Schools announce new hires, Tech students head to Nationals: Seacoast education news

Barrington School Board announces new Interim Superintendent of Schools

BARRINGTON — The Barrington School Board announced that Deannah Rae has been appointed to serve as Interim Superintendent of Schools for the Barrington School District effective July 1.

Rae has served in many key administrative roles since joining the district in 2014. Rae’s progressive experience began as the ECLC Principal and has led to her current role as Director of Student Services. In 2021, Rae was the recipient of the Barrington’s Champion for Children Award, which recognizes outstanding involvement and support of the children and families in the Barrington School District.

Rae is a resident of Barrington and proud parent of two sons currently enrolled in high school and college. Prior to joining the Barrington School District, she taught at all levels from early childhood education to high school. She also brings a range of previous administrative experience including principal and adjunct professor.

School Board Chair, David Gibson, stated that “We [the Barrington School Board] believe that Deannah’s relevant experience, dedication to academic excellence, alignment with Board priorities, and deep understanding of the Barrington community will be integral to the district in the coming school year.”

“I’m dedicated to this district and its success.” said Rae. “Barrington has invested so much in me, and I’m very grateful for that. I want to give back to this community that has given me so much. I am excited for this new opportunity and look forward to the journey ahead.”

Drew Bairstow named Cooperative Middle School Principal

EXETER – The Exeter Region Cooperative School Board voted unanimously to hire Drew Bairstow, of Dover, as the new principal of the Cooperative Middle School. With 21 years of experience as an educator, Bairstow, who is currently the principal at Lincoln Street School in Exeter, assumes his new role as CMS principal on July 1.

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“We are so proud of the growth that Mr. Bairstow has led over the last seven years at Lincoln Street School and the positive impact that he has made with the students, families and community,” said SAU 16 Superintendent Dr. David Ryan. “He has a proven record of data-based decision-making, collaborating with staff in the change process, empathic leadership, technology integration, expanding professional staff knowledge and skills, and more in his 21 years in education. His experience as a middle school teacher and elementary principal makes him an ideal candidate to lead CMS.”

As CMS principal, Bairstow will be responsible for providing leadership in all aspects of instructional programming and teaching practices for student learning, continuing strong relationships with parents and the community involvement, and managing the operations of the school including budget, staffing, etc. He will also have the unique opportunity of reconnecting with many past students from Lincoln Street School who are now at CMS.

Prior to serving as principal of Lincoln Street School, Bairstow was principal at the Fred C. Underhill School in Hooksett for four years and assistant principal at Hooksett Memorial School for three years. Before his educational leadership positions, Bairstow fulfilled various roles in multiple school districts in New Hampshire as a middle school reading and language arts teacher, special education instructional assistant and an English teacher in Thailand.

“I have enjoyed my time at Lincoln Street School working to foster a culture of learning and respect and building positive interpersonal relationships with all members of the community,” said Bairstow. “I am committed to dynamic methods of leadership with the best interest of children in mind. While I will miss my Lincoln Street School family immensely, I am thrilled to continue to serve in SAU 16 and can’t wait to begin working with the students, families and faculty at Cooperative Middle School.”

Bairstow earned both his Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and Communications from Keene State College, Master of Education in Education Administration from Rivier College in Nashua and will soon earn a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Education Leadership at New England College in Henniker. He also earned principal and elementary education certifications in New Hampshire. Bairstow has lived in N.H. for more than 20 years and currently resides in Dover with his wife and children.

Cooperative Middle School, part of SAU 16, in Stratham, N.H. was originally built in 1998 and is home to 1,200 students in sixth, seventh and eighth grade from Brentwood, Exeter, East Kingston, Kensington, Newfields and Stratham.

Five rural schools selected for TeachUNITED customized supports

CONCORD — The New Hampshire Department of Education announced its new partnership with TeachUNITED, which will provide five rural schools in New Hampshire with individualized professional development for their leadership teams and educators.

Schools were selected for this unique opportunity based on their need and instructional improvement goals articulated in their applications. Awardees include Barnard Elementary School in South Hampton, Stevens High School in Claremont, Northwood Elementary School in Northwood, Cornish Elementary School in Cornish and Strong Foundations Charter School in Pembroke.

The focus of the program is to transform practices, engage youth and form professional learning communities within Rural Education Achievement Program school districts.

Designed for both teachers and school leaders, the coaching program highlights strategies for growth mindset, data-driven instruction and personalized and blended learning.

The initiative aims to empower rural district leaders and educators to master the most effective and impactful methods for supporting sustainable improvement in the classroom. The project is funded with Title II Part A of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and totals $170,000 through June 2023.

Portsmouth Career Technical Center students head to national competition

PORTSMOUTH — They have been waiting for news since late winter and on Friday, April 8, the news and the awards came pouring in. Following leadership and skills competitions at Southern New Hampshire University our local Educators Rising NH students have been anxiously awaiting the news of state level placements and learned they had placed in five competitions.

Congratulations to the following students: Riley Diemer, Mackenzie Leonard, and Kailyn Richards who were our state’s 1st place team for Ethical Dilemma;

Kendall Jaggars placed 5th in Children’s Literature Pre-K through Kindergarten

Ryan Scarlotto placed 3rd in Creative Lecture

Mackenzie Leonard placed 1st in Exploring Career Support Services

For the Job Interview competition, Katie Law placed 2nd, Jade Remick placed 3rd, and Zoe Morin placed 5th.

All of the students that placed will have the opportunity to travel to the Educators Rising National Conference in Washington D.C. June 24 to June 27. They will be fundraising in order to support their national travel. If you would like to support the students in attaining their fundraising goals, contact their advisor Carla Frank via email at [email protected].

Zoe Morin had this to say of her success in the Educators Rising NH competitions, “This was my second year participating in Job Interview. This event has helped me polish my resume and cover letter. I feel ready and comfortable for a job interview in their real world.”

Ryan Scarlotto said, “I was honored to win 3rd place in the Creative Lecture event this year. The process was a great experience and I truly enjoyed presenting to the judges. I hope to improve my Ted Talk for nationals and I will strive for 1st place.”

Educators Rising NH Advisor and State Executive Director Carla Frank commented on her students’ success, “COVID has been a tough time for students and I am especially proud of my students for going the extra mile to not only put together their events but step outside their comfort zone and compete. The time that was spent preparing and prepping for these events was all done outside of class time. I am extremely proud of the work they accomplished and look forward to traveling to the national conference with them.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Schools announce new hires, Tech students head to Nationals: Seacoast education news