Innovation Bright Spots in New Hampshire

Rochester Middle School http://www.rochesterschools.com/rms/  is our first pick as a “Bright Spot” of Innovation in education in New Hampshire.  This week we had the pleasure of participating in Learning Walks at the Rochester Middle School in Rochester, NH.  The Learning Walks gave us a glimpse into a model of personalized and competency-based learning that blends technology with varied instructional strategies to support students. The model supported by Ed Elements, takes classroom instruction to a manageable and student-centered level, with a multi-level approach that is engaging and challenging, and most importantly attentive to student needs. It was evident in every classroom that student learning was at the core of the model. Superintendent, Michael Hopkins believes that the model has helped teachers target instruction, something that was a challenge before implementation.  Principal Adam Houghton noted that the model has improved student engagement and the teachers are invested in continuing to work with and fine-tune the system to help students.

Last week, we had the opportunity to visit the Manchester School of Technology (MST) (http://mst.mansd.org/home). MST is our second pick as a “Bright Spot” of Innovation in education in New Hampshire. Thank you to principal Karen Machado who help our visiting team with a tour of the facility and several educational programs.  It was evident, that MST is focused on meeting the challenge of competency education and in developing a personalized learning environment for students. Students we spoke to, were invested in their learning and clearly articulated their learning and goals. Congratulations MST for inspiring us.