NSD eNews

Dear NSD Families and Staff,

Great to learn Nashua HS North and Nashua HS South students created, wrote, and produced the Nashua Board of Education Candidate Forum a few weeks ago. Many of them are working also with the League of Women Voters of New Hampshire to develop questions for the Mayor Candidate Forum that will be held tomorrow at South auditorium.

What a great service the students are providing Nashua voters. At the same time, the students are learning so much about local politics, running for office, and how important it is to be an invested voter.

The municipal election will be held on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. Click here to view sample ballots for each of the nine City of Nashua voting wards.

I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to congratulate once again the Nashua HS South Boys Cross Country Team for winning the Division I Championship! Congratulations to Coach Ryan Haggerty and Assistant Coach Justin Patronick and each member of the Cross Country team…well done, Panthers!

Sincerely,

Mario Andrade, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Nashua School District

October 30, 2023 Meeting Recap

The Nashua Board of Education opened with a presentation about competency grading at the high schools. Nate Burns and Keith Richard, principals of Nashua HS North and Nashua HS South, respectively, spoke in great detail about grading students on what they know and how well they demonstrate their mastery of the subject.

The presentation is very thorough, particularly the slides on the many ways parents can learn how their children are doing in school, and on the grading scale. If you have questions about competency grading, please feel free to follow up with Mr. Burns and Mr. Richard.

Committee on Finance and Operations: The Board approved four motions to:

• purchase 40 HP ProDesk computers from I.T. Insiders, Nashua, at $25,200 for NTC Business, Health Sciences, Electrical disciplines; funding to come from the federal Perkins Gra
• purchase 19 HP Z2 computers from I.T. Insiders, Nashua, at $32,072 for NTC Advanced Manufacturing discipline; funding to come from the federal Perkins Grant.
• approve and accept the following $11 million FY24 federal grants: Title I $4,674,843.63; Title II $763,248.06; Title III $263,633.69; Title IVA $445,953.92; Title IVB 21st Century $590,000; IDEA $3,642,823.66; Perkins $442,699.58; Adult Diploma/Education $135,243.90; and McKinney Vento Homeless Education $29,671.46.
• approve the FY24 NSD September Transfer Report.

Committee on Curriculum and Evaluation: The Board asked for a copy of the master schedule of elementary school before, during, and after music lessons.

Committee on Policy: The Board approved the following motions with seven policies:

B. Board of Education Governance and Operations

• BGD Board Review of Administrative Procedures (retained as is, without changes

I. Instruction

• IGE Parental Objections to Specific Course Material
• ILBBA High School Competency Assessments
• ILBBA-R Competency Assessment Regulations and Procedures

J. Students

• JFAA Admission of Resident Students
• JFABB Foreign Exchange Students
• JFABB-R Admission of Foreign Exchange Students

Committee on Human Resources: No motions were made.

Liaison Reports: The Board reported acoustical ceiling panels will be installed at Birch Hill and Main Dunstable Elementary Schools to cut down on echoes in the temporary classrooms set up in the gymnasiums during renovations.

New Business: The Board approved a sidebar agreement with AFSCME to make minor adjustments to pay scales with certain Plant Operations positions. The Board went into a non-public session regarding a request from Dr. Kimberly Sarfde, Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Schools, for an added $4,200 compensation for the 2022-2023 school year.

The next Nashua Board of Education meeting will take place on Monday, November 27, 2023 at Nashua High School North.

The College Board recently announced students who earned the distinction of being named an AP Scholar. We are proud to announce 137 Nashua High School North and Nashua High School South students were announced as scholars.

It is impressive because the students recognized were acknowledged for taking at least three AP exams and scoring at least a 3 or higher on each of the exams.

This is a great reflection not only on our students but also on our high school teachers and staff. The AP college-ready curriculum is the same for all students across all schools nationwide who take AP courses. Being named an AP Scholar shows not only that our students have excelled at taking particularly rigorous courses, but also, they are more than ready for advanced study at the collegiate level.

Again, congratulations to each of our 137 AP Scholars.

Affordable, fair housing is the subject of a City of Nashua survey. The Nashua Regional Planning Commission is administering the survey and is looking to hear from Nashua residents.

Please click here for a survey flyer and look for the link to the code to take the 13-question survey. The survey closes Wednesday, November 8. On behalf of the City of Nashua, thank you.

Five auditioning instrumental jazz musicians were named to participate in the New Hampshire Music Educators Association Jazz All-State Festival in February at Pinkerton Academy, Derry.

The festival features four different ensembles. Congratulations to the following instrumentalists:

• Ben Conley, North Class of 2024 and a trombonist, and Alondra Doubleday, South Class of 2024 and a trumpet player, will play for the Honors Jazz Band.
• Ethan Hobbs, North Class of 2026 and a trumpet player, Anthony Umbro, North Class of 2026 and a pianist, and Timothy Crook, South Class of 2025 and a trombonist, have been invited to play for the Jazz Band at the festival.

Again, congratulations for representing the best of the best!

Note photos above from the PAL Elementary School Cross Country Championships,

held Saturday, October 21 at Nashua High School North.