Community Advisory Committee

PMHS has been awarded $200,000 by way of a grant from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation.  PMHS is one of seven schools in New England and the only in NH selected to receive this award. This grant was awarded to PMHS to help in the planning stages of Pittsfield School District’s movement toward an alternative to traditional education called Student-Centered Learning (SCL).

It expands education beyond the school’s walls and traditional ways while it makes the community and its resources an important part of the learning process. Project-based learning, internships, experiential learning, career technical education, peer learning, and apprenticeships are features of student centered learning.

Community Advisory Council (CAC)

How Schools and Communities Meet the Challenge

The Pittsfield School District has organized what is called a Community Advisory Council (CAC). It is made up of local community members, area volunteers, school administrators, school board, teachers and students interested in this very exciting concept of changing the way our students learn.  Currently, the Community Advisory Council is putting together a model of how the new concept will look and be applied. By this fall, it is anticipated that the plan will be completed and presented to the community before our final grant application is submitted.

The CAC has divided into six sub-committees:

• Policy
• Best Practices
• Data
• Logic Model
• Performance Management
• Communications

The CAC is also working with PYW as our lead community partner through work with the Carsey Institute to further bridge relationships between school and community.

Please explore the following links for further background information:

Nellie Mae Educational Foundation

The Carsey Institute

Pittsfield Youth Workshop

Center for Secondary School Redesign (CSSR)

CAC Members