Laconia High School awarded continued accreditation

LACONIA — The New England Association of Schools and Colleges has awarded continued accreditation to Laconia High School.

The association is the oldest of the six regional accrediting agencies in the United States and school officials are intensely interested in maintaining this accreditation.

In a Dec. 3 letter to Principal Michael Fredericksen, association leaders said the organization’s Committee on Public Secondary Schools “was impressed with many of the programs and services” offered at the high school.

Fredericksen said that he was happy to receive the letter and that it shows the school is on the right track.

“I feel great about it and am fully comfortable with where we are,” he said.

The school has an improvement plan that it will be working on prior to an accreditation visit from the association March 8-11, 2020.

The review process began with a self-reflection report generated by the school. Then a three-member team spent two days in Laconia, May 24-25, to review the self-study and to meet with administrators, teachers, other school personnel, students and parents, and to visit classes.

The association gave the school a report over summer that included areas of good performance and areas where growth was needed. School officials said after that visit that improvements had been or were in the process of being made.

The Dec. 2 letter commended the school for a number of things, including:

— Maintaining positive values among the students “whose dignity and empathy are palpable indicators of a positive and supportive school culture.”

— The resiliency of the staff as they continue to grow despite administrative turnover both at the building and central office level.

— The multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate understanding in various ways.

— Exceptional outreach and levels of interventions.

— The dedication of staff in their efforts to increase systems of support in response to the expanding percentage of students experiencing challenges and trauma outside of school.

_ The recent redesign of the alternative program and its responsiveness to emerging needs of students.

_ The recent painting and daily facility maintenance and cleaning improving the interior of the building.

_ The development of short-term and long-term plans regarding capital projects and ongoing attention to security deficiencies.

Areas for improvement were identified in curriculum, facilities and maintenance.

The letter also called for the provision of “sufficient courses for students to ensure all students, especially seniors, can take a full load.” It also said curriculum needs to be finished for electives and newly developed courses.

One area of concern that was identified in the May visit was security.

Over the summer, a number of scheduled security improvements were made including improved doors and locks. Security cameras were added. Reflective film was added to strengthen some windows and policies were improved to further restrict unintended public access.

There were also concerns about air quality, ventilation and lack of air conditioning, which are still to be addressed. The school is 95 years old and does not have a central air condition system, many classrooms are small and some maintenance has been deferred.

Superintendent Brendan Minnihan has said the optimum would be to build a new high school, but that could cost $50 million to $100 million, and does not appear to be financially feasible at this time.

The accreditation visit in 2020 will focus on the school’s implementation of its plan for improvements and growth.