Salem Observer : high school

Salem, Pelham, Windham schools improving overall; high school's still lagging

Salem Editor — Wed, 21 May 2008 17:53:00 GMT

While the state standards for measuring adequacy among New Hampshire students were raised this year, the elementary and middle schools in Salem, Pelham and Windham did generally well overall, according to the results from the New England Common Assessment Program test scores.

Both Salem and Pelham high schools, however, remain in the needs-improvement category. The testing is aimed at bringing every student in the state up to a level of proficiency by the year 2014.

Students across the state in grades 3 through 8 and grade 11 were administered the NECAP test in fall 2007. Students’ progress at the school and district level is measured based on the results, and students are broken into different subgroups, including special education and economically disadvantaged, for analyzing the performance of particular groups of students.

If one of those subgroups fails to meet the bar in a particular subject area, the entire school is considered as not having made adequate yearly progress. If a school fails to meet those standards for two years in a row, it earns a “school in need of improvement” designation. Such a school needs to make adequate yearly progress for two consecutive years to exit that status.

High school students across the state were not tested last year to allow a transition from spring to fall testing, but high schools retained whatever status they earned from the prior year’s adequate yearly progress results.

In most cases, school officials say, the special education subgroup caused the school to miss the mark.

“I think that all students should achieve,” said Marilyn Woodside, assistant superintendent of Salem schools. “But I don’t think they should need to meet the same performance targets and I think there should be different ways to measure their growth.”

Salem High did not make adequate yearly progress in math or reading this year. While high school students did not test last year, Salem High retains its status as a school in need of improvement for both subjects, going on its third year for math and its second year for reading with that designation.

The Fisk, Soule, Woodbury, North Salem and Lancaster schools in Salem all made adequate yearly progress in reading and math for the 2008-09 school year. Also making adequate yearly progress for the 2007- 08 school year were the North Salem, Soule and Lancaster schools.

The Woodbury School missed the benchmarks for both reading and math for 2007-08, but showed improvement in scores this year. The Fisk School also improved, hitting both marks for 2008-09 after missing adequate yearly progress in reading last year. The Haigh School missed the mark in reading for 2008-09 but hit it in math after making both last year.

Woodside said she is pleased with the progress the elementary schools made, particularly in math, and added the practices used to improve the special education subgroup’s performance are spread over the entire school.

The math curriculum has been improved to apply math more throughout the school day, Woodside said.

“You have to have patience and let your program and curriculum take time to work,” said Woodside.

Pelham and Windham

The adequate yearly progress results for schools in the Pelham and Windham school district, School Administrative Unit 28, were mixed.

After making adequate yearly progress in both reading and math for the 2007-08 year, Windham Center School missed the mark in reading for 2008-09. Because Golden Brook, being a kindergarten through grade 2 school, did not take the test, Windham Center’s results are applied to Golden Brook as a means of comparison.

Windham Middle School’s students succeeded in making adequate yearly progress for 2008-09, as they did for 2007-08. Both Pelham Elementary and Memorial made adequate yearly progress for math but missed it in reading for 2008- 09.

Pelham Elementary met the benchmarks in both reading and math last year and Memorial missed the mark in both subjects for 2007-08. Memorial remains a school in need of improvement pending the next round of testing and enters its first year as a school in need of improvement for math.

Pelham High made the grade in reading but not in math for 2008-09, having not been tested for the 2007-08 results. Roxanne Wilson, assistant superintendent of Pelham and Windham schools, said all schools made overall adequate yearly progress, but as in other schools across the state, the special education subgroup brought the scores down.

“I think it’s an issue of reality. It’s very hard to expect that we’re going to have 100 percent of students proficient by 2014,” Wilson said, adding that increase in the actual scores shows the schools are making progress. Wilson said school officials will look closely at the math curriculum after reading practices put into place last year, particularly at the middle school, seemed to help.

Team’s small roster yields big results for SHS

Salem Editor — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 20:19:00 GMT

By Ryan O’connor

Those formulating the rules must have had Nick Miles in mind when they put pen to paper.

At the annual Salem Invitational boys gymnastics tournament, which took place Saturday, Jan. 26, those competing in the all-around are not eligible to place in individual events.

“It’s to give everyone a shot,” said Salem coach Nate Hicks, a former standout gymnast for the Blue Devils. “They don’t want one person to run away with everything.”

Indeed, Miles would have sprinted out the door with wins in five of six events – floor, parallel bars, high bar, pommel horse and vault – and second place on rings – had the rule not been established.

Instead, he sprung, flipped and landed on top of the winner’s podium only once, holding the all-around title high in front of an exuberant home crowd with a total score of 50.7.

His closest competitor, Andover’s Aaron Davidovits, finished more than 10 points back with a 40.2.

