By MATT SCHOOLEYAfter the final Bedford student walks across the stage during Manchester High School West’s graduation ceremony on June 20, a new era will officially begin at the school. What that era will consist of remains to be seen. With Bedford students no longer filling the hallways and classrooms at the school, West administrators ...

By JENNIFER LORD College and elementary school students and educators are working together to create a one-of-a-kind outdoor adventureland. The schools are Peter Woodbury School in Bedford and New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord, and the project is the PWS Community School Yard. Educators leading the effort include Peter ...

By STEPHEN BEALE The School Board has chosen former Acton-Boxborough Regional High School Principal Stephen Donovan to be principal at Bedford High School next year, the school district announced Tuesday, May 4. “We’re extremely excited and Stephen was a very good candidate,” said School Board Chairman David Sacks. “We ...

BY DARRELL HALENIt had the makings of the popular TV show “American Idol.” Anxious singers doing their best to win over their audience. A panel of judges critiquing the performances. Audience members casting ballots for their favorite vocalist. For 10 Bedford High School students, the “Bedford Idol” contest, held ...

BY MATT SCHOOLEYCooper Lecza has driven through Washington, D.C., with his family before. This time he’ll be able to stop and stay for a few days. Lecza will make his first trip to the nation’s capital after winning the state geography bee in a lengthy tie-breaker. The Lurgio Middle School eighth-grader will make the trip from May ...

BY MATT SCHOOLEYWith a group of seventh-graders presenting in front of State House members, it wasn’t the students who were nervous. “I was shaking like a leaf the entire time,” said Lurgio seventh-grade teacher Jen Wells. “They were much more calm and relaxed and I was very nervous. I wasn’t even presenting, but I ...

BY DAN DeCONINCK and MATT SCHOOLEYCell phones – it seems like everyone has them. After all, this is the age of technology, and being without mobile capability is like being without shoes – you could probably make it through the day barefoot, but you certainly wouldn’t like it. Everywhere you look, cell phones are present: in ...

BY STEPHEN BEALEBefore the first brick was laid or the first teacher hired at Bedford High School, there was George Edwards. For the last three years – four counting his time as a consultant – Edwards has been a steady hand at the helm as the school district went full-throttle into constructing the new high school, creating a ...

BY STEPHEN BEALEThe latest NECAP test scores show a significant turnaround in writing ability and more improvement than expected in reading and math for Bedford students. On reading and math, thirdthrough eighth-grade students did better in fall 2008 than they did a year ago. On math, for example, third-graders went from 92 to 95 percent ...

BY MATT SCHOOLEYMany high school principals in the area are open to New Hampshire Education Commissioner Lyonel Tracy’s potential plan that would allow qualified students to graduate following their sophomore year of classes. Tracy has been considering the idea, which would require students to take specified curriculum and pass a thorough ...