“We had a terrific year at SAU 63.” stated Superintendent Paul Weaver. “We have been focused on continuous improvement and have seen tremendous growth in many areas. Our students are achieving their target growth rates as reflected in our ongoing diagnostic testing, as well as demonstrated improvement in their standardized scores.”
Weaver went on to address the schools’ environs.
“We are proud of our school culture and our students are thriving as noted in their academic progress and significant involvement in co-curricular activities,” he stated. “We met our goals of recruiting and retaining high-quality staff. This is strongly indicated in the collaborative community, initiative, creativity and engagement in our buildings, as well as the quality of our instructional practice. We continue to focus on leveraging incisive data to shape and drive our decision making both inside and outside of the classroom.”
Weaver offered some specific highlights of the school year:
– 100% graduation rate with graduates entering the workforce, attending post-secondary such as the NH Fire Academy and beginning their university studies at a range of schools. including Dartmouth College, Virginia Tech, Nashua Community College, Norwich University and Wentworth Institute of Technology.
– SAT scores improved by 95 points.
– The elementary school had an artist-in-residence with the NH Dance Institute, musical concerts and highparticipation in after-school programs, including a writers and chess club, Girls on The Run, and summer academy.
– The K-5 iReady assessment data is consistently at or above the New Hampshire and national averages.
– District professional staff completed about 3,000 hours of professional development.
– Field trips ranged from a week-long ecology camp in Maine to the Washington D.C. excursion.
– Six students were winners in the Patriot’s Pen and Voice of Democracy VFW essay contest.
– BioTrek was embedded into the ninth-grade science program and also competed in the state competition held by ARMI at SNHU.
– Students received over $100,000 in local scholarships.
– The athletic program added unified basketball, golf, and students represented the school in swimming.
– Middle and high school staff completed the review and revision of the entire curriculum.
Wilton-Lyndeborough Cooperative Middle High Principal Tom Ronning noted some specific highlights from the year at the high school:
– Three teachers at the high school are teaching college-level courses for dual enrollment.
– The school had its first curriculum night for students and parents since pre-COVID.
– Twenty-one students took a total of seven different AP tests.
– Four high school students became licensed nursing assistants before graduation
– When this year’s Juniors took the PSAT 10, their average score was 864, but this year the same group scored an average of 887.
– Students enrolled in 73 early college classes this year, receiving dual credit.
– Graduates will be attending Dartmouth, Indiana University, Norwich University, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Virginia Tech and the Indianapolis – Heron School of Art and Design, among other institutions.
– Taking advantage of Apply New Hampshire day, 19 seniors filled out 63 New Hampshire college applications, saving themselves $1,470 in application fees.
– Five seniors received a total of $65,000 through the Perry Scholarship program this year.
– A Coding Club was established, as was a math for the trades class.
– Two students attended the high school Marine Science Fellowship Program at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye.
– Eleven students were inducted into the National Honor Society and 15 into the National Junior Honor Society.
– Parents driving students to and from games resulted in no canceled or postponed games due to a lack of buses this spring.
Submitted by the Wilton-Lyndeborough Cooperative School District.