2010 - Blue Ribbon Schools Program
Type of School: (Check all that apply) / []Charter / []Title I / []Magnet / []Choice
Name of Principal: Mr. Timothy Kelley
Official School Name: Hollis/Brookline High School
School Mailing Address:
24 Cavalier Court
Hollis, NH 03049-6583
County: Hillsborough State School Code Number*: 300275
Telephone: (603) 465-2269 Fax: (603) 465-2485
Web site/URL: http://www.hbhs.k12.nh.usE-mail:
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part I - Eligibility Certification), and certify that to the best of my knowledge all information is accurate.
Date
(Principal‘s Signature)
Name of Superintendent*: Ms. Susan Hodgdon
District Name: Hollis/Brookline Cooperative Tel: (603) 465-7118
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part I - Eligibility Certification), and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.
Date
(Superintendent‘s Signature)
Name of School Board President/Chairperson: Ms. Janice Tremblay
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part I - Eligibility Certification), and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.
Date
(School Board President‘s/Chairperson‘s Signature)
*Private Schools: If the information requested is not applicable, write N/A in the space.
The original signed cover sheet only should be converted to a PDF file and emailed to Aba Kumi, Blue Ribbon Schools Project Manager () or mailed by expedited mail or a courier mail service (such as Express Mail, FedEx or UPS) to Aba Kumi, Director, Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Office of Communications and Outreach, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW, Room 5E103, Washington, DC 20202-8173
The signatures on the first page of this application certify that each of the statements below concerning the school‘s eligibility and compliance with U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) requirements is true and correct.
1. The school has some configuration that includes one or more of grades K-12. (Schools on the same campus with one principal, even K-12 schools, must apply as an entire school.)
2. The school has made adequate yearly progress each year for the past two years and has not been identified by the state as “persistently dangerous” within the last two years.
3. To meet final eligibility, the school must meet the state’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirement in the 2009-2010 school year. AYP must be certified by the state and all appeals resolved at least two weeks before the awards ceremony for the school to receive the award.
4. If the school includes grades 7 or higher, the school must have foreign language as a part of its curriculum and a significant number of students in grades 7 and higher must take the course.
5. The school has been in existence for five full years, that is, from at least September 2004.
6. The nominated school has not received the Blue Ribbon Schools award in the past five years, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 or 2009.
7. The nominated school or district is not refusing OCR access to information necessary to investigate a civil rights complaint or to conduct a district-wide compliance review.
8. OCR has not issued a violation letter of findings to the school district concluding that the nominated school or the district as a whole has violated one or more of the civil rights statutes. A violation letter of findings will not be considered outstanding if OCR has accepted a corrective action plan from the district to remedy the violation.
9. The U.S. Department of Justice does not have a pending suit alleging that the nominated school or the school district as a whole has violated one or more of the civil rights statutes or the Constitution‘s equal protection clause.
10. There are no findings of violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in a U.S. Department of Education monitoring report that apply to the school or school district in question; or if there are such findings, the state or district has corrected, or agreed to correct, the findings.
PART II - DEMOGRAPHIC DATAAll data are the most recent year available.
DISTRICT (Questions 1-2 not applicable to private schools)
1. Number of schools in the district: (per district designation) / Elementary schools (includes K-8)1 / Middle/Junior high schools
1 / High schools
K-12 schools
2 / TOTAL
2. District Per Pupil Expenditure: 10853
SCHOOL (To be completed by all schools)
3. Category that best describes the area where the school is located:
[ ] Urban or large central city
[ ] Suburban school with characteristics typical of an urban area
[ ] Suburban
[ ] Small city or town in a rural area
[ X ] Rural
4. 5 Number of years the principal has been in her/his position at this school.
5. Number of students as of October 1 enrolled at each grade level or its equivalent in applying school only:
Grade / # of Males / # of Females / Grade Total / Grade / # of Males / # of Females / Grade TotalPreK / 0 / 6 / 0
K / 0 / 7 / 0
1 / 0 / 8 / 0
2 / 0 / 9 / 104 / 96 / 200
3 / 0 / 10 / 125 / 105 / 230
4 / 0 / 11 / 125 / 114 / 239
5 / 0 / 12 / 114 / 119 / 233
TOTAL STUDENTS IN THE APPLYING SCHOOL / 902
6. Racial/ethnic composition of the school: / 1 / % American Indian or Alaska Native
2 / % Asian
1 / % Black or African American
1 / % Hispanic or Latino
0 / % Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
95 / % White
% Two or more races
100 / % Total
Only the seven standard categories should be used in reporting the racial/ethnic composition of your school. The final Guidance on Maintaining, Collecting, and Reporting Racial and Ethnic data to the U.S. Department of Education published in the October 19, 2007 Federal Register provides definitions for each of the seven categories.
7. Student turnover, or mobility rate, during the past year: 0%
This rate is calculated using the grid below. The answer to (6) is the mobility rate.
(1) / Number of students who transferred to the school after October 1 until theend of the year. / 3
(2) / Number of students who transferred from the school after October 1 until the end of the year. / 4
(3) / Total of all transferred students [sum of rows (1) and (2)]. / 7
(4) / Total number of students in the school as of October 1. / 902
(5) / Total transferred students in row (3)
divided by total students in row (4). / 0.008
(6) / Amount in row (5) multiplied by 100. / 0.776
8. Limited English proficient students in the school: 0%
Total number limited English proficient 0
Number of languages represented: 0
Specify languages:
9. Students eligible for free/reduced-priced meals: 5%
Total number students who qualify: 42
If this method does not produce an accurate estimate of the percentage of students from low-income families, or the school does not participate in the free and reduced-price school meals program, specify a more accurate estimate, tell why the school chose it, and explain how it arrived at this estimate.
