Schools

The Year in Review

Robert Colantuono, Thoreau School Principal
Arthur Dulong, cchs Principal
Patricia Fernandes, Willard School Principal
Dr. Brenda Finn, Superintendent
John Flaherty, Finance & Operations Director
Kelly McCausland, Human Resources Administrator
Jessica Murphy, Special Education Director
Diana Rigby, Assistant Superintendent
Arthur Unobskey, Concord Middle School Principal
Gene Warfel, Technology Director
Sharon Young, Alcott School Principal

The towns of Concord and Carlisle are fortunate to have strong schools dedicated to increasing the learning of the 1,257 students enrolled in Concord-Carlisle High School and the 1,835 students in Concord Public Schools. Because of the investment of staff, parents, School Committee members, and citizens of the community, the young people entrusted to our care learn and achieve at consistently high levels. The schools are grateful for the support they have received. This annual report will focus on significant achievements and challenges the District has experienced over the past year.

The Districts, guided by the goals of the school committee, have focused efforts on maintaining program and services most directly impacting students during this time of fiscal constraints at the State level. The School Committee and administration worked closely with the Finance Committees, Town officials, and the Selectmen in developing and passing fiscally responsible budgets that acknowledged the complexity of town needs and the financial pressures the communities have been experiencing throughout the past five budget years. Through analysis of enrollment trends, administration aligned staffing ratios to better reflect a decline in the number of students in the Concord Public Schools. To accommodate a decrease of sixty students in grades 6-8, the District reduced staff at the middle school through attrition. At the Region, an increase in student population for the ninth consecutive year led to a modest increase in staffing. Both District budgets were supported by the communities as expressed by passage of approximately 1.5 percent overrides contained in each School Committee adopted budget. For the past three years, the school system has managed successful completions of year-end closings with modest surpluses annually for each district. The Regional Excess and Deficiency balance for the past fiscal year has been maintained above the 4.5% level. All major reporting requirements have been satisfied, and the Region continues to maintain its strong Aa2 credit rating. Each District continues to benefit from additional resources secured from the Energy Conservation Improvement Program grant.

Human Resources

Concord Public Schools welcomed ten teachers and the Concord-Carlisle Regional School District greeted thirteen new educators. The Human Resources office collaborated with the Assistant Superintendent to implement a web-based professional development management program that provides access to a system managing numerous aspects of professional development. Supervision and evaluation training continued this year with Concord-Carlisle High School department chairs. Position descriptions continue to be reviewed and updated.

The Massachusetts Department of Education restructured the annual employee reporting requirements creating a robust and comprehensive information collection and reporting mandate. Concord Public Schools and Concord-Carlisle Regional School District participated as a pilot for the new system and met submittal deadlines.

Collective bargaining agreements with two building service worker units, the bus drivers' union, and maintenance staff were successfully negotiated by the School Committee working closely with unit teams.

Curriculum Development

The primary charge of the schools is to increase student learning; all efforts of the District ultimately support this central work. Identifying high levels of achievement in mathematics is a goal for all students, Concord Public Schools added supplementary curriculum and software to complement the Investigations curriculum. Elementary grade level teams worked to develop unit assessments and align new materials to the Investigations curriculum units. This work will continue. cps also improved instructional delivery by incorporating performance-based grouping in upper grades, a practice which allows for more customized and meaningful instruction to smaller groups of students. Concord Public Schools also continued focused efforts in developing students as writers, with all elementary schools now participating as affiliated sites with Teachers College of Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University. More than fifty K-8 Concord and Carlisle teachers attended a week-long summer institute to improve writing instruction for elementary students; staff developers continued to work with grade level teams throughout the year. As part of the District thrust toward strengthening writing, grade-level teams developed and implemented writing rubrics for assessing student work at each grade level. Concord's elementary schools are also using a reading assessment with kindergarten, first and second grade children to quickly identify those students who need immediate reading intervention.

