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Dear Newmarket parents, teachers, students, and community members,
I hope everyone has had a restful summer. Now that summer is winding down, we will all be back to school shortly. Newmarket teachers return on Thursday, August 24th and our students start school on Monday, August 28th. If you haven’t already, you will soon be hearing from Principal Pine (NES) and Principal Korman (NJSHS) with specific information about the opening of school. I want to welcome everyone back to school and share some thoughts from the SAU.
One of the themes we are working on in the Newmarket School District is embracing the power of change. When I think back on my school opening experiences over the years, much of the excitement and energy comes from things that are new. New students, staff, programs, and ideas all generate excitement as we launch the new school year. This positive energy generated by the prospect of change is also necessary for a school system to keep improving. My personal philosophy is that any day that doesn’t start with asking ourselves how we can be better today than yesterday is a lost opportunity. With this spirit in mind there is a lot of energizing news to share in the school district.
We have two new administrators joining our district leadership team this year. At NES, Jessica Spaulding has come to us after a successful administrative career in Maine. She brings a wealth of experience and expertise. Jessica replaces Debbie Roffo as Assistant Principal. Jessica will work alongside Sean Pine and Kristina Cochran supporting students and staff at NES.
J Fitzpatrick has joined the leadership team of NJSHS as Assistant Principal. J comes to Newmarket after serving many years as Principal of Prospect Mountain High School in Alton. He is a very student-centered educator who brings tremendous knowledge and expertise to our school leadership team. J will work alongside Andrew Korman, Jeanne Civiello, Jody Callinan and Jamie Hayes supporting the students and staff of NJSHS. Please join me in welcoming Jessica and J to Newmarket.
As we launch the new school year, there will be a lot of conversations regarding the Newmarket Vision of a Graduate. The VoG as it is known, is an important document that will help the Newmarket School District reflect on its professional practice and make changes to better meet our students' needs. Staff have been hard at work over the summer refining our VoG based on community and staff input received over the last year. At this point a VoG draft is almost complete, and we will be sharing the draft at a community event in late September.to receive the communities’ opinions and comments one last time before the VoG draft is finalized. The VoG will be presented to the school board in October for final approval and adoption and then will become the focus of all our work moving forward.
At the end of last year, I announced that we were moving away from the “Wednesday Model” that was in place for the 2022-23 school year. This change was driven by a collaborative agreement between the School Board and the Newmarket Teachers Association. The 2023-24 school year is returning to full school days on Wednesdays. The updated 2023-2024 calendar is available on our website. We are hopeful that this is a positive change for Newmarket families, students, and educators.
Fall 2023 is the first year of a new paraeducator contract. The new contract includes a significant pay increase. We are still looking for new paraeducators to join our school team. If you or someone you know is interested, please send them our way. Working as a paraeducator in the Newmarket School District is a very rewarding experience.
On a final personal note, I would like to share that I have officially signed a contract extension through the 2026-27 school year. Over the last year it has been wonderful getting to know the Newmarket community. Thank you to everyone who gave feedback to the school board last spring as they contemplated my future in this role. I would also like to thank the board for the confidence they have shown in me. I am looking forward to all that we can accomplish in the coming years. As I tell everyone who will listen, Newmarket is a great small town with a school system that has tremendous positive potential. In a small school system like ours, a couple of changes can make a big difference!
Sincerely,
Todd Allen
Superintendent of Schools