Last spring, in response to the grant opportunity, a team of twenty-seven established three specific goals to be achieved during the funding period.  Goals address (1) student achievement, (2) school climate, and (3) college and career readiness of graduates.  To achieve these goals, the district will be using the transformation model, one of four model options provided by the grant program.

The transformation model dictates that schools plan for change in four key areas of school improvement:  (1) developing and increasing teacher and school leader effectiveness, (2) instituting and maintaining comprehensive instructional reform strategies, (3) increasing learning time and creating community-oriented schools, and (4) providing operational flexibility and sustaining support for continuing school improvement.

The opportunity that the SIG provides extends and strongly supports the high school redesign effort that began last fall.  Last year’s preliminary work included an all-day visioning collaboration by students, parents, and faculty members that resulted in a strong desire to see PMHS offer a more personalized educational program for each student.  This vision is also supported by the work of Pittsfield community members who articulated a broader district vision during the 2008-2009 school year.

Following planning sessions that took place last winter and spring, as well as two three-day summer institutes held at PMHS for teachers and administrators, the school’s schedule, staffing patterns, and program are giving the 2010-2011 school year a new look.  Important opening-of-school changes include:

• The formation of core academic teacher teams with primary responsibility for fixed student groups (grades 7-8, 9-10, and 11-12),
• Daily common planning/meeting time for teacher teams for collaboration, coordination, and monitoring of student progress,
• Late start Wednesdays that provides 90 minutes for professional development and planning for the full faculty,
• Refocusing and strengthening the daily student advisory program.

The district is in the process of engaging a number of external partners to support the transformation.  These partners include the highly respected Center for Secondary School Redesign and WestEd, which will play major roles in the redesign of the school’s instructional program throughout the grant-funded period.

In addition, the staff will be working with literacy coaches and a math coach as well as developing student leadership and addressing school climate.  The broad range of student academic needs will be addressed through the development of honors options for capable students and interventions for students who require different strategies and added support for academic success.

Pittsfield students, parents, and citizens are encouraged to follow progress by clicking on to school and district websites throughout the three-year project period.    

John J. Freeman, Ph.D.
September 1, 2010

• 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

Mr. Bickford currently serves as principal of Nute High School and Nute Middle School in Milton.  Previously, Mr. Bickford had served as assistant principal of Nute as well as assistant director and director of the River Valley Technical Center in Springfield, Vermont.

During his tenure at Nute, Mr. Bickford has provided leadership for the development of course competencies that serve as performance standards for each high school course.  In addition, he has been instrumental in expanding academic options for Nute students through the development of Extended Learning Opportunities that access community resources for learning.

Mr. Bickford’s secondary school teaching experience includes service at Fall Mountain Regional High School in Alstead; Alvirne High School in Hudson; Manchester School of Technology in Manchester; and Limestone High School in Limestone, Maine.  His teaching courses have included agri-science, animal science, agricultural mechanics, landscape, horticulture, and natural resources.

Mr. Bickford holds a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Mechanization from the University of Maine at Orono and a Master of Education in Educational Leadership from Keene State College in Keene.  Mr. Bickford also manages his small-scale family farm in New Durham.

The proposed 2010-2011 budget reflects a decrease of 3+%, or about $300,000, when compared with the current 2009-2010 budget (which was decreased by 1.7% compared with the 2008-2009 budget).  The proposed 2010-2011 operating budget - $9,538,404 - reflects a zero tax impact for Pittsfield taxpayers, without warrant articles.  

Most warrant articles also reflect a zero tax impact for Pittsfield taxpayers.  Proposed warrant articles address the food service program, federal grant programs, the teacher collective bargaining agreement, replacement of the PMHS gym roof, and the reserve fund for costs associated with educating disabled children.

To achieve an operating budget with no local tax impact, the board’s proposed budget has had to accommodate increased costs in a number of key areas, including contributions to the New Hampshire Retirement System (+5%) and health insurance costs (+18.9%).  The impact of these increases was heightened by the estimated reduction of funds from non-tax sources by nearly $150,000. 

The proposed budget also reflects reductions in allocations for books, supplies, and equipment, as well as the elimination of 10+ staff positions, effecting reductions in the teaching, administration, guidance, and the support staff.  The impact of such a reduction will mean larger class sizes and fewer options for high school students.    

Importantly, the district is embarking on a major initiative to redesign the instructional program of our middle high school.  This multi-year project aims to increase student engagement and student achievement.  The proposed 2010-2011 budget includes increased funding for Improvement of Instruction at PMHS, which will be used primarily for the purchase of consultant services to advise on this project.  The district is also hopeful about supplementing the district budget with grant funding for this exciting and important initiative.

Once again, revenues from federal, state, and other non-tax sources will provide funding for more than half of this budget; this includes funding through the state’s Adequacy Grant and Catastrophic Aid, which supports special education placements, among others. 

