South Meadow School Assistant Principal Daniel Legro conducted school safety training during the District Professional Development Day on October 14. Legro instructed the staff and administrators in ALICE preparedness in order to help them respond with confidence, protect against harm, and increase survivability in case of an act of violence.

In this portion of the presentation, Legro addressed Colonel Cooper's Color Code of Awareness. The Color Code is based on the concept that awareness can span the gamut between being unaware and unprepared (white) all the way to black, when panic mode has set in and no one is safe. ALICE K-12 School Safety Training teaches individuals to remain alert (yellow) before transitioning to heightened awareness in preparation for a specific alert (orange) and to respond appropriately when the danger has materialized (red).

ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) training focuses on violent intruder situations and teaches specific mitigation strategies: recognizing and reporting potential threats quickly; securing oneself in a safe location to minimize risk; communicating with school administration and law enforcement about the situation; engaging with the threat if necessary; and leaving the area when it is safe to do so.

Annual ALICE training is mandatory under the school district's emergency operations plan under RSA 189:64. For more information on ALICE, please access this website: www.alicetraining.com.

Outreach Worker Lisa Rogers and Social Worker Judith Hertzler provided professional development training on McKinney-Vento to address homelessness.

The McKinney–Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987 is a federal law that provides money for homeless shelter programs and in support of unhoused students and families. By providing targeted assistance, the Act attempts to remove barriers to success for students who show lower educational achievements when unhoused.

First and foremost, McKinney-Vento ensures that children and unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness have access to public education, including the right to remain in their school of origin if that is in their best interest. The act secures transportation to and from school, helping students continue their education despite housing instability. It addresses food insecurity by providing free and reduced meals at school. The assistance extended under McKinney-Vento also facilitates access to various services such as healthcare, mental health services, and social services, helping families stabilize their situations.

While McKinney-Vento addresses immediate issues, it also addresses the problem of homelessness long-term. According to research, the absence of a high school diploma is the single highest risk factor for continued homelessness. McKinney-Vento interventions at the school level thus help prevent future cycles of homelessness.

For more information on McKinney-Vento, see the web page dedicated to the Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program on the New Hampshire Department of Education website.

The ConVal School Board would like to share the following information regarding the outcome of votes taken by the Withdrawal Study Committee.

• To the question, is the full committee ready to vote or is more time and information needed to make a determination, the committee voted 12 - 3 in favor of being ready to take a vote.
• To the question, is it both feasible and suitable for the town of Dublin to withdraw from the ConVal School District, the committee voted 9-6 to “Not Recommend” withdrawal.
• To the question, is it both feasible and suitable for the town of Francestown to withdraw from the ConVal School District, the committee voted 8-7 to “Not Recommend” withdrawal.

Since the committee did not recommend withdrawal for either town, it must file a final report for its decision regarding both Dublin and Francestown with the State Board of Education, as well as the ConVal School Board. Upon doing so the Withdrawal Study Committee is dissolved. RSA 195:25, IV. These reports must be submitted to the State Board of Education by Oct 22, 2024.

Members of the committee who voted to recommend withdrawal may file a minority report with the ConVal School Board and the State Board of Education recommending withdrawal. This report must be filed by October 22, 2024. They must also develop a withdrawal plan and submit the plan to the State Board of Education by November 1, 2024. If the School Board disagrees with a recommendation to withdraw issued by a minority on the Withdrawal Study Committee, it may appear before the State Board of Education and oppose that recommendation. If the State Board of Education approves the withdrawal plan, residents will vote on the withdrawal plan on March 11, 2025.

If the article does not receive a majority of votes from the preexisting district(s) seeking to withdraw, then the withdrawal process is terminated. RSA 195:29, I. If the article passes in the preexisting district(s) seeking to withdraw and a majority of voters in the entire cooperative district vote in favor of the article, then withdrawal will pass (RSA 195:29 II).

If a three-fifths supermajority of the voters in the withdrawing preexisting district vote in favor of withdrawal, then the withdrawal vote will pass unless a three-fifths majority of voters for the entire cooperative district vote against withdrawal. RSA 195:29 III. If the vote to withdraw passes, the withdrawal takes effect on July 1st, 2026.