10. Students receiving special education services: 11%
Total Number of Students Served: 103
Indicate below the number of students with disabilities according to conditions designated in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Do not add additional categories.
4 / Autism / 1 / Orthopedic ImpairmentDeafness / 27 / Other Health Impaired
Deaf-Blindness / 54 / Specific Learning Disability
6 / Emotional Disturbance / 7 / Speech or Language Impairment
Hearing Impairment / Traumatic Brain Injury
2 / Mental Retardation / Visual Impairment Including Blindness
2 / Multiple Disabilities / Developmentally Delayed
11. Indicate number of full-time and part-time staff members in each of the categories below:
Number of StaffFull-Time / Part-Time
Administrator(s) / 5 / 1
Classroom teachers / 54 / 5
Special resource teachers/specialists / 13 / 7
Paraprofessionals / 27 / 0
Support staff / 18 / 6
Total number / 117 / 19
12. Average school student-classroom teacher ratio, that is, the number of students in the school divided by the Full Time Equivalent of classroom teachers, e.g., 22:1 16 :1
NH-03 nh03-hollis-brookline-high.doc 19
13. Show the attendance patterns of teachers and students as a percentage. Only middle and high schools need to supply dropout rates. Briefly explain in the Notes section any attendance rates under 95%, teacher turnover rates over 12%, or student dropout rates over 5%.
2008-2009 / 2007-2008 / 2006-2007 / 2005-2006 / 2004-2005Daily student attendance / 94% / 94% / 93% / 94% / 93%
Daily teacher attendance / 95% / 96% / 95% / 95% / 95%
Teacher turnover rate / 7% / 12% / 8% / 7% / %
Student dropout rate / 0% / 0% / 1% / 2% / 1%
Please provide all explanations below.
Student Attendance rate was taken from the New Hampshire Department of Education website. There is no available historical information to explain the attendance rate that fell below 95%in 2004-05 and 2005-06 other than to report that in these and all of the school years from 2004 - 2009, the student attendance rate is one or two percentage points higher than the state high school average.
During the 2006-07 school year the community had a higher than normal rate of students impacted by influenza.
In 2007-08 an attendance policy was instituted that addressed class attendance. Teachers reported improvement in attendance in academic classes.
During the 2008-09 school years a handful of students who eventually passed the GRE late in the school year and counted as drop outs for that year were carried as daily absences throughout most of the year.
New student information systems used to track attendance were put in place at the high school twice during the time in question, in 2006 and again in 2009.
Teacher attendance rate estimated for 2004-05 and 2005-06
Teacher turnover rate was not available for 2004-05
Dropout rates are rounded,more exact values are 0.3% (2008-09); 0.4% (2007-08); 0.8% (2006-07); 1.5% (2005-06); 1.1% (2004-05)
Teacher turnover rate of 12% for 2007-08 reflects 4 retirements of the 10 teachers
14. For schools ending in grade 12 (high schools).
Show what the students who graduated in Spring 2009 are doing as of the Fall 2009.
Graduating class size / 203Enrolled in a 4-year college or university / 72 / %
Enrolled in a community college / 14 / %
Enrolled in vocational training / 0 / %
Found employment / 8 / %
Military service / 3 / %
Other (travel, staying home, etc.) / 0 / %
Unknown / 3 / %
Total / 100 / %
PART III - SUMMARY
Hollis Brookline Cooperative High School, located in southern New Hampshire, serves the towns of Hollis (population 7,800) and Brookline (population 4,900) in a largely residential-suburban area on the northern border of Massachusetts. There are several large apple orchards, a few farms, specialty shops, and some light industry. Professionals commute to Nashua, Manchester, and the greater Boston area. The school is a four-year, academically oriented public high school, with an enrollment of 900 students, accredited by the New Hampshire Department of Education and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. For the past three years, Hollis Brookline High School has been designated a Silver Medalist School by US News & World Reports magazine and named by Newsweek magazine as one of America's Best High Schools. Students from both communities come together in grade 7 to a cooperative district middle school for two years before transitioning to grade 9.
Both communities, ranking above the national and state average in household income and college completion, value and support education. The school has a reputation of strong programs, producing excellent results in academics, athletics, and the arts.The strength of the school is its talented and compassionate staff.They set the bar high academically and work tirelessly providing supports for student achievement.The students are blessed with many talents, take pride in their school, and appreciate the hard working staff.The spirit is expressed in our mission statement:
We believe that our mission is to inspire lifelong learning and achievement. We will provide a broad range of experiences which will encourage students to strive for their maximum intellectual, artistic, emotional, social and physical development. We value the individuality of each member of the community and believe that an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect is essential to the educational process.
Hollis Brookline High School has traditionally had a longer school day and year than most neighboring high schools.Four years ago there was a change in the class schedule, from a traditional eight period day to a hybrid schedule of seven courses, offered throughout the week at different lengths.The result was a 15% increase in instructional time, a more rigorous program for seniors and fewer free periods. Classes now run for either 54 or 81 minutes, with more time for differentiated instruction.
There are many traditions at the school in the areas of academic, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities.A wide range of varsity athletic opportunities are available for boys and girls, many offered at the freshmen and junior varsity levels. Each season at least one varsity sport takes all who are willing to participate.