Spotlighting Excellence: NHSAA Recognizes Prospect Mountain Schools’ Efforts to Improve Student Success

The Prospect Mountain Schools saw the perfect storm approaching several years ago.

The district had seen the enrollment decline greater than the state average and had projected another 22 percent decline from 2020-2029. Fewer students would result in less funding, more program cuts, and a growing inability to provide a wide array of educational offerings that fully prepare students for success post-graduation.

Reversing the trend called for reimagining education. That meant recognizing growing interest in career technical pathways, alternative learning options, home education, and charter schools.

And ultimately, moving from one-size-fits-all learning to individualized instruction that aligns with students’ goals and needs.

Superintendent Tim Broadrick shared the successes of Prospect Mountain Schools’ innovation with members of the State Board of Education in Concord on Thursday, Oct. 9.

The district, with vital support from the Alton, Barnstead, and Joint School Boards, has reenvisioned the student pathway to success.

• Incoming high school students develop a career pathway planner that presents a number of Career and Technical Education (CTE) options, allowing them to visualize their futures. The planner is revised throughout their four years at Prospect Mountain High School.
• Students may work with educators to develop an alternative learning plan, a rigorous and relevant path to a high school diploma or equivalent. Seventeen high school students have alternate plans of study this year.
• Extended Learning Opportunities allow students to gain important workplace skills in their chosen field.
• Students may now receive required physical education credits through outside sports lessons, participation at private sports clubs, or in varsity/sub-varsity sports.
• An innovative split class schedule includes 90 minutes each week for non-credit exploration in areas such as local history and community service. Students may also receive certifications in topics including Tractor and Hunter Safety.

Superintendent Broadrick said, “Organizational change is hard, and it’s even harder in a public system where most regulatory structures are designed to preserve the status quo. We don’t take that lightly, but the reality is that enrollment decline has put more and more school districts into untenable financial positions. We have taken and are taking some risks, but we knew that if we did nothing the results would be bad for our students.”

“The innovations at Prospect Mountain are having a positive impact on learning and teaching. Leveraging committed and passionate personnel along with community resources, Dr. Broadrick and his team are challenging traditional systems with an introspective approach,” said Dr. Mark MacLean, Executive Director of the New Hampshire School Administrators Association. “Cultivating strategic, flexible, and engaging pathways for students, while also focusing on standards and quality are key components to the continued evolution of public education.”