The problem

The Keene School District is facing serious funding challenges. While per-student expenditures are in line with NH averages at Keene High School and just slightly above average at Keene Middle School, over the past ten years Keene's elementary school costs have been 24-40% higher than state averages -- and it is projected that our community could soon face steeper cuts in state funding.

In January 2012, the Board formed the Keene Elementary Restructuring Steering Committee.

In order to implement the Keene Board of Education's decision to repurpose Jonathan Daniels School by September 2014 and further study grade span options in the four remaining elementary schools, the Board formed the Keene Elementary Restructuring Steering Committee.

Your thoughts? Ideas? Don't miss Community Forum #10 regarding this important decision -- Wednesday, May 30 at 6:30 PM (Keene High School LGIA).

This forum (the 10th in a series of forums that have been held over the past year-and-a-half) is being held to provide information and gather input from the public on the proposal to repurpose Jonathan Daniels School and maintan Keene's four remaining elementary schools as K-5, or reconfigure them as K-1 and Grades 2-5.

Background

Wayne Woolridge, SAU Co-Superintendent and Chair of the Keene Elementary Restructuring Steering Committee, has stated that "The Keene Elementary Restructuring Steering Committee voted March 12, 2012 to move forward with the four-school grades K-1/grades 2-5 model (either option 4E or 4E with preschool at Daniels) to be compared with the four-school, grades K-5 model (4B). (The committee vote eliminates from the discussion the 4G model.)"

(Click here for a list of the grade span options under consideration.)

(Click here for background information.)

The Steering Committee, made up of educators, parents and other community members, has been charged with overseeing the work necessary for our community to transition from five to four elementary schools -- and addressing a comprehensive list of questions and concerns raised during the public input phase of the decision-making process. The goal is to continue the educational programming we value most, while reducing operating costs by an estimated $1 million per year.

Steering Committee subcommittees include:

• Curriculum
  Designing numeracy/literacy-focused curriculum for the K-1 or K-3 schools if a narrow grade span is chosen; explaining the educational benefits of the narrow grade span to the public; ensuring that the curriculum stays strong and on track during students' transitions to sister schools.
• Enrollment, Redistricting & Transportation
  Determining the bus schedule; studying the amount of time students will be spending on buses; considering redistricting issues/where the JD student population will go.

• Facilities & Building Repurposing
  Thoroughly reviewing architectural/facility studies; creating a bond that will be eligible for Building Aid; exploring building repurposing for Jonathan Daniels School; determining where Preschool will be located.
• Special Education
  Determining how Special Education services will be delivered under the new model; studying how delivery will be impacted by a narrow grade span; determining what will happen with collaboratives.

• Staffing/Scheduling
  Determining where JD staff members may be reassigned; recommending how "specials" will be handled; making sure staff understands each plan and is involved/engaged; studying class size policy; looking at numbers and costs of each type of employee; studying instructional time guidelines; staggering the start and end times of the school day.
• Transitions
  Determining where JD students will go once that school closes; recommending ways to make transitions to sister schools as smooth as possible; determining how the preschool-to-kindergarten transition will be handled.

Keene Elementary Restructuring Steering Committee members include Wayne Woolridge (Chair), Kristin Blais (advisory), Meredith Cargill, Dick Cate, Chris Coates, Jennifer DeCoste, Cathy Doane, Neil Donegan, Bill Harris, Susan Hay, Paul Huggins, Rand Lounsbury, Misty Martinez-Bohannon, Maureen Meyer, Gwen Mitchell, Carl Panza, Becky Russell, Celia Slason, Amy Strong and Patty Yoerger.

Click here to download a list of Subcommittee members

Meetings of the Steering Committee are open to the public (click here for a schedule). If you have ideas or would like to help, you may also leave comments here on this website.

Want more information about the decision to close one of Keene's five elementary schools? You can download copies of all public presentations that were made during the decision-making process by clicking on our Resources page.