The District hosted a successful Kindergarten Intervention Program, providing after-school learning for approximately thirty kindergarten students in elementary school for three afternoons per week and increasing literacy skills and mastery of kindergarten academic readiness skills. Summer School provided opportunities for approximately 190 regular and special education students to participate in a four-week K-8 summer school to improve reading, writing, and math grade-level skills under the guidance of fifty teachers and tutors.

Through the Teen Buddy program, supported by a Federal grant, thirty elementary students were mentored by thirty high school students during bimonthly after-school enrichment activities to improve social skill development and strengthen connections within the school community. Program activities ranging from Japanese art to hiphop and exploring marine life were designed to promote and facilitate interaction among children and teens and to provide enrichment opportunities. Community Chest will fund the program in 2007.

To decrease the achievement gap, cms expanded its metco counseling capacity and added an additional metco tutor; and also provided an after-school tutoring/intervention program for metco students four times a week. With increasing global education initiatives as a District goal for the year, educators continued to intensify efforts as evidenced in hosting visitors from Nanae, Japan, traveling to Japan during the summer for an educational exchange, supporting the Chinese poet-in-residence program teaching poetry, calligraphy and brush painting to Grade 4 students, and participating in the Concord Middle School China exchange program.

Concord-Carlisle High School has long supported multicultural initiatives. In 2006, the band prepared for the exchange with Sapporo and Nanae, Japan, and with cchs students and teachers participating in study tours to France, Spain, Puerto Rico, St. John's Virgin Islands, Hawaii, Japan, and China.

Concord-Carlisle High School continued to demonstrate its academic strength and rigor. All students in the classes of 2006 and 2007 met the State requirement of passing mcas. All Adequate Yearly Progress targets of the Massachusetts Department of Education were achieved. In English Language Arts, 96% of students taking the test scored in the advanced or proficient categories, ranking cchs in the top fifteen Massachusetts high schools. In Mathematics, 92% of students scored advanced or proficient. The high school has invested significant energy in decreasing the achievement gap in 2006; specific steps taken to assist in this effort include adding a metco tutoring program staffed with teachers and offering a mentoring program with teachers and upper-class metco students.

Special education has invested much effort in improving evaluation practices and focusing evaluation results on standard scores and percentile ranks to ensure consistency in eligibility practices. Special education has begun a formal evaluation project examining how the district might better meet the needs of current out-of-district students within the community. The purpose of the study is to identify program offerings that the District is not currently offering and use research findings to inform future programming and practices. Data for the study have been collected through teacher surveys, principal interviews, and a parent focus group.

Special educators have worked to improve collaboration with the Carlisle Special Education Department to achieve more seamless student transitions from eighth grade to the high school and better align instructional practices with student outcomes. An important goal for the year has been to improve relationships with the Special Education Parent Advisory Committee (pac). Collaborative efforts have included joint presentations and open forum meetings with concerned parents.

Concord Public Schools continued its commitment to providing educational services of high quality in neighborhood schools by increasing the number of in-district specialized classrooms in elementary schools with Thoreau serving as the site for three special day classes for K-5 students with significant learning needs, Alcott hosting two special classes for students in grades 1-5 and Willard providing one classroom for students in grades 1-3 with intense learning issues. Concord Middle School began implementing departmentalized classes for special education students offering a developmental language arts class, a focused math class, and a study and organizational skills class at both Peabody and Sanborn.

At Concord-Carlisle High School, the District increased teaching capacity in the study skills program to provide more direct instruction to students. The Special Education Department continued its work in providing significant services for young people with special needs: strengthening the position of the vocational rehabilitation counselor in meeting the post-secondary needs of the students at the high school level, including job placement, transition to college, and identification of individual interests to focus transition planning; continuing the self-assessment of all programs/services, focusing on intensifying the therapeutic support for the Alternative Program and increasing the direct instruction capacity for learning disabled students; and broadening the life skills instruction for Pathways students to include daily living activities, self help skills, and understanding of human maturation. As a testament to the success of the Pathways program, teachers and students presented a workshop titled Preparing for Transitional Success: Incorporating Functional Academics, Guided Social Exposure, and Transferable Career Development within a Multi-community Partnership at a national conference held at the Baltimore Convention Center in November.