Miles, who earned a 9.3 on vault, an 8.8 on pommel horse, an 8.7 on floor, an 8.6 on parallel bars, a 7.8 on high bar and a 7.5 on rings, was also named Outstanding Gymnast, an award presented to the athlete who exhibits the most impressive individual performance while showing team pride, team spirit and camaraderie among teammates and opposing gymnasts.

In the process, he led Salem to a third-place team finish with 153.8 points, behind Burlington’s 159.6 and Braintree’s 159.2.

What’s most impressive, said Miles, is Salem finished ahead of teams – Lowell and Attleboro, among others – with two, three and, in some cases, almost five times as many athletes.

Salem, for example, has nine gymnasts. Lowell has nearly 50.

“Everybody participated, and we had a lot of guys winning awards, and everyone out there participated in our finish,” said the sophomore.

Just as important as winning with fewer athletes, said Hicks, is representing New Hampshire as the Granite State’s lone boys high school gymnastics program.

“This is kind of like our States because obviously it’s here in Salem, whereas we usually have to go to Massachusetts to compete,” he said. “I wish there were more New Hampshire teams, but it’s really great to see our kids go out there and compete so well against some of the best Massachusetts has to offer.”

Sean Fallon, who didn’t compete for the all-around title at the Salem Invitational, despite participating in each event, earned a second-place 8.3 on floor and a second-place 8.4 on vault, ahead of teammate Danny Raymond, who finished third in the event with a 7.9.

Earlier in the week, the Blue Devils extended their dual-meet record to 2-1 by slaying Revere, 152.1-138.7.

Miles won the all-around with a 50.9.

He took first place in each event with a 9.4 on floor, a 9.2 on vault, a 9.0 on pommel horse, an 8.5 on parallel bars, a 7.6 on high bar and a 7.2 on rings.

Fallon finished second overall with a 39.9, placing second on vault with an 8.6; second on floor with a 9.2; second on high bar with a 6.7; and third on parallel bars with a 6.8.

Raymond earned third on vault with an 8.1 and took fourth on high bar and rings with a 5.0 and 4.8, respectively.

Renovation funds among warrant articles up for debate

Salem Editor — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:38:00 GMT

By Darrell Halen

A $53.5 million operating budget, money to plan for a high school renovation and a new contract with teachers and other professionals are among the Salem School District warrant articles voters will see this year.

The district’s deliberative session will start at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 7, at Salem High School. There, voters can discuss and debate these spending measures. Voters will decide the fate of each warrant article when they go to the polls on Tuesday, March 11.

One topic that could generate debate is whether voters should approve spending $1,511,000 for architectural and engineering plans to renovate Salem High School.

The renovation project has an estimated price tag of $41 million, and the preliminary work would provide a better defined price.

The school board is asking voters to authorize spending the money for the architectural and engineering plans, and would use impact fees to cover $250,000 of the cost. The Budget Committee, however, is not recommending the article.

Advocates of the proposed renovation say the project is needed to improve and expand the 42-year-old school, which suffers from numerous deficiencies and has been pushed to capacity.

Some Budget Committee members, however, said they would prefer to address the issue after Windham students leave the school.

Also on the warrant is an article to put $600,000 into a reserve fund to pay for renovations to the high school. The money is a penalty that Windham is paying to keep its students at the school an extra year, after Windham delayed the opening of its own high school.

The $600,000 article, which the budget committee is not recommending, will be null and void if the $1.5 million for architectural and engineering plans is approved.

The proposed operating budget for 2008-09 is $53,539,584, of which $29,707,595 goes to salaries.

The budget also includes $9,412,708 for employee benefits; $2,342,468 for supplies and materials; $421,730 for equipment, furniture and fixtures; and $7,354,795 for various purchased services, such as pupil transportation, equipment repairs and printing.

The warrant also includes a $100,000 deficit appropriation for the school district’s current budget, representing the cost of special education tuition for out-of-district placements, and a $198,197 article to address deficiencies identified in a 2005 facilities audit, which includes replacement of fire panels, roofing, windows, HVAC units and paving.

Five other warrant articles each provide increases in pay and benefits in accordance with collective bargaining agreements between the School Board and worker unions: $31,830 to secretaries; $29,120 to food service workers; $83,601 to aides; $47,233 to custodians; and step increases totaling $404,284 and increases in salary and benefits totaling $730,897 to members of the Salem Education Association, which includes teachers, nurses and student services specialists.

Salem wrestlers impress in Merrimack, Concord

Salem Editor — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:08:00 GMT

By Ryan O’connor

MERRIMACK – Traveling without their highly touted freshmen, who were competing at their own event in Concord, Salem invaded the Merrimack Hall of Fame Tournament and finished fourth among 16 squads.

Despite bringing just eight grapplers to the event on Saturday, Jan. 17, the Blue Devils often looked dominant against some of the best competition from New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont.

Senior standout Trevor Dearden won the 125-pound weight class, pinning Exeter’s Chris Scott in the final.