In addition, entitlement and competitive grants are providing another $941,000 to support Pittsfield’s students in the current year; these grant sources include more than $312,000 in grants through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA/Stimulus).  As always, the district has been aggressive in seeking and winning competitive grants to support the education of Pittsfield’s children and youth.

Most cases of flu-like illnesses are now due to the H1N1 virus. We don’t know whether the usual “seasonal” flu will arrive later in the fall/winter.

Our Pittsfield school administrators and nurses continue to be in close touch with the New Hampshire DHHS regarding appropriate policies regarding prevention and management of illness in our schools. Public health officials continue to stress the importance of personal hygiene, including frequent hand-washing, coughing into your sleeve, not sharing food or eating utensils, etc.

Although we know of school closings in other states, there are currently no routine recommendations to close schools in New Hampshire because of illness or to keep healthy children home from school. However, it is important for children and staff who are sick to stay home from school, as well as from special events such as dances, birthday parties, family events, sporting events, and other public gatherings. Children should stay home until they have no fever for at least twenty-four hours without the use of fever-reducing medicine. If any family members who are pregnant, have asthma, or have any other underlying health condition become sick with flu like symptoms, they are advised to contact a health care provider at the onset of these symptoms.

Returning students do not need to provide a doctor’s note to explain their absence, but we do ask that parents contact your children’s school to let us know that they are out because of illness and to report whether they have flu-like symptoms (fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, headache, body aches, sometimes vomiting and diarrhea). The number of students and staff reporting flu-like symptoms are reported to the state on a daily basis by our school nurses.

Our Department of Health and Human Services is also encouraging all students and staff to get both the seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccines, if possible.

This is especially important for children with chronic illnesses such as asthma and other underlying health conditions, as well as for pregnant women. Unfortunately, vaccine supplies all over the country are limited due to manufacturing delays. We understand that many families have been frustrated by their inability to obtain vaccines for their children after being told how important it is. Vaccine availability in New Hampshire changes on a daily basis. Please contact your health care provider’s office to find out if your child can be immunized there.

For more information: The NH DHHS has set up a special flu “hot-line” - just call 2-1-1 (8AM - 5PM) to talk to someone. There is also a lot of reliable information on the CDC and NH DHHS websites: www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu and http://www.dhhs.state.nh.us/DHHS/DHHS_SITE/swineflu.htm. Please contact your family health care provider or school nurse if you have specific questions about your own children.

Thank you for working with us to keep everyone in our schools as healthy as possible during this flu season.

Parents and community members should be assured that we in the schools are taking steps to reduce the spread of the flu in Pittsfield.  Our priority is to keep our schools open throughout the flu season and to support the continued learning of our students.  We are counting on parents’ help in maintaining a healthy school environment for all.

We are working closely with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services Communicable Disease Control Section to monitor flu conditions and to make decisions about the best steps to take for our students and staff. 

The Department has provided guidance to New Hampshire schools in addressing the impact of the pandemic.  In fact, you will find several informational bulletins on the flu here on our school district website under our News and Events section.  You are encouraged to learn more by accessing these sources.

As you may know, flu can be easily spread from person to person.  We ask parents to help keep our schools functioning as usual by following theses suggestions from our Department of Health and Human Services:

 o Teach your children to wash their hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, especially after coughing or sneezing, before eating, after using a restroom, and as otherwise needed. Adults can set a good example by doing this ourselves.

o Teach your children not to share personal items like drinks, food, or utensils.

o Teach your children to cover up their coughs or sneezes using their elbow instead of their hand when a tissue is unavailable. Discard tissues after use.

o Know the signs and symptoms of the flu. Symptoms of the flu include fever (100º F or higher), cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, and feeling very tired. Some people may also vomit or have diarrhea.

o Keep sick children and youth at home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have fever or do not have signs of fever, without using fever-reducing drugs. Keeping children and youth at home will reduce the number of people who may become infected. Any child or youth determined to be sick while at school will be sent home.

Additionally, Dr. Montero of the Department of Health and Human Services has provided these facts about the flu virus:

o Flu incubation period is 1 - 7 days; the average incubation period for H1N1 is 3 - 4 days.

o Flu symptom duration is 3 - 7 days, but can be up to 14 days; the average symptom duration for H1N1 is 3 - 5 days.

o Flu is contagious from 1 day before symptoms to 10 days after symptoms.

o H1N1 features a high attack rate among young people, those under 24 years of age.

o H1N1 high risk groups include those with respiratory illnesses (e.g., asthma), cardiovascular disease, diabetes, pregnancy, and immunocompromised individuals.

o H1N1 is generally a mild disease in healthy people.

o H1N1 is expected to affect 30% of population over the next 6 months (at this time).

o H1N1 vaccines are expected to be available in the fall.

