Gilford School Board receives 2025 School Board of Excellence award

GILFORD – Gilford School Board members Jessica Jacques, Nicole Hogan, Bob McLean, Lauren Huleatt, and Monica Sawyer received the 2025 NHSBA School Board of Excellence Award, recognizing its leadership, dedication to student success, and innovative approaches to community engagement. This recognition is part of the New Hampshire Excellence in Education Awards, which celebrate schools and individuals who demonstrate high standards of excellence across the state. 

As a winner of this year’s award, the Gilford School Board and Superintendent Kirk Beitler will be honored at the New Hampshire Excellence in Education Awards dinner on June 7, at 4 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Manchester. 

"Given the challenges our state faces, particularly with local district budget cuts affecting students' educational opportunities, I am honored to receive this award. It reflects the dedication, collaboration, and tireless efforts of our entire board, administration, and community," said School Board Chair Jaques. "Through transparency, clear communication, and proactive leadership, we remain committed to supporting our students and schools in the best possible way." 

One of the initiatives that set the Gilford School Board apart was its approach to community engagement through social media and video communication. Recognizing the challenge of gaining voter approval for key initiatives, the board created a strategic communication plan leading up to the 2024 and 2025 town voting day. Each board member was assigned a topic and participated in short, fact-based videos shared across social media and community pages.

This initiative resulted in strong engagement, with over 5,656 views in 2024 and 8,673 views in 2025 on Facebook alone, demonstrating the power of proactive outreach in keeping the community informed. The success of the outreach efforts were reflected in the support from Gilford voters on voting day in both 2024 and 2025. 

Beitler said, "Our partnership with the community has been instrumental in ensuring that we make informed, strategic decisions that benefit our students and schools. This recognition reflects the strength of our collective commitment to education." 

Beyond digital outreach, the board has also prioritized building strong connections with students, staff, and voters through presence and support at school events, and actionable goal-setting with administration. Through efforts such as Bagels and Coffee during Teacher Appreciation Week and participation in staff assemblies. 

“We are grateful for the trust and support of our incredible students, dedicated staff, and the strong, caring community in Gilford,” said Vice Chair Hogan, “our efforts have been successful because of the sense of pride and community connectedness we share in Gilford.” 

For more information, visit sau73.org.