While the Withdrawal Study Committee will dissolve upon filing its final reports, the Financial Subcommittee will continue to meet over the coming months. The Subcommittee will continue its work of analyzing the impacts of withdrawal on all parties. The School Board and the Financial Subcommittee are dedicated to pursuing and disseminating the most accurate information possible. Dates and times of future Financial Subcommittee meetings will be determined and posted on the school board website.

Minutes from the meetings of the Withdrawal Study Committee can be found on the School Board’s website here.

End 68 Hours of Hunger is a public, non-profit program in the ConVal School District that provides backpacks with meals to children for the weekend when they cannot rely on school breakfasts and lunches. The food bags contain two breakfasts, two lunches, two dinners, and two snacks. The program serves all the towns of the ConVal School District.

End 68 Hours of Hunger is holding a food drive from now through the end of September and has partnered with local businesses to serve as collection sites. The suggested items for the drive include canned chicken and tuna, canned pastas, fruit cups, as well as macaroni and cheese. Monetary donations are tax-deductible. Donations can be made by check to ConVal End 68 Hours and mailed to ConVal End 68 Hours of Hunger, c/o SAU 1, 106 Hancock Road, Peterborough.

For more information on End 68 Hours of Hunger at ConVal, including a list of donation dropoff locations, click here.

As part of the Professional Development Day sessions, attendees from across the district completed mandatory training on suicide prevention. This training covered best practices in suicide prevention and crisis response related to suicidal behavior in schools. Training topics include risk and protective factors and warning signs for suicide; skills for intervening with students at risk; insights into suicide data and factors that impact suicide risk; a review of best practices for reducing access to lethal means; steps to promote help-seeking behavior; and strategies to increase suicide prevention efforts through collaboration with community services.

During her visit to Temple Elementary School, Superintendent Dr. Ann Forrest joined in a warmup exercise with the students in Mrs. Harris' Wellness class. Both the students and the adults clearly enjoyed their participation in the race!

The ConVal School Board would like to share the following information regarding the warrant articles approved and filed by two member communities, Dublin and Francestown, to study withdrawal from the school district.

As part of this process, a committee was formed to study the feasibility and suitability of withdrawal. The committee consists of one school board member from each of the nine ConVal towns and one Select Board member from each of the nine ConVal towns. The makeup of the committee is dictated by state statute.

In the coming weeks, the feasibility and suitability of Dublin and Francestown withdrawing from the ConVal School District and forming their own school district will be evaluated separately and reported on separately. The committee must report its findings for each town to the State Board of Education by October 22, 2024, indicating whether withdrawal from the school district “is recommended, not recommended, or whether more time and information are needed to make a determination” (RSA 195:25, II).

If the committee recommends withdrawal for both towns, the committee must develop a withdrawal plan for each town and file the plans with the State Board of Education by November 1, 2024. Should the State Board of Education approve the withdrawal plans, residents will vote on the issue on March 11, 2025.

Should the committee recommend withdrawal for one town but not the other, the committee must file a report with the State Board of Education for each town, but it would only develop and submit a plan for the town for which withdrawal was recommended.

Should the committee not recommend withdrawal for either town, it must file reports for each town with the State Board of Education, as well as the ConVal School Board, and the committee is then dissolved (RSA 195:25, IV).

When withdrawal is not recommended by the committee, members of the committee who voted to recommend withdrawal may file a minority report with the ConVal School Board and the State Board of Education recommending withdrawal. This report must be filed by October 22, 2024. They must also develop a withdrawal plan and submit the plan to the State Board of Education by November 1, 2024. If the State Board of Education approves the withdrawal plan, residents will vote on the withdrawal plan on March 11, 2025.

More information will follow after the withdrawal committee makes its findings. The withdrawal committee meets in the SAU Boardroom at 6:00 PM on the second and fourth Thursday of the month. These meetings are open to the public, and minutes from the meeting can be found on the School Board’s website here.

September is National Suicide Prevention Month. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) offers suicide prevention training as part of its broader mission to support mental health and improve the quality of life for those affected by mental illness. NAMI's training aims to reduce stigma, increase awareness, and enhance the ability of individuals to respond effectively to those in need, ultimately contributing to the prevention of suicide and the promotion of mental wellness. The photo on the left shows the NAMI Suicide Prevention Trainers for the school district. For more on Suicide Prevention Month, please click here.