September was an exciting time for Manchester Proud! We spent most of the month (and considerable time before) preparing for the State of the Manchester School District 2024-2025 Community Forum and CelebratED 2024 Festival. Both of these events highlight the amazing things that are happening within the Manchester School District!
The third annual State of the Manchester School District was held on September 19, 2024, at the new Manchester School District’s Family Welcome Center at French Hall. Hosted in partnership with Manchester Proud, the District, and Greater Manchester Chamber, the event was an evening where local business and community leaders gathered with Manchester School District officials for an update on the District’s progress to date and goals for the new school year. Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Jennifer Chmiel and her team impressed us all with their department updates and passion for the success of Manchester’s students.
Here’s a sampling of some of the updates provided during the State of the Manchester School District:
- The opening of the Manchester School District’s new Family Welcome Center at French Hall
- The Dual-Language immersion program beginning at Bakersville Elementary School
- The beginning of Phase 1 of the district’s facilities plan includes the opening of new modular classrooms and all middle schools unifying to grades 5-8.
- Two Manchester School District educators are finalists of the New Hampshire Teacher of the Year. One of them being in the final four.
- The school district has moved transportation into the district.
After hearing from the District’s Leadership Team, Dr. Chmiel took questions from the audience as well as individuals online. Over 30 questions were submitted, which shows passion and care for the success of our students and schools!
Riding the success and joy felt from the third annual State of the Manchester School District, CelebratED took place that very weekend. On September 21, 2024, Veteran’s Park was transformed into a festival to celebrate our public schools! This year our celebration of Manchester’s schools and community drew students, families, staff, and community members out into the rain. We filled Veteran’s Park with shining stars despite the rainy weather. During the celebration, we often forgot it was raining!
The day began with welcoming remarks by our Mayor, Superintendent of Schools, Manchester Proud’s Director of Community Partnerships and Engagement, and our Presenting Sponsor, USI Insurance Services before turning to the 17 student performances and almost 200 Game Changer awards that were given out throughout the day.
Everyone in the park enjoyed options for multicultural food, free age-appropriate books for all students, and countless activities for kids of all ages.
Here’s a sampling of the festival’s success stories:
- For the first time, we had a Manchester School District pavilion where students, families, and community members could sign up and explore district resources. A big hit of this pavilion was the mock-up of the new Beech Street school!
- “Music Café”, is an off main stage venue for our high school and middle school students to provide solo performances.
- The “Art Gallery in The Park”, is an enclosed area with a portal entrance to provide a more statured setting for displaying student art. There were 200 linear feet of fence space that unfortunately we were unable to hang up artwork due to the rain but we are exploring the opportunity to display the artwork in another exhibition. We were able to display our “We Love Our School” banners where each elementary school collaborated as a school to decorate their banner.
- Last year we were thrilled to report that 50 community partners participated in CelebratED to share about their programs and services, this year we are thrilled to have welcomed 62 community partners to Veteran’s Park!
- Our “Game Changer” awards were added to the presentations, honoring almost 200 students, teachers, and staff from all 20 schools, who were chosen by their principals for going above and beyond to make their schools great. This is the ultimate spirit of CelebratED!
- We celebrated science education with a robotics competition including the Championship robot built by FIRST robotics team, CHAOS 131
- Manchester Police, Fire, and Health Departments all joined in with horses, ponies, fire trucks, and a dental care van.
- 731 elementary and middle school students participated in our “We Show Up” contest, won by the Smyth Road School and Hillside Middle School. Smyth Road School will enjoy a party sponsored by SEE Science Center and the Puritan Backroom! Hillside Middle School will enjoy a school-wide presentation done by the FIRST Robotics, CHAOS 131 team.
- Students left with books, book markers, and a boost to their interest in reading.
- Once again, we fed thousands – all free! We expanded our multi-cultured menu this year to include: Greek pizza, Mexican, Nepalese, Chinese, African, Caribbean, and Mediterranean food, plus Kona Ice for all kids.
All of this was made possible by 26 business partners and our CEAG funding, for helping make CelebratED and State of the Manchester School District 2024-2025 possible. This support enabled us to make CelebratED free to all kids and families. Eliminating cost, communicating in multiple languages, and providing an ASL interpreter for all on-stage performances are all part of our commitment to making CelebratED accessible to everyone in Manchester.
ONWARD to planning State of Manchester School District 2025-2026 and CelebratED 2025!