Professional Development

Providing rich and rigorous professional development opportunities for staff has been a District goal for the past two years. Great strides were made in this area. All faculty members participated in approximately 30 hours of professional development provided by the District, edco, Primary Source, Teachers As Scholars, or local universities. More than 47 high school and 50 K-8 teachers invested a combined 202 summer work days in the development and revision of curriculum in Math, Language Arts, Science, Health, Social Studies, and in using technology to improve teaching. Twenty cps teachers and 25 cchs teachers each participated in 36 hours of professional development by Teachers 21, with a focus on expanding instructional strategies and differentiating the curriculum to meet the needs of diverse learners, including students who are not native English speakers. 25 Concord teachers participated in the graduate level course, Empowering Multicultural Initiatives, which focused on the transformation of curriculum, pedagogy, and school climate toward achievement and equity for all students. Many teachers participated in numerous hours of technology training.

Through the Mentor Program in both Districts, 23 mentor teachers paired with new teachers offering weekly support as partners and at bimonthly larger group discussion of critical issues for first-year teachers. Several classroom observations were also scheduled by both mentor and beginning teachers. In addition to these activities, individual teachers pursued graduate level courses, many as part of their work in advanced degree programs.

Because of the support of the citizens in Concord and Carlisle and of the Concord Education Fund, both Districts made exceptional progress in the use of technology to improve instruction and District practices. Technology implementation was completed at the new Thoreau School, including Active Directory/Workgroup Manager Integration and rollout of more than 200 computers. ActivBoards were installed in every Concord classroom with teachers sharing application and expertise with the assistance of the technology staff. The cchs I4 lab was upgraded with new dual processor pcs for high-end video and graphics work; the I2 high school lab was upgraded to dual core Intel IMacs. The District continued to assist in the development of class and teacher websites. Podcasting was piloted at the high school in the science department. New servers were installed at Willard, and middle school upgrades were finalized.

Significant improvements were made to the infrastructure serving both districts: development of a single directory login for the districts continued with the goal of allowing authentication of users and access to data from any school; the email server was upgraded to a new four-processor server; administrative computers were upgraded; internet bandwidth was expanded with link aggregation of cable modems distributed over fiber to schools; and the District continued implementation of the X2 web-based District-wide information system for teachers, staff, and administrators to include attendance, grades, state reporting, and report cards, among others. The progress made over the past two years in technology has been close to phenomenal; students are the chief beneficiaries as the tools of technology expand their options for learning.

Highlights of Concord Public Schools in 2006

Alcott Elementary School

• Students, teachers, and parents worked together with Artist-in-Residence Josh Winer to create eight mosaic and clay-relief panels representing scenes of Concord and the Boston skyline.

• Students improved their writing through implementation of the Lucy Calkins Writing Program.

• The fifth grade chorus performed concerts for parents, students, teachers, and residents of Newbury Court.

• The writing bulletin board, featuring different writing genres and stages of the writing process, celebrated student writing through examples of their work.

• Students and teachers shared and celebrated the school belief statement, "We are a caring, cooperative, and respectful community of learners" through creation of an imovie and posters.

• Students expanded their math skills by participating in before/after school math clubs, Family Math Night, and flexible math groupings in grades four and five.

• The students ran 2,144 laps and raised over $10,000 for local charities at the annual Turkey Trot as well as other caring activities.

• Fifth grade students participated in the annual Art Retrospective sharing their favorite art pieces and commenting on their development as artists in elementary school.

Thoreau Elementary School

• A very successful Grand Opening Ceremony took place in September. A new song was created and sung by the fifth grade, and the program went off flawlessly thanks to the extraordinary efforts by members of the ptg, staff, and the larger community. Thoreau School and the entire District are most grateful to the Town of Concord for citizens' support of building a new Thoreau.

