MANCHESTER, N.H. – Members of the Manchester Board of School Committee expressed concerns over a report from Manchester School District Assistant Superintendent Amy Allen over incompleted classes at Manchester’s public high schools.
In the report, Allen noted 1,218 incomplete grades at Manchester West High School at the end of last school year, approximately 22 percent of all classes at the school. Approximately 200 of those courses have been made up.
At Manchester Central High School, approximately 500 incomplete courses have been made up, with 796 incomplete courses remaining among 316 total students as of Oct. 28. There, teachers referenced the phenomenon of “ghosting,” where a student turns off their camera during remote learning and does not respond to cues from the teacher.
At Memorial, there are 1,032 incomplete grades among 365 total students as of Oct. 29, with 246 of those students holding multiple classes without a grade.
Allen said that efforts to meet the students at home through guidance counselors, principals and other methods have helped, but some students remain unavailable.
James O’Connell (At-Large) noted that some ghosting situations come when students feel ashamed of outsiders looking at their home, leading to them not turning on their camera. With other families, internet is unaffordable or even unobtainable for undocumented residents who cannot obtain an identification card needed for internet providers to begin service.
The issue of ghosting became part of the larger subject of students becoming disconnected with the concept of schools, as O’Connell later asked a related question regarding the district’s dropout rate. He calculated that the school district could hire a social worker and assistant in each of Manchester’s schools to reach out to students who are ghosting or otherwise contemplating dropping out of school for $3.5 million, the amount that the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen refused to add to the district’s budget in state aid in a failed attempt to override the city’s expenditure cap.
Dr. Nicole Leapley (Ward 11) reiterated a theme found earlier in the evening during a discussion regarding German language programs and winter sports, asking that the district administration provide more data to the BOSC for decision making purposes.
Leapley also noted Manchester School District Superintendent Dr. John Goldhart’s comment that incomplete grades were also an issue prior to COVID-19, adding that incomplete classes compound difficulties for students as they have to take current classes as well as those older incomplete classes.
Goldhardt told the BOSC several keys he believes can address the issue, particularly keeping lines of communication open and constant reinforcement that the students are capable of learning regardless of the situation.
“Whenever I hear the parents don’t care, the students don’t care, those are evil words for me as a superintendent,” he said. “I think they do care, but sometimes they just don’t know how.”