Likewise, Alex Pittera won the 135-pound weight class via pin over Bow stud Doug Rosenberg.

In the 160-pound weight class, Corbin Decker lost a close decision to Alvirne’s Evan Carter in the finale.

And 285-pounder Ryan Stanton placed fourth, losing 4-3 to Merrimack’s Bill Lester.

Assistant coach Todd Oljey said he was pleased with efforts from 145-pounder Rich Cronin and 140-pounder David Welch as well, though both fell short of placing.

“We definitely have our moments, our ups and our downs, but what’s important is we’ve gotten our act together at the right time, because we recognize the postseason is approaching,” said Oljey.

Those not present in Merrimack, those who impressed at the Concord Freshman Invitational included Devon Dearden and Tyler Dietrich, who each won; Brett Pittera and Cameron Yergow, who placed second; Micah Dion, who took third; and Jason Herrick, who finished fourth.

“The majority of those freshmen aren’t first-year wrestlers. They came from the (Salem) Boys and Girls Club, so they know their way around the mat,” said Oljey.

Despite splitting its squad, Salem puts forth strong effort

Salem Editor — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 22:26:00 GMT

By Ryan O’Connor

Competing without its top three wrestlers, Salem still finished among the best at what some consider one of the most difficult early season tournaments in the area.

While seniors Trevor Dearden, Corbin Decker and Alex Pittera were busy grappling in the Beast of the East tournament at the University of Delaware, the rest of the Blue Devils traveled up Interstate-93, where the team placed fifth among 18 squads at the Bow Holiday Classic.

Freshman Devon Deardon and senior Ryan Stanton led the way, winning the 112-pound and 285-pound weight classes, respectively.

Finishing second was 119-pound freshman Cody Baker, while 125-pound classmate Micah Dion and 140-pound sophomore David Welch each placed third.

“We had a couple kids we thought were going to wrestle and they didn’t, but it was good to see some of the younger kids come in and get some wins for us,” said head coach Ryan Carr, who added his team faces obstacles if it wants to compete for state and regional titles.

“We’re young, and when I say young, I mean we still have a lot of mental errors,” he continued. “We’re not as conditioned as we will be in February. We’re just making youth mistakes, things that work in seventh- and eigthgrade that just don’t work when you’re wrestling high school juniors or seniors.”

Still, Carr said he sees the hard work and dedication his wrestlers are exhibiting in the practice room and on the mat, and is looking forward to the payoff in the months ahead.v Though none of the missing Blue Devils placed in Delaware, Carr said just getting there is an accomplishment.

“That tournament is actually tougher than the senior national tournament,” he said. “You’re dealing with the best from all grades, and some prep schools who don’t typically compete at the national tournament are there as well. I mean, everyone there is pretty much a guaranteed Division I (college) athlete, and four or five kids there will be gold medalists within a couple years.”

Salem holds off Timberlane’s late charge

Salem Editor — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 22:15:00 GMT

By Matt Schooley

The Salem High School girls basketball team, in cruise control against Timberlane, needed the accelerator in the final minute to earn a 50-43 home victory on Friday, Dec. 14.

With about three minutes remaining in the contest, a Sarah Raye steal and layup pushed the Blue Devils’ lead to 46-33, but the Owls swooped back into the game in the blink of an eye.

Salem turnovers and missed free throws helped Timberlane score the next 10 points, cutting the lead to 46-43 with 42 seconds remaining, when SHS senior Michaela Galvin toed the free-throw line.

She hit back iron on the front end of the one-and-one, but alertly grabbed her own rebound and was fouled again, making one of two attempts to give her team a four-point lead.

On the ensuing inbounds pass, Caitlin Peters stole the ball, was fouled and made both free throws.

“I think we got tired towards the end, and had some breakdowns defensively. That by no means is taking away from (Timberlane’s) firepower,” said Salem head coach Elizabeth Briggs, whose team moved to 2-0. “I’m trying to see who is going to be playing on a regular basis. It wasn’t a game to experiment. People need a breath at the pace we were playing at, but today wasn’t a day for me to test out new players.”

Jessica Sexton scored 10 points in the first quarter en route to 15 in the game before fouling out.

Junior Amanda Saab played a solid game defensively and chipped in eight points.

Timberlane’s Samantha Wheeler was unstoppable, using an inside game and solid free throw shooting to net 31 points. But Salem allowed only three other Owls to score the team’s other 12 points.

In fact, Salem held the visitors to single-digit scoring in each of the first three quarters before the 21-point fourth-quarter burst.

“(Timberlane’s comeback) was about free throws. We didn’t nail them, and we gave them too many,” said Briggs. “We need to go deeper into the bench. That’s our immediate goal. In the long term, we just need to work on getting in better shape.”

Game notes

Danielle Stoodley scored eight points for the Lady Blue Devils. Galvin chipped in six markers, and Peters added five.