LHS to lose principal

LACONIA — After just one year as principal of Laconia High School, David Bartlett is stepping down to become assistant principal at Rundlett Middle School in Concord.

In an email to the staff at the school, Bartlett said the move came after much thought and consideration.

"I have greatly appreciated the work we have done together over the last four years," he said in the short email. "Laconia High School and the members of this community have and will continue to have a special place in my heart."

At Rundlett Middle School, Bartlett will be working under Jim McCollum, a former principal at Laconia High School. Bartlett became principal at Laconia after McCollum resigned last June. Bartlett had been an assistant principal at the high school since 2013.

Bartlett and McCollum did not return calls for comment on Monday.

Laconia School District Superintendent Brendan Minnihan said Bartlett notified him of his resignation on Friday. June 30 will be Bartlett's last day as principal. Minnihan said the departure is not a reflection of the school.

"I think it was for a lot of different reasons," Minnihan said. "It's not about Laconia, the kids or the staff. He felt it was the right choice for him."

Minnihan said the school district will advertise for candidates for the post, which pays between $100,000 and $110,000 per year. Candidates from inside and outside the district will be considered.

Minnihan said it would be good if the next principal at Laconia High School is able to stay for a long term.

"Stability is always a good thing," he said. "Hopefully, the person we get to come on has the right skill set and the right interest to stay for a long time."

He said turnover among principals is a known issue throughout the educational profession.

"Being a high school principal in general is a very difficult job no matter where you are," Minnihan said. "The expectations in terms of the number of nights out to attend events and that sort of thing is very high.

"There are a lot of demands on high school principals. Throughout New Hampshire and throughout the country, it's getting harder and harder to hire and then retain high school principals."

In an interview on March 30, Bartlett said faculty members should strive to have a close-enough connection with students so that they can understand and provide assistance when teens go through a time of crisis. An exercise was held among staff members to facilitate this goal.

"Earlier this year, we took pictures of every single kid, put it on a big sticky note paper at a faculty meeting and every teacher had to go around and put initials under a kid they had a relationship with," he said.

A native of Warner, Bartlett earned his bachelor's degree in communication from the University of New Hampshire and his master's degree in education from Plymouth State University. After working in information technology he has spent the last 13 years in the public school system, starting in 2002 at Laconia High School, where he was an alternative education teacher while managing the study hall program. Three years later, Bartlett went to work in the Gilford School District, teaching special education students for three years and eighth-grade mathematics for four years.

When Bartlett returned to Laconia High School as assistant principal, he played a major role in introducing the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, or PBIS, program. PBIS rests on the notion that appropriate behavior can be taught just like core subjects of the academic curriculum by setting positive expectations for students rather than telling them what not to do. The program aims to maximize the time students spend learning by reducing the number referrals to the office for inappropriate behavior, which take both the student and the teacher out of the classroom.