At the December 14, 2010, Fremont School Board meeting, the final reading of the new bullying policy occurred. The board unanimously adopted this policy, which by law must be done by each school district in New Hampshire prior to January 1, 2011. In drafting the new Bully policy, all facets of the law have been addressed. This policy is posted on the school district web page. I would encourage you to review it and if you have any questions, please contact me.

Cyber Safety

The ever increasing social networking that is taking place among our children presents routine concerns for parents about their safety. Who can gain access to the sites that they frequent and how can we safe guard against people gaining this access? Has your child been the victim of cyberbullying?

Last week, I received a document entitled "Net Cetera: Chatting with Kids About Being Online". This document has been written for parents, providing information to help assure that children have safe experiences when on-line or when they are using cell phones. If anyone would like a copy of this, please let me know and I will make it available to you.

Yours,
Bill Lander

District Planning

I am pleased to posted that the action plan for the Fremont School District was approved at the last school board meeting. This plan has taken the work done a number of years ago by NESDEC and developed a timeline to implement the goals that they created from "focus group" discussions throughout the town. The goal is ultimately to improve the programs for our children. You can review this action plan under the school board tab on our web page.

Also, at the last meeting Ms. Nancy Bernhardt announced that she would be moving her family to Rochester New York. We will miss Nancy and thank her for all that she has done for the Ellis School. If you are interested in filling her position until March, please contact the SAU office.

Greetings!

It was a great start to the school year! Walking around the building on the first few days, it was like we had never left. I give credit to the school administration and teachers for being so well prepared for the children.

I would also like to recognize North Reading Transportation, our new bus company. Their preparation for the new year was wonderful. Communication with them has been outstanding. They are receptive to hearing from you about your concerns. In turn, they communicate with me as needed.

I encourage you as parents and community members to be in touch with the teachers and the administration. I welcome your involvement in the school!

Bill Lander

NEW SCHOOL YEAR

I hope that this has been a restful and relaxing summer for you all. As the calendar was turned last week and we are approaching the middle of August, it is time to think about the start of school. The Ellis School will open its doors to the student with great enthusiasm on Monday, August 30, 2010.

In the few short weeks prior to the start of school, you can help getting your child(ren) into the school mode by getting necessary supplies, starting routines that will be similar to when they are in school and setting goals for the upcoming year. As the year unfolds, I encourage to be part of the education of your student(s); talk about the the daily occurrences at school, contact the school when you have concerns or questions and be active in the school.

I am looking forward to the upcoming year! Please let me hear from you about topics that you would like me to address in my blog and as always thoughts on how we can better provide an education for your family.

NECAP and AYP

This past week, I received, anonymously, a copy of an article appearing in the Manchester Union Leader some time ago indicating that the Ellis School was among the failing schools in the State. One needs to be careful how you read into headlines; they are meant to sell newpapers! While the Ellis School did join the list of schools that are schools in need of improvement, they join some 183 other schools on that list. If you look closely at the data, we in fact do continue to have more students in many areas reach the level of proficient and over time, grades 3 through grade 8, we can track continued growth. The fact is, as outlined in NCLB, it becomes more and more difficult to make AYP, Adequate Yearly Process, because the "bar" is raised annually, requiring all schools to demonstrate higher levels of proficiency. A clear indicator of the Ellis School's success is seen when we realize that this is only the the second year that AYP was not made, something that most schools in the State have been unable to avoid.

I would be glad to meet with anyone interested to discuss NECAP testing and AYP in more detail. Please feel free to contact me.

While we will use all data possible to continue to improve the achievement level of the students and will never to satisfied with the status quo, the Ellis School is by no means failing!

New Hampshire Reads

Many libraries throughout the state are participating in "The Big Read: New Hampshire Reads To Kill a Mockingbird" a state program organized by the Center for the Book at the New Hampshire State Library. many events will be scheduled throughout the state and can be reviewed at www.bigreadnh.org. If interested, I would also recommend that you check at the local library in Fremont to see if they are participating.
Yours,
Bill Lander

School District Meeting

I would like to thank all of you who supported the school district last Saturday. It certainly seemed that there was a great deal of positive support in the room. Approving the School Board's budget provides for us the financial support necessary to move the Ellis School forward. As I did Saturday, I remind you that school improvement is a process not an event! I look forward to working hard to assure our "process" yields positive results!
Yours,
Bill Lander

School District Meeting

I would like to remind everyone that the Fremont School District meeting is scheduled for Saturday, March 13, 2010 beginning at 9:00 AM in the Laurence Pettengill Hall at the Ellis School. I encourage you to attend and take part in the decision making process for funding for the school district for the 2010-2011 school year. In the upcoming days, information regarding the warrant article will be mailed to the voters in Fremont. I encourage anyone who has questions to contact me at 895-6903.

I look forward to seeing you on the 13th!

Snow days
So were you among the many, including myself, wondering why there was no school Tuesday? It certainly seemed like a wasted day off. However, at 5:00 AM I was in front of WMUR, listening for the forecast, anticipating what might take place. When I heard that the "storm" would start late morning and intensify throughout the afternoon, I felt that that would be putting the children on the buses at an unsafe time, even if we dismissed at noon.

I don't know that you can truly appreciate the thinking and the stress that goes into making a no-school decision. I will always err on the side of caution for our young people. And the decision becomes even more difficult when you need to think about sending the students home mid-day. While our ALERT NOW systems make the communication of this better, I am always afraid that we not get out message across to some folks, leaving a young child locked out of his or her home.

Now let's cast some blame! Who is it that really owns the responsibility for all of us superintendents calling off school? Why it is those weather people!! If they were correct, we would have looked like heroes in this decision rather standing around with egg on our faces!

As winter break approaches, I wish for you all to have a safe and restful time away from school.

GLOBAL LEARNING

Vivien Stewart writes in a chapter called "A Classroom as Wide as the World" in Heidi Hayes Jacobs' book Curriculum 21: Essential Education for a Changing World, three elements for global literacy or competence. They are:
1. Knowledge of other world regions, cultures, economics and global issues

2. Skills to communicate in languages other than English, to work in cross-cultural teams, and to assess information from different sources around the world

3. Values of respect for other cultures and the disposition to engage responsibility as an actor in the global context.

As the world becomes "smaller" as a result technology, we need to assure that our citizens of tomorrow are prepared to work cooperatively with the diverse cultures of the world.