Thursday is First Day of School for Bedford Children

Today is the first day of school for Bedford children, and Schools Supt. Chip McGee says the students will find many improvements waiting for them when they arrive.

"There's a couple of things I'm very excited about," he said. "First, the elementary school children in grades one and two will have new glossy books to enjoy to go deeper into a topic. The little glossy books are part of the Wonders reading program, which is in its second year in the schools, he said. Last year, the first-graders were introduced to Wonders. This year, the program is expanded to first and second graders.

"The cool thing is," he said, "if they're reading on a topic, say civil rights, they can go to a little glossy book about Rosa Parks, for example, for more information. The glossy books are written at five different reading levels, so everybody in the class can participate. The youngsters who are struggling with reading are not shut out from the discussion, and the children who are way ahead are not going to be bored, he explained. "It's a differentiation tool," he said, and "we finally have that tool."

Turning to technology, the schools, thanks to the parents, are expanding the use of Chromebooks, so the student to computer ratio is 1:1 for the entire middle school and all the way up to eleventh grade.

McGee said he's grateful the parents agreed to foot the bill for the Chromebooks.

"They're so inexpensive now," he said, since the price has been slashed to $149 each, but the district would not have been able to afford the expense. "The community support made it possible."

Moreover, the fifth- and sixth-graders also have access to an individual Chromebook during the school day, he said. So the students don't have to wait for a scheduled time in the lab anymore to access a computer.

The twelfth-graders can purchase a Chromebook, too, he said, but the district has made the decision optional for them.

The district has also completed some upgrades at the school buildings, he said. The least visible, but possible most critical, he said, is the new roof on the McKelvie Intermediate School. The old roof lasted 29 years old but was becoming a safety hazard, he said.

At the Peter Woodbury Elementary School, the front parking lot is new with better sightlines and a safer traffic flow. Also, the Town helped out and build a sidewalk along Nashua Road for the high school students who use an overflow parking lot. That's a town parking lot, he said, but between 50 and 70 youngsters used it on a given day. They would have a walk to school that McGee felt was too dangerous especially when the snow piled up.

"That used to really worry me," he said.

Turning to staff, the schools have been able to hire a second licensed drug and alcohol counselor, who can address problems early with addiction and dependency. That's important, given the opioid and heroin epidemic in New Hampshire, of course, but he's also worried about marijuana and alcohol abuse.

"It's great to have a second licensed counselor," he said who's able to help with early intervention.

Finally, and perhaps most important of all, McGee said the schools have been able to hire enough teachers to keep class sizes within guidelines.

Up until three years ago, class enrollments had been declining and therefore, some positions were not filled. But the enrollments are back up, he said.

"We needed to replace some positions," he said, and the district has brought on additional staff.

"The classes are full," he said, but the class size is manageable.