MANCHESTER, NH – Here are a few things on the agenda for the Oct. 10, 2023, Board of School Committee meeting.
Therapy Dogs for Middle School Students
New England College education doctoral student Kelly Espinola is seeking permission to study the impact of therapy dogs on middle school students. In addition to studying the impact of the dogs, she hopes to determine if being around a therapy dog helps middle school students with the social-emotional well-being, attendance, behavior and grades.
The study would include eight students and will take approximately 4.5 hours over the course of the 2023-’24 school year.
The Board of School Committee’s Committee on Teaching and Learning recommended approval of the program after hearing a presentation on Sept. 26.
District Goals Review
Manchester School District Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Gillis has placed 50 pages of information regarding 33 individual goals for the 2023-’24 school year in Tuesday’s meeting packet.
District-wide, each of the goals is intended to fit into either the “Growing our Learners,” “Growing our Educators,” or “Growing our Systems” frameworks, with goals set for specific goals also fitting within the additional “ABC” (Attendance, Behavior and Curriculum) framework.
Recognitions
Gillis will also honor a pair of Manchester Central High School students: Akshay Manchanda and Anna Kual. Manchanda have been named as a 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program Commended Student and Kual has been named as High School Student of the year in the Rising Stars Awards by Stay Work Play and New Hampshire Public Radio.