• Thoreau hosted visitors from the Onuma School and town dignitaries from Nanae, Concord's sister city in Japan. The visit included exchanging gifts, singing, dancing, and teaching of origami to students.

• Steven Ratiner taught Chinese poetry, calligraphy, and brush painting to grade four students. Mr. Ratiner teaches students to use meditation and visualization to enhance their writing efforts.

• Thoreau traditions continued to live on in much-loved activities: the plays Monster Madness and A Christmas Carol, the Turkey Trot, the annual Book Fair, Field Day, the Poetry Club, and in the Spelling Bee.

• Grade four students participated in the Brister's Hill Project, produced colorful posters focusing on its importance, and were interviewed for television news.

• The Thoreau community raised funds for a variety of charities; furniture that did not make the move to the new building was donated to other schools and to non-profit organizations.

• Thoreau's metco program was infused with new energy and multiple host families were found for all Boston families. To strengthen ties, the District provided bus transportation on a number of occasions for Boston families who wanted to attend evening or weekend events in Concord.

• A Principal's Advisory Council, with representatives from each grade level or department, was formed to provide a monthly forum for the discussion of important school issues.

Willard Elementary School

• Willard students participated in two before-school programs: Math Masters, a program offering students an opportunity to engage in rigorous problem solving activities with peers, and Chess Club, an activity providing students with an opportunity to strengthen logic and problem-solving skills in a non-competitive environment.

• The Beanstalk, the Willard student literary magazine published three issues involving fifty students in grade 4 and grade 5. Students developed skills in editing, word processing, and illustrating. The magazine is a powerful motivator to generate authentic student writing.

• Forty students from 5th grade participated in the Massachusetts Book Award, a reading incentive program, reading a minimum of five books from an official list. Willard students read a total of 594 books, with the two top readers reading 58 and 49 books.

• Students were invited to interpret their favorite book by painting, decorating, adorning and gluing old sneakers to represent Charlotte's Web, The Chronicles of Narnia, Mr. Popper's Penguins, and countless other classic books, resulting in more than 200 sneakers decorating the Willard School lobby.

• Willard students were exposed to a variety of media opportunities providing students with experiences in multimedia applications. Students participated in three Willard Radio Show broadcasts, scripting and recording at a variety of grade levels. Student authors who submitted written work to The Beanstalk were invited to record their work for the radio show. Grade 5 students recorded iSafe public service announcements for use at the high school's wiqh 88.3 fm, the student-run radio station, which has been a wonderful and supportive partner for Willard.

• Grade 2 students extended classroom based poetry instruction by analyzing and memorizing classic children's poetry, illustrating the poems, and reciting them for cctv.

• Students in grades 3 and 4 wrote musical pieces, played the works on their recorders, used notation software to transfer the composition to the computer, and printed a copy of their composition to bring home.

• Kindergarteners exhibited their physical skills during the Annual Gym Show, a culminating activity assisting in building a foundation for positive and healthy body awareness.

• Willard hosted a drama workshop for upper elementary students on selected Tuesday afternoons. Approximately 25 students learned the basics of theater and performance. Students learned the value of teamwork as well as many elements of performance and production.

Concord Middle School

• 100% of metco 8th grade students scored proficient or advanced on the ela mcas. 80% of 8th grade Special Education students scored proficient or advanced.

• Eighth grade students earned over 50% of the top scores on the National Spanish and National French Exams.

• The Student Leaders' Group worked with Bonnie Hardy, Food Service Director, to expand food choices in the cafeteria and also worked with Dave Anderson, Maintenance Director, to plan outdoor recreation areas.

• The eighth grade led a new graduation ceremony in which they performed skits, displayed samples of their work, and made speeches to celebrate achievements and to bring closure to their experience at Concord Middle School.

• Twelve seventh grade students traveled to China as part of cms's exchange program with Sunshine Middle School. When the students returned, they led discussions with classmates and studied ancient China.

