East Kingston Schools:

Superintendent's Corner

Superintendent's Corner
Elementary Principal of the Year—2010


By Michael Morgan
Special to the Exeter News-Letter
January 19, 2010 1:30 PM
Elementary Principal of the Year—2010

Joan Ostrowski, Principal of Swasey Central School in Brentwood, was chosen recently by the New Hampshire Association of School Principals as its 2010 Elementary Principal of the Year. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Mrs. Ostrowski is completing her tenth year of service to the SCS community. Prior to coming to Brentwood, she had worked in various teaching and administrative capacities in the Merrimack NH School District.

In nominating Joan for this award, I wrote that “Joan Ostrowski loves what she does. She is a kind, considerate, and thoughtful person who consistently models the fact that students are first at SCS. She will put a pair of rubber bands on her pants so she can run around in gym class. She will sit on the curb for an hour soothing a frightened child. Outside she will bounce balls with a student who needs a short sensory break. Every morning and afternoon, Mrs. Ostrowski will be greeting the students so they see a friendly smile at school. Swasey Central School and all the people under its roof have truly thrived under her leadership.”

The entire SAU 16 is truly proud of her efforts and commends her personally for being selected for this award and also recognizes the collective and collaborative efforts of the SCS staff for nominating her. Congratulations, Joan!

Filing period

Any resident over 18 years old may be a candidate for any school district office, including school board member, school district clerk, or school district moderator. Terms of office vary depending on the position. Those interested in having their names on the ballot in March 2010 must declare their candidacy in writing to the current school district clerk for their respective district between Jan. 20 to 29. Of the 33 school board seats in SAU 16, ten seats will be available for candidacy this year. Bruce Scamman has announced that he will not run for the Stratham Board; Liz Faria has announced that she will not run for the Brentwood Board; and Tomasen Carey has announced that she will not run for her Exeter seat on the Coop Board.

Contract negotiations

There are now 11 formal collective bargaining associations within SAU 16, six of them were on tap for negotiations this year in anticipation of being in effect for the 2010-11 school year. All six of those associations and their respective boards have reached tentative agreements that are now subject to action by their respective school districts. These include the Exeter Area Administrators Association and the Exeter Education Association in the Coop, teachers associations in East Kingston, Kensington, and Newfields, and the paraprofessional association in Exeter. Voters in each of our communities will have the “final say” as to whether or not these contacts will be in effect for the new school year.

Did you know?

On the walls of the old Tuck Gym one still finds the Blue Hawk motto and names of outstanding athletes who have helped to build such a positive athletic tradition in the community. “Respect All. Fear None.” One of those lists includes the names of Shrine Football Players. Twenty years ago (1989) David Melvin and Derek Liporto were the outstanding student-athletes for EHS in football and were selected for the Shrine Bowl that annually displays the best high school football players in New Hampshire and Vermont.

The Great Bay eLearning Charter School now includes almost 150 students in Grades 8-12 from 23 different communities. Since its inception five years ago, 60 students have already graduated from GBeCS. The school is located in one part of the Tuck Learning Center, the old Exeter High School.

In 1951 Stratham Memorial School opened on Bunker Hill Avenue and remained there as the school until the current facility on Gifford Farm Road opened in 1989. At that time the Town Office, Police Department, and Wiggin Memorial Library moved into the old school.

For the 1967-1968 school year, the Exeter School District charged $575 for each student who attended Exeter High School from one of the surrounding towns.

New Stratham police chief welcomed

Chief John Scippa, an Exeter resident, recently assumed the leadership role for the Stratham Police Department. Within the first two months of taking on this position, he played a key role in a situation at the Cooperative Middle School that involved finding two bullets after school one afternoon. With the help of five law enforcement agencies, he responded immediately with canines that were trained to detect explosives and/or ammunition. An extensive search of the building found nothing that would interfere with the safety of the students and staff and the facility was declared ready for immediate occupancy.

Chief Scippa is very interested in providing more of a police presence in both the Cooperative Middle School and Stratham Memorial School to assist school officials with their on-going efforts to provide the utmost safety and care for the people who are in our schools every day. This will involve the services of a School Resource Officer who will begin work in the schools before the end of this school year.

EHS sign moved

The granite Exeter High School sign that was donated by the Classes of 1999 and 2000 has been successfully moved from its Linden Street location to the current location of the school. One will see the sign on a small hill on the left side of the driveway entrance.

Tony Baldasaro resigns

Assistant Superintendent Tony Baldasaro has given notice to the SAU Office that he will resign his current position as of June 30. He has accepted a full-time position for the Virtual Learning Academy Charter School beginning on July 1, 2010.

Tony has successfully served the Exeter Region Cooperative School District as a Science teacher and Curriculum Administrator as well as being the first principal for the Great Bay eLearning Charter School and an Assistant Superintendent. He began his work with SAU 16 in 1999 and has worked hard on behalf of his students and colleagues. Thank you, Tony!

NECAP results

The results for the fall administration of the annual New England Common Assessment Program will be released to the public at the end of January. That information will be made available to the various school communities and general public around that time.

Community service continues

Each of the various schools within the SAU continues to provide many opportunities for community service for their students. The recent holiday season displayed a massive outpouring of support for food pantries, clothing and blanket drives, holiday food baskets for families, financial support for home heating costs, and even for various national and international assistance efforts. Citizens of our six communities within SAU 16 can be really proud of the “give back” efforts of so many people who are connected with our schools. Specific information about projects, initiatives, and efforts are available at the respective schools and some will be include in the SAU Annual Report that will be included in many of the area Town Reports.

Champions for Children

Many of the local school districts continue to recognize local Champions for Children, those individuals who have distinguished themselves by significant involvement in programs and/or services that directly benefit students and families. Recent recipients include: the Exeter Region Cooperative School District’s recognition of Denise Landis for her work with the Seacoast School of Technology and Stratham School Board ‘s recognition of Marlo Ryan, Administrative Assistant at Stratham Memorial School.

Michael Morgan is the superintendent of schools for SAU 16, which covers Exeter, Stratham, Newfields, Brentwood, East Kingston and Kensington.