Finally, New Hampshire schools are being encouraged by the Department of Health and Human Services to continue operations as usual; there is no need to stop travel, gathering in large groups, or cancel sporting contests.  Testing for H1N1 is not being recommended at this time.

Additional information is available on the following websites:

o www.dhhs.state.nh

o www.cdc.gov

o www.flu.gov

A new component to the process for school approval recently initiated is the practice of sending a visiting School Approval Team to schools.  On April 29, 2009, a School Approval Team, consisting of five educators from the Department of Education, visited Pittsfield Middle High School, the first time that such a team has visited one of Pittsfield’s Schools.

In his recent letter of thanks accompanying the Department’s report, Administrator of the Bureau of School Approval and Facility Management Edward R. Murdough observed that “your students and staff made us feel most welcome.  I am sure that you are aware of how wonderful they are.”

Mr. Murdough continued, “All of us (members of the School Approval Team) were very impressed by the enthusiasm of your staff and students and by the breadth of programs available in your school … the staff in Pittsfield have produced challenging program to meet the widely varying needs of individual students.”

After spending the day at PMHS, Mr. Murdough observed that “students are well behaved and engaged.  The staff member with whom we communicated seemed to be proud of their work and genuinely interested in their students.”

The School Approval Team commented on a number of strengths that they observed; these included:

• “The facility is in excellent condition and appears to be well maintained.  The building was very clean at the time of our visit…”
• “The high school curriculum offers broad choices for students which exceed what one might expect for a school of this size and a community with the economic conditions of Pittsfield.”
• “The school board is working hard to review and update policies…”
• “The district is working toward a unified K - 12 curriculum…”
• “The student handbook is comprehensive and easy to read.”
• “The Pittsfield District has excellent information available for parents of children moving into the district.”
• “The district has a strong, embedded staff development program.”

The School Approval Team also made several recommendations; among these were encouragement to continue the district’s work on policy revision and to continue the district’s work on unification of the curriculum.

The following information has been provided by the State of New Hampshire:

Since the new H1N1 influenza virus began to circulate in New Hampshire in early May, the NH Department of Health and Human Services and the NH Department of Education have been working closely together and updating schools about this virus. The World Health Organization has indicated we are at the start of a 2009 influenza pandemic. This declaration is an indicator of how widespread the transmission of this virus is, not its severity: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/

At this point, we know that:

• Seasonal influenza is commonly seen in schools and daycares every year, but most illnesses occur in the cooler months.
• This year we have a new strain of influenza circulating called H1N1 and it has been shown to disproportionately affect school-aged children and young adults.
• H1N1 influenza causes illness very much like regular seasonal influenza. People who are ill with H1N1 influenza can get fever, chills, cough, sore throat, headache, muscle aches, fatigue, and sometimes nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.
• Most people infected with this new virus have recovered without the need for medical care.
• High risk groups like very young children, pregnant women, the elderly, individuals with underlying medical conditions such as asthma, chronic lung and heart conditions, cancer and diabetes etc should consult with a health care provider if they have signs of influenza.
• H1N1 influenza is circulating in NH communities now.  Cases have occurred across NH in most counties and most cases are not related to travel outside of the state.  Therefore, it is important to take measures to control the spread of infections whether or not a case of H1N1 influenza is identified in your community.
• NH DHHS does not recommend that districts notify all parents each time there is a case, because at this time, one can assume that it is possible to be exposed to H1N1 influenza at school, work, or anywhere else in the community.  
• The best way to stop the spread of H1N1 is good hygiene. Teach your kids, and follow these steps yourself:

o Wash your hands frequently (15-20 seconds with soap and warm water) or use 60% alcohol-based hand sanitizing gels

o Always cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze or cough into your elbow/shoulder and always throw away used tissues into a trashcan

o If you have not washed your hands, avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth

o Do not share drinking/eating containers or utensils

o Avoid contact with ill persons if possible

o Monitor your own health

o Stay home if you are ill. Do not return to work, school, or social activities until you have been asymptomatic for 24 hours

The NH DHHS is working with the NH Department of Education to prepare schools and daycares for the fall influenza season.  Public Health Experts are concerned that H1N1 could become more severe in the fall.  Our school district continues to stay informed and is well prepared to respond.  Nationally, steps are being taken to create a vaccine for possible use in the fall.  Our district will continue to take extra measures to ensure commonly touched surfaces are disinfected.  We will also continue to have strict exclusion policies for students and staff with flu-like illnesses.  In the fall, we will do our part to promote influenza vaccinations for all students and staff.

Over the summer, please continue to stay informed about this new strain of influenza.  For more information and resources, please go to: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/ or http://www.dhhs.state.nh.us/DHHS/DHHS_SITE/swineflu.htm

For more information, please contact the NH Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health Services, Communicable Disease Control Section @ 603-271-4496 or In NH  1-800-852-3345 Ext 4496.

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