• Over seventy students worked together to build sets, coordinate lighting and sound for the production, and performed Music Man.

• Over thirty students performed in and created sets and implemented lighting and sound designs for Shakespeare's Twelfth Night at the Forum.

• Students directed and performed in the Concord Middle School's Spring Talent Show.

• 88% of 6th grade students participated in after-school activities.

• Over 30 seventh and eighth grade students served as mentors for sixth grade students, helping them adjust to middle school. Mentors met with mentees once a week and participated in monthly outings through the Connections Club.

• Over 200 cms students participated in lunch and breakfast groups, focused on strengthening their abilities to listen, resolve conflicts, and broaden their social networks.

• 8th grade students completed an interdisciplinary project between physical science and applied tech by studying pollution at a Massachusetts superfund site. Students developed computer models and used their growing knowledge of biochemistry to find solutions to managing the site effectively.

• 8th grade students completed an interdisciplinary project between the Applied Technology and World Language classes; students constructed a French building or Spanish building in a typical urban neighborhood for World Language class and then developed engineering plans for that building in Applied Technology class.

• Over 75 seventh grade students participated in a public reading at Concord Free Public Library from narratives completed for English class.

• The cms boys' soccer team was undefeated.

• Seventh grade Sanborn students participated in a poetry coffeehouse by reading a poem of their own creation or reciting a verse which had great meaning for them. The coffeehouse served as the culminating activity of a poetry unit.

Change and Progress in the Concord-Carlisle Regional School District

2006 was one of significant progress and learning at cchs, due to the commitment of the young people of Concord, Carlisle, and Boston to their studies, the investment of staff in scholarship and dedicated teaching, the contributions extended by parents, and the support of the larger community. Despite ever-present tight budgets, Concord Carlisle High School continued to make significant progress in a number of areas during the past year. Students excelled in the classroom and beyond, there was a modest program expansion, there were needed facility improvements, and faculty participated in curriculum revision and professional development in record numbers.

Enrollment increased by 13 to 1257 students-the highest number since the 1981 academic year. This growth, coming on the heels of nine years of steadily rising high school enrollment, has increased the focus on building limitations and introduced new challenges. Classrooms are both crowded and tightly scheduled and teachers are working at contractual student: teacher ratios. Although the District had limited options in ameliorating the physical constraints of the building, it has made substantial progress in addressing ongoing safety issues over the past twelve months.

Infrastructure

While the Feasibility Study Committee, composed of Concord and Carlisle citizens and District staff members, had unanimously recommended to the School Committee that the District construct a new high school facility, the regional school committee has not yet brought a specific action before Town Meeting. The School Committee has, however, recognized the immediate need to ensure safety for everyone who attends and works at the high school, and with the approval of the voters in both towns, has successfully advocated for improvement in numerous health and safety issues. There has been substantive progress in these areas.

A new communication system was put in place, allowing instant communication between and among classrooms, the main office and the nurse's office; the system also provides instant 911 capabilities to police and fire personnel. Updated fire doors have been installed throughout the building to ensure maximum containment should there be a fire. Heavy duty exterior doors that close more securely and lock more reliably also improve the school's safety. New interior bleachers and exterior bleachers offer students and community fans safe and attractive seating. An emergency generator that will allow critical lighting in case of a power outage now waits in reserve should the high school need its back-up energy. In the art area the photography room, the ceramics room, and the chemical storage area have all been properly ventilated. The chemistry laboratories have had the emergency gas shut-off systems repaired. Each of these improvements provides a safer and healthier environment for students, staff members, and visitors to the high school.

Technology

2006 proved to be a time of extraordinary progress at cchs in the use of technology as a teaching tool. Numerous Activboards, IBooks, ceiling mounted projectors, laser jet printers, and digital microscopes were installed throughout the school. Numerous teachers have been trained and have been expanding their knowledge of the boards' potential through constant classroom use. These technological teaching tools are revolutionizing the way students access information and the way teachers can present concepts. One example of innovation enabled by technology is the podcasting of an Earth Science class, with students' having the ability to watch the class or a portion of it as they attempt to internalize their notes. In addition, the district's technology team has upgraded the operating capacity of computers available for art class applications. As a result, students can now attempt more complex, artful, and professional projects. Several students have applied their enhanced skills through internships or jobs.

