About

November 27, 2023
 

This weekend, the Pinkerton Players take the stage for their winter production of Twelfth Night. They have been hard at work and we are looking forward to another great performance. If you do not have your tickets already, you can buy them here. While you are there, you can also purchase tickets for upcoming performances in the Stockbridge Theatre. Shows include Rockapella 2023, Christmas with the Celts, Cirque Us, Symphony NH, 360 All-Stars, Jig Jam, and many more! For many of these performances, our students have an opportunity to interact with the performers through master classes the performers teach and sometimes our students have the opportunity to join them on stage! 

If you are driving by campus on Pinkerton Street, you may notice the building wrapped. This is done to allow work to continue despite falling temperatures overnight. The walls of the first floor have been built, and the floor of the second floor is underway. This will allow the vertical build of the second floor to continue over the next months. 

The New Hampshire Secretary of State has set the 2024 Presidential Primary for January 23rd. Pinkerton Academy’s Field House will be used as a polling location for the Town of Derry. In order to accommodate this, our school calendar has changed to move the professional learning day from January 26th to the 23rd.  You can find an updated calendar here.

The Board of Trustees has approved the budget for fiscal year 2024-25. Viewed broadly, the drivers of per student tuition are total costs (the numerator) and the average number of students enrolled (the denominator). Last year (2023-24) we faced challenges on both fronts: inflation caused significant cost increases and expected average enrollment declined. 

This year the challenge is contained to enrollment as evidenced by the fact that our total budget for all programs increased just 0.46%, including a 0.14% increase in the General Education budget. For more information about our budget for fiscal year 2024-25, the budget narrative will be posted here shortly for all to read.

The Start Time committee met again last month to discuss the results of the surveys completed by students, parents/guardians and employees. The overall conclusion from those who responded to the survey for students, parents/guardians, and employees was generally a strong positive response to starting Pinkerton Academy later. It was also mentioned that if there was consensus from all towns about starting Pinkerton Academy later, the change would not happen sooner than the 2025-2026 school year. The survey results and more information on start time can be found here.

Pinkerton Academy has recently become a New Hampshire Department of Labor registered apprenticeship program. Employees at Pinkerton can engage in a competency-based program of on-the-job learning and related instruction at a college with the end result of becoming a New Hampshire Education Department licensed educator. Apprentices have access to grant money to support their path towards licensure, making it affordable and sustainable for future educators. Pinkerton currently has 8 apprentices enrolled, with 6 mentors supporting their growth and continued learning. We are excited about this opportunity and look forward to helping individuals on their pathway to becoming future educators.

I hope you’ve been enjoying  Our Voices of PA and On Campus with Dr. Powers video series as well as our podcast Educational Insights with Dr. Powers: A Podcast for Lifelong Learners. You can find links to all of these and to these letters on our website on the Head of School’s Communications page.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Dr. Timothy J. Powers
Head of School