our students' knowledge.  Many hours are spent analyzing all the data we have on every student and we don't just use one assessment, we use several measures of data to make sure our students are progressing.  Some of these include:  Dibbles, NWEA, common assessments, individual assessments, and the Smarter Balanced tests.  We use Title 1 money to hire tutors and a reading specialist.  In addition, our teachers are involved in professional development opportunities to develop performance assessments and create relevant, rigorous, problem-solving opportunities.  (As a matter of fact, members of our high school staff have been invited to be a "Showcase School" at a February NASSP Conference to highlight the hard work they have done in this area.)

None of the standards require a teacher to teach a certain way- that is why teaching is truly an art.  I've written before on how no two teachers teach the same way, interact with students the same way, or make connections in the same way. We want all of our kids to be successful and to be prepared for the future- so these standards are merely a "base" which we use to support the wonderful variety of learning experiences our students have everyday in our schools.  All of these things have kept our schools and our students progressing and as we continue to find many avenues to ensure that Every "Raymond" Student Succeeds.

Warrant Articles Continued

 Warrant Articles 4 and 6 will be the topic of this week's blog.  (Number 5 asks the voters to authorize the governing body to call a special meeting if Warrant Article 4 does not pass). 

Warrant Article 4 concerns the Raymond Teachers’ Association contract.  The teachers have made concessions in their contracts concerning insurance so as to eliminate the possibility of the school district paying an excise tax (also called the "Cadillac" tax) and have negotiated with the School Board for a two year contract.  Everyone is concerned about how the new insurance laws will affect us and this seemed a necessary item. Teachers will receive one step and an increase of 3.2% for 2016-2017 and a step plus a 1.7% increase for 2017-2018 (for 2015-2016, the teachers received a step and a $100 raise). The total cost of the new contract is $242, 133 for 2016-2017 and $255,810 for 2017-2018. 

At the same time that the average teacher salary in New Hampshire is $55, 986, the average teacher salary in Raymond is $47,660.  Each year we lose teachers who move on from Raymond to other districts where they earn more money.  The Board hopes that this contract will help Raymond become more competitive and help us keep the wonderful, dedicated teachers we have to continue the gains in instruction we have made over the years. Through grants, workshops, mentoring, and hard work, we have provided valuable instructional training for our teachers.  Starting over with new teachers always has a higher cost:  both monetary and in student learning. 

Some of the other language changes for this Warrant Article include establishing Flexible Spending Accounts for teachers (and a $500 contribution to married couples when both are employed by the District); establishing schedules at the high school and middle school; having members liable for $1000 in damages if they resign after June 30; and changing the date for a teacher' final letter of resignation from December 1 to May 1.

Warrant Article 6 is the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).  Every year, money is put aside to provide for those larger items for which we should ‘save up’.  Some of these items on this budget include an emergency access road for the high school, roof seams at the elementary school and cameras for the middle school .  These are items that will maintain our buildings (some of Raymond’s largest assets) and improve both safety and instruction. The total in this plan is for $214,000.

Thank you for taking the time to read about the budget process and the warrant articles you will be seeing and hearing about.  Our schools, staff and the education that happens every day, truly, rank high among Raymond’s most important assets. I look forward to answering any questions you might have.  Please go to our web site for the PowerPoints and more information on all of the School District Warrant Articles at http://www.sau33.com/school_b.cfm?subpage=986002