Curriculum

2006 provided the best opportunity in several years for the review and the rewriting of curriculum. Forty-seven teachers took advantage of the opportunity to invest time in curriculum projects. Teachers revised the freshman English, Social Studies, and Health and Fitness curricula; they developed new ap Physics and Physics for Everyday Life courses; educators revised specific courses such as Language and Media and cp3 Analysis. Language teachers updated and modified foreign language courses including Advanced Spanish, Advanced Latin, Chinese 2,3,and 4, the entire French program; they also created guidelines for the use of technology in Spanish and French classes. Educators continued to develop the Student Transitional Education Program serving the number of young people who struggle in mainstream programs. Special Education teachers continued to refine services offered through the Social Studies/English Resource Center and the Math Resource Center, structuring more direct instruction by highly qualified staff, and creating a very specific curriculum for the tutorial program. Health and Fitness added Project Adventure to the curriculum and created a Yoga and Stress Management Club open to both faculty and students. The department also developed water-based fitness activities for curriculum being implemented at the new Beede Center.

Activities

The District was able to begin a girls' ice hockey program and boys' and girls' indoor track programs that enjoyed successful initial seasons. Clubs that were either added as new programs or funded for the first time include: Art Club, Dance Club, Third Wing, History Reading Group, Psychology Reading Group, Teach Our Youth Science Club, Multi-Cultural Reading Group, Film Club, Interact (a community service group), and Knitting Club. All enjoyed an active spring and began the fall enthusiastically. The school added a club called Chickenscratch, a haven for aspiring writers hoping to publish their work, to the list. Each of these sports or activities adds to the fabric of the school community and helps keep students connected to the school in a meaningful manner.

Academic Excellence

Once again it is a great pleasure to report that students excelled in a myriad of ways. The performance of cchs students on the mcas exams remains among the very best in the State. Every member of the Class of 2006 achieved a passing score, meeting the State graduation requirement; every member of the class of 2007 has already met state standards. Staff remains committed to the extraordinarily small percentage of cchs students who do not initially achieve passing scores. mcas remediation will continue to be a factor in programming at the high school.

This year the school continued an English Language Arts program for freshmen and sophomores that is specifically designed to preemptively address potential problems. Mathematics support in the resource room and within selected classes has been strengthened. Additionally, department chairs and their staff analyze the scores annually to determine if programming and curriculum adjustments are necessary. Students continue to perform well on standardized measures of excellence. On the sats the Class of 2006 had a median score of 606 Verbal, 640 Math, and 600 on the new Writing portion, well above State and national levels. More than 77% of the students taking ap tests scored 4 or 5, with 93% scoring 3 or better. Of the 88 students who took a mathematics ap exam, 66 scored 5, the highest score, and 83 scored 4 or 5. Also, over the entire spectrum of exams, cchs students averaged 4.16 out of 5. The college acceptance rate continues to be very high with 92.4% of the Class of 2006 entering four-year colleges and universities and 2% of the class entering two-year colleges or technical schools. Many of the students not attending college were accepted, but for personal reasons chose not to attend immediately following high school.

The excellence of our students is exemplified through diverse venues. The Concert Band earned its 15th consecutive gold medal, and the Repertory Band earned its fourth gold medal at the annual music festival sponsored by the Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Directors' Association. The Chorus earned Bronze Medals. The Concert Band has spent the fall preparing for its role as goodwill ambassadors for the upcoming trip to Sapporo and Nanae, Japan. The Jazz Band produced a professional quality, full-length cd titled Underground. Its members are talented musicians proudly and capably representing cchs. Drama was presented in its usual excellence. Students performed plays selected from very different dramatic forms. The major musical was Barnum, which challenged students' acting, singing, dancing, and circus-performing talents. The spring play was an absorbing presentation of MacBeth. The latest dramatic offering is an erudite, humorous production of Moliere's The Learned Ladies. The Math Team computed and calculated its way to a fifth-place finish in the Massachusetts State Meet. The entourage from Junior State traveled to Washington, dc, where members earned national leadership recognitions, numerous debating awards, and several Best Speaker awards. They participated in a mock congress on the floor of the United States House of Representatives.

