“We Engage, Empower, and Inspire all learners to thrive in their lives and communities.”
Our district’s mission statement, approved by the School Board Dec. 18, 2017, has provided guidance for all of the work we have accomplished over the past several years, and it will continue to be the filter for all of our future planning and decision-making.
Leading up to the current school year, our school administrators worked hard to shape goals and outcomes for the 2021-2022 school year. While COVID-19 and rising costs have been a source of difficulty throughout the year, we have followed our district’s strategic design by continuing our journey of developing a system of collaboration that will lead to continuous and sustainable innovation for learners and teachers.
Current efforts underway include building teacher leadership throughout the district, revising curriculum district-wide with a clear focus on content, complex reasoning and learner habits of mind, developing personal learning plans, increasing our focus on social-emotional learning (SEL), improving communication throughout the district (both internally and externally), increasing learner participation in after-school activities, strengthening and developing community partnerships, improving safety and increasing efficiency and accuracy throughout all of our business operations.
We are currently working with a consultant from the NHDOE on a district-wide implementation of a multi-tiered system of support for behavior and wellness (MTSS-B). Overseen by our district’s Inclusion Coordinator David Fraser, we anticipate that the complete implementation will take place over a four-year period, with the 2020-2021 school year serving as the first year in the process.
We have been very successful in increasing learner participation in after-school and out-of-school activities. Winter sports saw an even higher level of participation than we have seen over the past few years, and our club participation has continued to grow. Activities Director Heather Linstad continuously works with our learners, coaches and advisers to implement new opportunities for learner engagement and student voice.
We have seen an exciting curriculum shift in our schools to include more STEM and STEAM programming. The high school continues to build new educational pathways with the intention of engaging more learners and empowering them to take more ownership with their chosen learning path. More learners are engaging in internships, extended learning opportunities (ELO) and undergraduate-level coursework.
We have been working with Keene State College (KSC) and Franklin Pierce University (FPU) over the past few years to expand a number of initiatives relative to partnership development. KSC has worked with us to design the Jaffrey-Rindge Leadership Academy, an initiative that has helped to build a more-collaborative leadership approach throughout the district. Over 40 of our teachers have taken coursework through this program, and 23 teachers have already graduated from the academy.
Simultaneously, the district increased formal teacher leadership roles in all schools. We are currently in the process of implementing a teacher- and school administrator-led team at the district level as well, one that will serve as the district’s inquiry and educational research team for academic and SEL curriculum and instruction.
The partnership work with FPU is two-fold. First, our activities director has worked with the university to identify several volunteers to work in our after-school clubs and activities. FPU students have been instrumental in helping us expand our club offerings, in particular those focused on physical activity and wellness. Secondly, we are currently collaborating with FPU’s education department on developing a robust, multi-tiered internship model involving education undergraduate and graduate students and our schools, with the largest focus being a partnership between the elementary education department and Jaffrey Grade School and Rindge Memorial School. The model we are working toward is still in the design stages, but we are hopeful that we will be able to take the next steps toward full implementation soon.
The Jaffrey-Rindge Cooperative School District has done a remarkable job throughout the past two years. In perhaps the most-difficult years to ever work in a school system, our teachers, administrators, learners and families stepped up to the challenges and took them head-on. Our teaching staff and support staff in particular have served as the backbone of our success during this time, and they will continue to be a driving force in our future success and innovation.
We are committed to a collaborative leadership approach in our school district. As this effort strengthens and improves, so will all of our current and future work. As the district increases the distribution of leadership within the organization, our learners and community will experience greater success.
Reuben D. Duncan is superintendent of the Jaffrey-Rindge Cooperative School District.