This week marks the end of the 2015-2016 school year- another year just flew by! I am very excited about the changes we have made and the direction in which our district is heading.
This year we began using a Universal Screening Tool at the elementary school for reading and, along with a Reading Coach, have determined reading levels for each of our students. With a base score, and a mid-year benchmark, each student at the elementary school has a plan for his/her own level of reading. We continued this focus on reading with a coach for middle school staff in reading strategies. The benefits of putting reading "first" will pay big dividends in all areas. We will also offer full day kindergarten for the 2016-2017 school year. A study from EdCentral (among many studies on kindergarten) "calculates that full-day kindergarten produces greater learning gains
per dollar spent than other well known early education intervention". Full day kindergarten is great news for our students and will provide them with a wonderful start to their school career.
This year we had 45 students take Advanced Placement classes at the high school in a variety of academic areas. We had 20 students who earned college credit for classes they took at our high school. We have students who are taking enrichment classes this summer at Brown University, Phillips Exeter Academy and one who will be an intern at the Boston Globe. At graduation, we heard that our seniors received over $700,000 in scholarships- both local and from individual colleges. Our high school teachers were recognized by the NH State Board of Education for their work on performance assessments at their June 16 Board meeting- it was wonderful and well-deserved.
At the middle school, students had an opportunity to take VLACS classes (on-line) to complete a year of Spanish I. We scheduled Title I tutoring during the day for our students. We continue our summer enrichment for 7th and 8th grade students with the Raymond Roundtables- this continues our partnership with Phillips Exeter Academy. The middle school schedule was rearranged to allow all students to take band- growing this program to include a third of our middle school students!. The "End 68 Hours of Hunger" campaign expanded to the middle school. In addition, we are adding Spanish I for 2 classes of 8th grade students at the middle school for the 2016-2017 school year.
Last, but not least, we presented a plan to the voters to eliminate the portables with a 12 class addition to the front of the elementary school. Although this did not pass (by only a slim margin), the LRES Building Committee is back at work.
These are just some of the many, many initiatives and exciting programs in our schools. As always, all of us, from the School Board to the teachers to support staff, continue to work to improve educational experiences for our students. I enjoy working with each and every one of our families. Thank you for a wonderful year!