Additionally, students continued to impress in many other artistic and competitive club or activity opportunities. Numerous art students won Boston Globe Scholastic Art Awards, including Silver Key recipients; one was chosen to participate in the Art All-State Program sponsored by the Worcester Art Museum; student work was exhibited at the Concord Public Library, the Concord Art Association, the Anderson Photography Studio, and the Boston Center for the Arts; one student had his portfolio selected a Silver Award by the National Scholastic Art Association. A record number of cchs students qualified for the American Invitational Mathematics Exam. The Science Olympiad Team finished second in the state competition, the best finish in 15 years. These instances and many more are evidence of the richness and breadth of the cchs program.

Athletics

The athletic program continues to provide opportunities for hundreds of students to develop their physical abilities and leadership skills. Members of the Varsity Softball Team were dcl Champions for the seventh time in eight years and won the Division II North title and the Division II State Semi-finalist. The Varsity Boys' Tennis Team emerged as dcl Champs, Division One North champs, and State Semi-finalists. The Baseball Team went to the Division II North finals for the first time in the school's history. Boys Soccer qualified for and won the Division II North, Division II Eastern Mass, and the Division II Massachusetts State Championship in decisive fashion. The Varsity Girls' Soccer and the Varsity Field Hockey Teams made cchs equally proud by earning the dcl Sportsmanship Awards. Varsity Volleyball qualified for the tourney for the fourth time. Both the Varsity Boys and the Varsity Girls' Cross Country Ski Teams finished first in the league, as did the Boys' Alpine Skiers. The Varsity Girls' Fencing team lunged through another championship season and won the State Tournament. The Varsity Boys' Fencing Team tied for the state title. The first-year squad of athletes on the Girls' Ice Hockey Team had an incredible season that culminated in an Eastern Massachusetts tournament appearance. Boys' Basketball returned to the state tourney competition after several years of absence.

cchs students and teachers value that they are part of a larger world and take steps to expand their horizons. Through classroom and extra-curricular activities, students and/or teachers traveled to France, Spain, Puerto Rico, St. John's Virgin Islands, Hawaii, Japan, and China. In every case, their experiences far beyond the walls of the high school brought greater depth and understanding to all that is taught and learned within classrooms.

In addition to achieving measures of excellence in academics, athletics, the fine and performing arts, and in other extracurricular pursuits, cchs students distinguished themselves as caring members of cchs, the larger community, and the world. Working through clubs, activities, and on their own, students raised thousands of dollars to aid in the world efforts to fight child slavery and other human rights abuses, to assist the Sharing Foundation in helping impoverished and orphaned children in Cambodia attain an education and a life with dignity, to fight poverty and hunger in Massachusetts, and to help victims of discrimination and bigotry in the United States. Our young people displayed compassion and sensitivity in record numbers. The towns should be most proud of these accomplishments.

Each year it is important to recognize and thank the exceptional teachers and coaches who have dedicated their professional careers to educating the students entrusted to their care and to share with them the honors earned. The strength of Concord-Carlisle High School is its students and its staff.

To parents of our students and to the communities of Concord and Carlisle, the Regional School District extends a heartfelt thank you for the continuing commitment of citizens to the learning of the 1,257 students receiving a rigorous and comprehensive education. Because so many community members join together to support the young people of Concord, Carlisle, and Boston, cchs students continue to grow in knowledge, understanding, and skills needed in the world now and in the decades ahead. Thank you for providing the resources necessary for continuing this work of excellence.