Pittsfield NH School District

Our school’s curriculum – or what we teach and expect students to learn – lies at the heart of the educational experience.  Work on our curriculum also lies at the heart of our current high school redesign project.  This work is significantly supported by our School Improvement Grant (SIG), our three-year funding to improve our students’ achievement levels at Pittsfield Middle High School.

The 1990′s are sometimes thought of as the time when the standards movement in education began.  At this time, educators, policy makers, business leaders, and citizens in the general public came to believe that schools needed to more explicitly define learning expectations for students.  Prior to this time, it was not uncommon for teachers to make their own curriculum selections based on personal strengths or interests.  It was also not uncommon for teachers to simply march through a textbook cover-to-cover at a dizzying pace.

Of course, these practices caused some problems.  The result was often a patchwork of learning for students in which learners experienced gaps where topics or skills were not addressed and other topics or skills were addressed multiple times.  Often, students just didn’t get it, but not time or resources were allocated to supporting students who struggled.  I recall a story that was told in the large school district where I taught in the 1970′s. 

The district was home to many apartment complexes and was not uncommon for students to change schools several times within the district during the course of their formal schooling.  And so, with individual teachers making curriculum decisions in an unsystematic manner, parents were reporting that elementary school children were learning about dinosaurs, for example, for several consecutive years when they moved from school to school while other important science topics were missed altogether.

Another issue (more…)

Most of us can look back to our high school experiences with mixed feelings about our classes.  For me, my senior year English class was one of my favorites.  My teacher was knowledgeable and skillful; he was energetic and enthusiastic; I looked forward to class; enjoyed and found meaning in the reading, thanks to my teacher’s guidance in understanding the text; and grew as a writer, benefitting from my teacher’s detailed feedback.

My junior social studies class was another story.  Although I liked my teacher personally and was interested in the subject, his presentation was, quite honestly, boring.  I remember copying his notes from the chalkboard and trying to memorize them for tests.  The class seemed like little more than an endless string of unrelated facts – dates, names, events – that were unconnected with each other and were unconnected from my life.

In recent years, educators have come to use the term “student engagement” to talk about the ways that students are involved in their own learning process in school.  In the 1980s, we thought of student engagement as merely a willingness to do what needed to be done – showing up for school, following teachers’ directions, and handing in homework.  Using this definition, I was apparently engaged in my learning in both my English and social studies classes. (more…)

Click here for an article from the UNH Cooperative Extension relative to bullying.

Mission & Vision Statement

The Pittsfield School District has been awarded a three-year $2,066,151.86 School Improvement Grant (SIG)by the New Hampshire Department of Education.  The grant is funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and is focused on raising the achievement of students at Pittsfield Middle High School (PMHS).

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. (more…)

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.

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