NSD eNews
Volume XVIII Issue 15
Mario Andrade, Superintendent of Schools
May 24, 2023
Dear NSD Families and Staff,
It was a proud day last week at Pennichuck Middle School as the school community celebrated the ceremonial passing of the key from bricks-and-mortar crews back to educators. (note photo above) Gabe Falzarano, Principal, and I led a tour of the newly renovated and expanded school and was joined by Jennifer Bishop, President of the Nashua Board of Education and other members of the Board, Mayor Donchess, and other city and NSD colleagues. It is great to think the final piece of the middle school project will soon be complete too.
Memorial Day is this Monday, and I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute and acknowledge with great respect the memory of all military personnel who have died in service to our country. Our secondary school marching bands will be taking part in the City of Nashua Memorial Day Parade, stepping from Holman Stadium at 10:30 am on Monday to parade down Main Street to Elm Street Middle. Thank you for a special Memorial Day salute.
In case you missed it, please click here to read the latest information on redistricting that I sent yesterday, following the Nashua Board of Education held Monday where the redistricting consultant presented the results of his study. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.
Thank you.
Mario Andrade, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Nashua School District
Nashua Board of Education
Committee on Human Resources: The Board approved hiring Dan Alexander as the Director of Special Education at the May 8 meeting. Mr. Alexander has been serving as Director on an interim basis since January, and has been a member of the NSD Special Education Department since 2018, when he arrived to serve as an Assistant Director.
Committee on Human Resources: The Board approved four administrative positions at the May 22 meeting:
- Thomas Beer, currently the Assistant Director of Student Services at Pelham High School, was hired as the Assistant Director of Special Education Department. Mr. Beer replaces Chelsey Gillis, who has served admirably in the role for the last few years and resigned to accept a similar position in special education in a neighboring school district.
- Cherrie Fulton, who is retiring as Dr. Norman W. Crisp Elementary School Principal at the end of the school year, is returning to serve once again as Director of Title I, a position she held before being named principal at Dr. Crisp. Ms. Fulton will serve part-time, overseeing the annual federal entitlement grant that funds programming.
- Jillian Cook, currently a special education teacher at Pennichuck Middle School, was hired to be the preschool coordinator at Franklin Street School, overseeing the preschool operations, replacing Alexis LeClair who recently resigned after several years in the role and working to open Franklin Street School.
- Jacalyn Lesser was hired to be the Director of Adult Education for the school district. Ms. Lesser steps up into that role after serving this year in that role in a shared capacity. Jackie previous taught mathematics at Nashua HS South and led the NSD secondary summer school for several years.
Congratulations to all our newly appointed administrators!
To follow up on an agenda item from the April 17, 2023 Board meeting, Dr. Andrade said that the school district would not be pursuing at this time a collaboration with KaiPod Learning of Newton, Massachusetts. Amar Kamari, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, had proposed a collaboration with NSD, using a 2-year commitment of funding from the NH Department of Education.
The next Nashua Board of Education meeting will be held Monday, June 5, 2023 at Nashua High School North.
Superintendent's Comments
May 22, 2023
Nashua Board of Education Meeting
NHED Teacher of the Year Nominees Announced
Congratulations to the eight teachers who were nominated to be the New Hampshire Department of Education 2024 Teacher of the Year.
Our eight teachers are among 92 selected as Teacher of the Year nominees. I am delighted to join the New Hampshire Department of Education in honoring these eight great educators. Congratulations, and good luck with moving forward in the nomination process!
- Nicholas Ellis, Master Sgt.
- JROTC Teacher, Nashua HS North
- Caitlin Lomando
- Grade 4 Teacher, Mount Pleasant Elementary
- Cortney MacDonald
- Kindergarten Teacher, Bicentennial Elementary
- Sean Malone
- Mathematics Teacher, Nashua HS North
- Nicole Moody
- Grade 3 Teacher, Fairgrounds Elementary
- Mariana O'Connor
- Preschool Teacher, New Searles Elementary
- Maureen Patt
- Grade 3 Teacher, Broad Street Elementary
- Robin Peringer
- Art Teacher, Nashua HS South
Leaning into Literacy
Once again, the school district is a beneficiary of ESSER funds…the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding released during COVID. The New Hampshire Department of Education has awarded the school district $300,000 for Leaning into Literacy resources for the upcoming school year. Each elementary school will receive $25,000 for resources that advance reading skills. The Leaning into Literacy initiative promotes teaching reading based on the science of how children learn to read. We welcome the added, generous support.
Amherst Street Elementary Playground
Birch Hill Elementary Gaga Ball Pit
Dr. NW Crisp Elementary Playground
Thank you to Fidelity Employee Volunteers and Boston Cares!
Playground markings and games were added to the playgrounds at Amherst Street and Dr. Crisp, and a gaga ball pit was installed at Birch Hill. We are grateful for the help and support from Fidelity Investments employees from the neighboring corporate offices in Merrimack. Of those employees, many who volunteered either live in Nashua or have ties to our schools as either alumni or as current parents. Again, thank you!