Pittsfield NH School District

Our 2010-2011 school year will see important improvements in our school district as we continue to work to provide a strong educational program that will support the success of the children and youth of Pittsfield.  Highlights include:

• Pittsfield Elementary School (PES) REACH: Our Rigorous Expectations and Academic Challenges will begin in mid-October and provide daily opportunities for intervention and support for students who will benefit from additional literacy and math support as well as enriching opportunities to challenge students with strengths in these areas.
• PES Responsive Classroom: Several teachers received additional training this past summer; this year, we’re hoping to provide for stronger in-school leadership for this successful social skills program by arranging for two in-school coordinators.
• PES Schedule: Students will be dismissed daily at 2:30 p.m. (was 2:25 p.m.) to eliminate the after-school wait time for students taking second bus runs; we’ll now have just one bus run. Also, we’ll schedule an early release day each month and dismissing at 11:30 a.m. (was 12:15 p.m.) to allow for additional staff development and planning time needed for continued school development. (Kydstop, a program offered by our partner, the Concord YMCA, will be offering after-school care for early release days; information will be provided in the opening day packet coming home with students.)
• PES Science and Social Studies Blocks: Longer blocks of time will be provided for science and social studies learning to allow for additional hands-on projects and field work for upper grade students.

• PES Technology: Technology can provide for stronger engagement of students and deeper learning; increased opportunities infuse technology into our classes will be provided (Parents and community members are invited to learn more about this during our Technology Conference to be held at PES from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 26; please call the school at 435-8432 to register.).
• PES Writing: Longer blocks for student writing, an essential literacy skill and an area in which the need for improvement has been indicated by our state assessment results, will be provided to upper grade students.
• Pittsfield Middle High School (PMHS) Advisories: Student advisories will be refocused around three different program emphases, based on student needs in grades 7-8, 9-10, and 11-12; students will be assigned to advisories for two-year groupings to work with teachers within those grade level spans. Also, advisories will be shortened and moved to the middle of the day, back-to-back with lunch periods.
• PMHS College / Career Readiness: A new emphasis on post-secondary school planning will be developed over the next three years. Elements include job shadowing, college campus visits, and individual career / interest self-assessments for students.
• PMHS Course Competencies: A transition in the manner in which course credit is earned will occur over the next three years with an emphasis on student demonstration of specific course competencies rather than the traditional method that was based on seat time.
• PMHS Extended Learning Opportunities: Opportunities to earn credit outside of school will support student interests and learning in areas that can not be offered within our school. Students will be encouraged to learn by doing in out-of-school settings.
• PMHS Extended Learning Time: Plans are being developed to revamp our summer school, open our library during out-of-school hours, and add a late bus to allow for increased opportunities for academic support and participation in extra-curricular activities. We’re also planning to expand our extra-curricular offerings.
• PMHS Personal Learning Plans and Student-Led Conferences: Students will be setting their own goals through the development of personal learning plans. Students will also be taking responsibility for leading discussions when we transition from traditional parent/teacher conferences to student-led conferences.
• PMHS Project-Based Learning: Students will find our development of project-based learning to be more engaging than the traditional lecture method of instruction. Students will exercise a greater degree of choice as we make this shift over the next five years.
• PMHS Schedule: Our schedule moves to a seven-period day this year (was eight periods) and also includes a late-start on Wednesdays for high school (grades 9-12 students); the late start will provide essential staff development and planning time on a weekly basis. Middle school students (grades 7-8), reporting at the regular time on Wednesdays, will enjoy the benefit of academic support and enrichment during our Wednesday mornings. The schedule will not include any early release days for PMHS students.
• PMHS School Council: Our new school council will allow for greater student and parent voice in decision-making. Our student representatives have been elected, and we’re in the process of selecting our adult representatives. Students will hold a majority of seats in our new council.
• PMHS Student Leadership: Students will be engaged in identifying and addressing areas of needed improvement at PMHS. Students will be providing leadership for positive change in the climate and learning of our school.
• PMHS Teaming: Academic teams are now organized in three interdisciplinary groups: grades 7-8, 9-10, and 11-12. The teams will more closely monitor the progress of each student and be empowered to design interventions for support and enrichment when and where needed.
• District-Wide Bullying Prevention: We’ll be working with international bullying prevention expert Stan Davis over the next three years to eliminate bullying in our schools.
• District-Wide Instructional Strategy Development: We’ll be working with a major educational research and support organization – WestEd – to help us develop our instructional repertoire of effective teaching and learning strategies.

These exciting developments – and more – are being supported through our district budget and a number of grant programs, including a competitive technology grant of $120,000+ awarded to the district last year and a school improvement grant of $2,000,000+ awarded to PMHS to begin this year.

The 2010-2011 school year will be an exciting one for our students, our schools, and our community.  As always, the strong support of the Pittsfield community is an essential element in our work to continuously improve the education of our children and youth. 

 John J. Freeman, Ph.D.
Superintendent of Schools