Portsmouth Ready For First Day of School

It may be hard to believe, but the first day of school for most Portsmouth kids is Wednesday and school officials will be ready to greet them tomorrow morning.

"We're good," said Portsmouth School Superintendent Ed McDonough when asked Wednesday if the city's three elementary schools, Portsmouth Middle School and Portsmouth High School are ready for the 2011-2012 school year.

Children in Grades 1 through 9 are scheduled to return to school on Wednesday. High school sophomores, juniors and seniors are not scheduled to begin school until Thursday. Kindergarten students will begin school on Tuesday after the Labor Day holiday weekend.

He said 270 teachers and support staff have prepared all of their lesson plans and finished up their workshops to give the city's 2,680 students the best instruction. He said the school district's elementary school teachers at Little Harbour, Dondero and New Franklin schools just finished taking a workshop to put more emphasis on math instruction.

At Little Harbour School where they will welcome 36 new students who are transferring from the Dondero School, McDonough said Little Harbour Principal Charles Grossman just completed the necessary background checks for the six paraprofessional staff members who will help accomodate the influx of students.

The Portsmouth School Board recently approved the reallocation of more than $125,000 of funds in the existing budget to hire the additional staff members at Little Harbour School.

Portsmouth Schools will also be served by a new bus company this year, McDonough said. Student Transportation of America in Goffstown will ferry students to and from school this year. The Portsmouth School Department has also published a complete list of school bus routes on its Web site.

Portsmouth Middle School students will also return to class as continues right behind them. They will be the second to last group of students who attend the current school.

The new Portsmouth Middle School is scheduled to be completed in 2013.

At Portsmouth High School, McDonough said they will be undergoing their reaccreditation process administered by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.