District Newsletter September, 2025

~Mission~

We empower our community of learners in a safe and supportive environment to nurture compassion, cultivate curiosity, and inspire innovation.

~Vision~

The Barrington School District strives to be a community learning and growing together; giving students roots and wings.

Growing Together: Monthly District Updates

• Attendance Matters: September is School Attendance Month! Did you know that in New Hampshire, truancy is defined as just 10 half-day absences (or 5 full days)? Attendance plays a huge role in academic and social growth, and missing even a few days can leave students struggling to catch up. Of course, please keep your child home when they are ill, but otherwise, make every effort to ensure regular attendance.

Items to Note

• Academic Focus Areas: This year, we continue to emphasize the Code of Conduct, math instruction, and reading/writing growth. We are in the third year of implementing our math program and are actively researching strong English Language Arts programs. By July 1, 2026, all districts in New Hampshire must adopt a K–5 reading/writing program aligned with the Science of Reading. Selecting such a program could cost more than $500,000, making it a significant driver in our 2026–2027 budget planning.
  
  

• Budget Advisory Committee: Interested in shaping the budget process? Please see the brochure below for details about joining the School Board Advisory Budget Committee—we welcome your partnership!

• Student Conferences: This year we are adjusting our approach. In the past, many staff offered a full evening of conferences in addition to the scheduled conference day. While appreciated, this was a past practice—not a contractual expectation—and it placed a significant strain on staff and their families. Moving forward:
  
  

• Conferences will be scheduled primarily on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.
  
  

• Families needing an alternate time may work with teachers to find a time in the week before or after.
  
  

• Virtual conferences via Google Meet remain an option.
  We thank you for your flexibility as we continue to prioritize strong home–school communication.
  
  

Thank you, as always, for your support and collaboration. Together, we’re making this school year one of success, safety, and growth for all of our students.

Warmly,

Deannah Rae

Superintendent

drae@sau74.org

I’m excited to introduce myself as Barrington’s new Curriculum Coordinator! You may have seen me the first week of school dressed as Barry the Bulldog—I believe learning should be both challenging and fun. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you’d like to talk about curriculum or instruction. Next month, I’ll share a short, optional survey to hear your thoughts and questions about teaching and learning in our district.

Over the next two weeks, students will finish academic screeners in reading and math. All students will take the i-Ready diagnostic in both subjects, and students in grades K–4 will also take a reading screener called Acadience. These assessments help us understand each child’s learning needs so we can provide the right support. Some students may qualify for targeted instruction in small groups through Title I services or Tier II interventions, which are designed to give students the tools they need to meet state learning standards.

I look forward to working with our teachers, students, and families to make this a great year of growth and learning!

Emily Sherman

Curriculum Coordinator

esherman@sau74.org

Katie Kukesh

Director of Student Services

kkukesh@sau74.org

This year the Barrington School District’s technology theme, "Maintain and Train," builds on our multi-year strategy to integrate technology into the curriculum and improve the district's technological infrastructure.

Key Initiatives and Goals

Our focus this year is to continue to embed digital literacy across all subjects, with a particular focus on innovation in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math). The district is also working to strengthen data privacy and security to comply with the NH Student Data Privacy law. This involves continuing to expand and develop our formal Data Governance Plan, implementing ransomware protection, and ensuring a business continuity plan is in place.

The district is also focusing on operational efficiency and consistency. This includes working with the Curriculum Coordinator to ensure the use of web-based resources aligns with approval guidelines.

Infrastructure and Staffing

To support these initiatives, the district is continuing to upgrade its technology infrastructure. This includes a multi-year refresh cycle for interactive classroom projectors, replacing teacher MacBooks with high capacity Chromebooks, and increasing Wi-Fi coverage. The district is also investigating a new early warning system using PearDeck Data Studio, offered by the NH Department of Education, to help identify and support struggling students.

Our longer term vision includes adding a full-time Learning Systems Administrator and a full-time classroom educational Technology Integrator. The district has already begun working toward this vision by reallocating staff to focus on technology integration and administrative support, such as PowerSchool scheduling and gradebook management.

I am looking forward to continuing to work toward maximizing the benefit to students from the technology that we currently own, while minimizing the costs.

Jeff DeLangie Sr.

Director of Technology

jdelangie@sau74.org

The Facilities Department got all of the buildings ready for opening day. All of the schools look great with freshly waxed floors, new paint, and also upgraded flooring at BES, and BMS. As summer winds down and our fall season begins we have prepped the fields for fall sports. The bridge for the cross country course is going to be restructured by the end of October. Having the summer to work on the buildings is great for the work that needs to be completed; however it is always nice to see life back in the buildings once the kids and staff are back.

Best,

Joe Williams

Facilities Manager

jwilliams@sau74.org

We've had a delightful start to the school year! It's been wonderful to welcome our students back over the last few weeks, and we're so pleased to see them arriving on time each morning.

After a spring and summer of focused collaboration with Dail Transportation and a mutual commitment to solving our transportation challenges, we're thrilled to have two additional buses running this year. This has made a significant difference, with students arriving on time and a much shorter dismissal process at the elementary school. This change to our transportation process has had a great outcome: more time-on-learning for our students and educators.

Wishing you a fantastic 2025-26 school year, packed with learning, growth, and plenty of fun!

Warmly,

Brigid Connelly

Operations Manager

September is a perfect time to speak with your student about safety on the school bus and at the bus stop. Together, we can equip our learners to make good choices and travel to and from school safely!

NEW ONLINE MEAL PAYMENT SYSTEM: LINQ Connect

If you haven't already, please go to https://linqconnect.com/255XDW and make a new account in order to continue making payments towards your students' meals. You can also submit a meal application through TITAN School Solutions for the current school year. Click on "Sign up today!" to begin the process of making a new account and be sure to have the following information to successfully link your student(s) to your account:

First Name
Last Name
Student ID (Identifier, can be found when you login to PowerSchool)
Date of Birth

The simplest way to apply for Free and Reduced meals is to complete an application in LINQConnect. https://linqconnect.com/main

To access the LINQConnect application form:

Log into your LINQConnect account

Under "Quick Links", select "Meal Applications" (bottom right of the screen)

Type "Barrington" in the search engine to find the Barrington School District (Barrington, NH) online application form

To continue receiving free or reduced meals for the 2025-2026 school year, your application must be received by October 8, 2025.

Free and Reduced meals applications are also available at your child's main school office upon request. Please be sure the application you are given has the current school year listed on it. Applications from previous years will not be accepted.

Wondering what we are serving for breakfast or lunch? Click on this link to find out!

Brigid Connelly

Operations Manager

bconnelly@sau74.org