In Laconia Schools: Strategic planning and celebrating students and staff

Greetings from the Laconia School District. As we enter the end of the third quarter, I have some exciting updates to share with you about strategic planning, programs, experiences in our schools, students and staff.

We are continuing with our strategic planning process in the Laconia School District. The kickoff event took place on Nov. 16, 2022, to engage in a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, or SWOT, assessment of the district. We are assembling a variety of work groups to develop the school district’s next strategic plan.

Students, families and educators in our three elementary schools participated in a “Laconia Reads” event on March 10. The goal of this event was to invite family members into the school to read with children to emphasize the importance and joy of reading. Snacks and drinks were provided, some of which came from Dunkin’ in Laconia. This was a Title I Family Engagement event. This provided our children a chance to share their learning with their families. At Elm Street School, 104 families participated in the event, 103 at Woodland, and 123 at Pleasant Street School.

Two Elm Street School students placed in the 2022-23 Laconia Lodge of Elks Essay Contest with the theme "What is your American Dream?" The writing was based on three areas: originality, development of the theme, and mechanics and neatness. Congratulations to our two fifth grade students, Jacob Parent who came in second, and Elan Stokes who came in third.

Connecting our students to the community is an important component of education in Laconia. At Laconia Middle School, this happens in many ways. This is the second year of offering a College and Career-Ready exploratory class, and this spring, eighth grade students took field trips to both Lakes Region Community College and the Huot Career and Technical Center. Seventh and eighth grade students who participate in educational talent search will travel to Plymouth State University to learn about academics and student life. These experiences are important in our effort to provide future learning pathways to our students.

On March 16, our sixth grade math team placed first in a regional meet that included seven schools. Their strengths included fractions, decimals and word problems. The seventh and eighth grade math team placed first in a math meet that was hosted at Laconia Middle School on March 8. About 150 students participated in this meet from 10 schools in the Lakes Region.

The Laconia High School construction project has been launched. The project is paid for with $6.7 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief grant funds. The district has chosen Harvey Construction, a company that has been involved in most of the construction projects for our schools in the past 20 years, to be the construction manager for this work. Harvey will be working with Rist-Frost-Shumway Engineering and Marinace Architects, both firms who have also worked for the district at various times for years. The scope of the project includes upgrading the bathrooms, improving ventilation, and renovating the kitchen where food preparation is done for students.

The teaching staff in Laconia schools is outstanding. Three of our teachers have recently been recognized:

Karen Abraham, a media specialist and librarian at LHS, was named the New Hampshire Librarian of the Year by the New Hampshire School Library and Media Association last month for the 2022-23 school year. Karen is a teacher, leader, club and class adviser, and someone who has worked hard to support literacy and technology use.

Steve McDonough, a math teacher at LHS who also coaches boys basketball and boys lacrosse, was named the Division II Boys Basketball Coach of the Year after the Sachem Hoopers were ranked No. 1 in the division and made a playoff run to the semifinals. Junior center Keaton Beck was named the division’s Player of the Year and First Team All State. Senior Guard Kayden Roberts, who became the seventh 1,000-point scorer this year, was also named First Team All State. It is worth celebrating that our LHS girls basketball team also made it to the semifinal round of the tournament.

Nick Ford, a physical education teacher at Woodland Heights Elementary School, was named the new LHS varsity football coach. Coach Ford is a LHS alumnus and a member of the LHS Athletic Hall of Fame. He has been coaching in the football program in Laconia for 15 years. Coach Ford will be taking the helm for the LHS football Sachems for Coach Craig Kozens, who will continue as the LHS athletic director and dean of students.

I hope that you are having a wonderful spring. Stay tuned for more updates and news from our schools in the last quarter of the year.

Steve Tucker, superintendent, Laconia School District