Schools
District Ready to Greet School Year with New Teachers, Building
The summer brought a slew of changes to local schools, including new teachers, structures, upgrades and bus routes.
Work is almost complete on the two-story addition to Centre School, a project that is one of the last remaining steps before Hampton School District staff and pupils return to class for the upcoming school year.
Superintendent of Schools Kathleen Murphy said the building is in "great shape" and that officials "anticipate it will be ready" at least one week before classes resume on Aug. 26.
"As soon as they give us the high sign, we'll go in," said Murphy.
The addition squares off and completes a previous addition on Centre School, and is designed to give school programs and teachers much-needed new classrooms and storage space.
Workers are in the process of completing the addition's tile floors and other finish work, according to Murphy. Despite a couple of unforeseen hiccups such as the need to replace sewer piping already installed in the existing portion of the addition, Murphy said the work is "well within" the $588,600 project budget — the maximum set during this year's deliberative session and passed at town meeting.
"It wasn’t a big project, so really it was pretty easy to stay within the framework proposed," she said. "I think everybody's getting ready now and getting anxious to get started."
District Still Working to Fill Open Positions
Hampton schools will have six new staff members this year, and while two of those positions haven't yet been filled, Murphy said the goal is to do so by the start of the school year.The consulting firm brought in to find a replacement for Hampton Academy Assistant Principal Andrea Shepard has decided to "go back out" and find additional candidates after evaluating eight individuals for the job, according to Murphy.
Shepard retired from her post this year following a suspension, according to Murphy. Residents have claimed Shepard was forced out, though, due to controversy.
"There's a plan to address the needs of an assistant principal before the school year starts," said Murphy. "If it remains vacant, I'll recommend an interim until such time that we have a qualified candidate."
The other position the district is still trying to fill is a foreign language position at Hampton Academy.
Other staff changes include a new assistant principal at Marston School to replace Dan Mitchell, who took a position in Bedford, as well as a new full-time, certified librarian at Centre School and a new technology director for the district.
The following is a complete list of the new staff for this school year:
- Susanne Dompoulis — Librarian, Centre School
- Kellie Burtch — Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) teacher, Hampton Academy
- Nathan Saddler — Assistant Principal, Marston School
- Gregory Limperis — Director of Technology, Districtwide
- Lucinda Arlington
- Kathe Halloran
- Gale Stanley
- Andrea Shepard
- Nancy Roessel
A special education position at Hampton Academy that is open due to a retirement will be eliminated as part of district reorganization, said Murphy. A kindergarten position at Centre School and a team position at Hampton Academy were also reduced for various reasons.
School bus routes are expected to go before the Hampton School Board Tuesday night. The routes will be different this year because the district reduced its overall number of buses.
Other district changes over the summer included new bathrooms at Marston School to meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards, new sections of roof at Centre School in conjunction with the addition, and a sprinkler installation at Hampton Academy.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
