New district-wide initiatives in literacy, mathematics, and the best use of AI are at the top of the list for new ConVal Assistant Superintendent Amy Stevenson.
Stevenson, who moved to the Monadnock region from Connecticut, says so far, the biggest change between working in a larger, urban district in Connecticut and coming to ConVal is “the pace.”
“When you have so many people in a small space, things feel very intense,” said Stevenson. who worked in a district near Hartford, Conn. “Here, it just feels like there is more space and less people, and I’m able to spend time actually getting my work done. It’s really nice to be able to make goals and know we are actually going to reach those goals by the end of the year. At my old school, I felt like I was getting interrupted every five minutes by a crisis or a phone call, and it just felt unmanageable.”
Stevenson appreciates the positive energy and optimistic outlook at ConVal, which she says is a welcome change from previous places she had worked.
“It is so nice to share that optimistic attitude and to have everyone be on the same page,” she said.
Stevenson, who officially joined the district on May 22, has lifelong ties to the state, having spent many of her childhood vacations in New Hampshire.
“I made a close friend in preschool, but when it came time for us to to go kindergarten, she moved to New Hampshire, but I stayed in Connecticut,” Stevenson said. “But we stayed in touch all these years, and I grew up my entire life coming to New Hampshire for school vacations to visit her. I have always loved New Hampshire, and it was finally just time to move here.”
Both of Stevenson’s children went to college in New Hampshire; her daughter and family live in Keene.
Stevenson said she had never been to Peterborough, but after meeting friends from Amherst at the Waterhouse Restaurant, she fell in love with the town.
“The district has been wonderful so far. Everyone has been so welcoming,” she said.
District looking to implement new literacy framework
As Assistant Superintendent, Stevenson is taking on several major projects for the district, including leading the newly re-instated Education Committee, which evaluates the curriculum and education goals for the district’s 11 schools.
The Education Committee was put on hold in June 2024 to enable the school board and SAU to dedicate resources to the withdrawal study committees in 2024 and 2025.
“One of our new initiatives is for literacy, and we are going to be piloting a new literacy framework for grades K-4,” Stevenson said. “That is a big priority; we’ll be making a recommendation of a new program by the end of the year.”
Stevenson says the top priority of choosing a new literary program is “to be consistent with the science of reading methodology .”
“We want our resources and framework to be completely aligned with the science of reading, and right now, they don’t align. That’s the work that we have to do; we have to look at our resources and be sure that everything we do is evidence-based and really grounded in current research,” Stevenson said. “We also need to be sure that all of our staff are trained in the science of reading. That’s a big initiative.”
Stevenson is also helping with the adaptation of the new, district-wide math program, “Illustrative Math,” which is currently being used by grades K through 5.
“Grade six is piloting the program this year, and next year, it will be fully implemented in grade six,” Stevenson said. “We are working with teachers to overcome barriers, analyze data, see how the kids are responding, and to kind of see what adjustments we need to make going forward.”
AI in the classroom
The ConVal district is also evaluating generative AI programs as well as looking at student use.
“We are getting a committee together to look at what generative AI tools are being used, and how we can use them ethically and appropriately in the classroom,” Stevenson said. “We also will be developing parameters for student use, and what universal tool we want to develop.”
According to Stevenson, the Education Committee will be looking at AI programs such as “School AI” and “Magic School,” which can generate lesson plans, worksheets, multiple choice tests, rubrics and other tools for teaching.
“There are also programs that will level the text for students who may have learning differences, and rewrite an article in a way that a student can understand,” Stevenson said. “It’s very powerful. We want to make sure we can provide professional development for teachers around AI, and pick a tool that can help further education, enhance learning experience for students, and maybe make teachers’ lives a little easier.”
Stevenson said with AI being a relatively new phenomenon, ConVal teachers’ comfort level and familiarity with AI as a professional tool is “all over the map.”
“We have the full range, from people who are really forward thinkers with AI and already using it, and then we have people who are not really sure what it is, so we want to level the playing field with that,” Stevenson said. “We want to be sure that all of our teachers have the tools and the skills they need to use it if they want to use it.”
New graduation requirements in place
Stevenson is also helping the ConVal School Board Policy Committee implement the state’s new high school graduation requirements, which will go into effect for the freshman class of 2026.
The requirements include an increase in social studies requirements, including a logic and rhetoric class, financial literacy and economics, writing and civics.
“We’re working to make sure we can offer all those classes, to be sure those students starting in 2026 can meet all those requirements,” Stevenson said. “That plan will be going to the Education Committee in December.”
For more information about New Hampshire’s new graduation requirements, visit www.education.nh.gov/.