Important Dates

• Wednesday, February 4 - Norwich School Board Meeting,  6:30 PM, Marion Cross School
• Wednesday, February 11 - Hanover School Board Meeting, 7 PM, Bernice A. Ray School
• Monday, February 16 - Presidents' Day - No School all SAU 70 schools & SAU Office closed 
• Tuesday, February 17 - Dresden School Board 6 PM, Hanover High School
• Tuesday, February 17 - SAU 70 School Board  7 PM, Hanover High School
• Friday, February 20 - Coffee and Conversation, 7:30 AM Ray School Music Room CANCELED
• Monday, February 23 - 27 - February Break - No Schools all SAU 70 schools
• Saturday, February 28 - Hanover School District Annual Meeting 11:30 AM, Hanover High School
• Saturday, February 28 - Dresden School District Annual Meeting 12:30 PM, Hanover High School
• Tuesday, March 3 - Town Meeting, Tracy Hall in Norwich 
   

District Calendar 

From Our Superintendent 

It has been a busy month at SAU 70.  We have been working hard to finalize all of the budgets for Dresden, Hanover, SAU 70, and Norwich.  We have held budget and board meetings throughout the first half of the school year to finalize budgets.  As you know, this has been a difficult year in terms of insurance costs for us.  We were faced with an unbudgeted assessment for Dresden and Hanover for the 2025-2026 school year.  We have also had to make budget cuts as a result of a nearly 26% increase in insurance costs for the Hanover and Dresden districts.  We will hold our annual Hanover School District Meeting on Saturday, February 28, 2026, at  11:30 AM at Hanover High School, and our annual Dresden School District  Meeting on Saturday, February 28, 2026, at 12:30 PM at Hanover High School.  

I also wanted to update you on the interim positions and next steps. I have been fortunate to work alongside Lauren Amrhein, our Interim Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, for the first half of the school year. Lauren seamlessly and effortlessly transitioned into this role and has done an excellent job. Without missing a beat, she has moved our Strategic Plan forward, engaging in curriculum work, grant writing, organizing K-12 Meetings, and doing numerous other jobs that fall under this position. It has been a joy to work with her, and I would like her to remain in this position.   

As a result, we will open the search for the new Principal of the Bernice A. Ray School in January.  Colleen has done a fantastic job in this role. I am incredibly grateful she was willing to step into a very difficult position, given the short notice. She has handled the work with care and grace, making incremental changes and steering the school through an extremely difficult year of budgeting amid all the surprises related to health insurance. I appreciate all that Colleen has done for the Ray School, and of course, she may also apply for the position if she is interested in continuing in this role.

In terms of the Frances C. Richmond Middle School Principal position, we will open the search for the new Principal in January.  Anissa stepped into this role late in the summer and has done an incredible job in this role. With her extensive knowledge of the school, students, staff, and parents, she transitioned easily into her new role. I am extremely grateful she was willing to step into a very difficult position, given the short notice. She has handled the work efficiently and effectively, undertaking some major changes that were underway. She has also steered the school through a challenging year of budgeting, given all of the surprises related to health insurance. I appreciate all that Anissa has done for RMS, and of course, she may also apply for the position if she is interested in continuing in this role.

Principal Search Timeline

• Monday, January 5, 2026 Principal Positions were posted

• Week of January 5th - Announced the Positions were posted, described the interview committee, and asked for volunteers

• Friday, January 16, 2026 - Committee Member Sign-Ups were due to the Superintendent

  • Committees are comprised of:

    • Superintendent or Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

    • 1-2 Building/SAU Administrators

    • 1 School Board Member

    • 1 Parent/Community Member

    • 3 Teachers/Staff Members

• Friday, January 23, 2026 Committee Members assigned and notified

• Between Monday, January 26 to Monday, February 2, 2026 Committee Members will complete interview training

• Monday, February 2, 2026 Candidates’ packets are due

• Depending upon the number of applications, the Superintendent and/or Assistant Superintendent will screen the applications and narrow the field of candidates.  

• Week of February 9, 2026 Applications will be shared with the Committee to review and narrow down for interviews.

• Week of February 16, 2026: Conduct initial interviews, narrow the search to 2-3 candidates. 

• Week of March 2, 2026 - Conduct second interviews with stakeholder teams: staff members, parents, and board.  Choose a candidate.  

• Nominate Candidates to the Board during the March Board Meetings.  
   

Please let me know if you have any questions regarding the Principal search. As always, I am honored to serve our community.  

Sincerely,

Robin Steiner
Superintendent

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From Our Interim Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment

Important Technology Update: Restrictions on Student Access to YouTube

To better protect students from inappropriate content and algorithms, SAU 70 has implemented mandatory updates to YouTube access across all grade levels. Students are now prevented from navigating directly to YouTube.com on school-issued devices. This is for devices being used on campus through blocked browsing.

Teachers may embed academically relevant videos directly into our Learning Management Systems, like Google Classroom or Schoology. This transition allows students to view educational content with the goal of eliminating exposure to the main feed, comments, and sidebar suggestions. While these changes are significant, it is important to recognize that no filter is perfect and advertisements or inaccurate content can still appear. 

Our schools continue to implement lessons on Digital Citizenship and Media Literacy, teaching students to critically evaluate sources, recognize commercial marketing, and manage their personal data. We encourage you to reinforce these lessons at home by monitoring your student’s internet use and discussing safe online habits. As mentioned above, the restrictions are only in place on our district’s network. If you have specific concerns about content or advertising exposure, please contact your student’s teacher, building administrators, or me.

Sincerely,

Lauren Amrhein
SAU 70 Interim Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment

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Board Meetings

We’d love to have you join us at a meeting, however, we realize sometimes that’s hard to do.  Below you will find the Zoom links and start times to the upcoming Board meetings.

Should you encounter issues, the  necessary zoom links, including passcodes, can be found on the SAU 70 calendar on the pop up of the event.

Regularly Scheduled Board Meetings for February and associated Zoom links:

Norwich Board Meeting  - February  4, 2026 - 6:30 PM Marion Cross School
Hanover Board Meeting  - February 11, 2026 - 7 PM Ray Elementary School
Dresden Board Meeting - February 17, 2026 - 6 PM Hanover High School Library
SAU 70 Board Meeting - February 17, 2026 - 7 PM - Hanover High School Library

Budget School Board Meetings for February and associated Zoom links:

Hanover School District Annual Meeting - February 28  - 11:30  AM Ray Elementary School
Dresden School District Annual Meeting - February 28 - 12:30 PM Hanover High School Library

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Contact a Board Chair
 

Lisa Christie - SAU 70 Board Chair (SAU Office and Staff)
lisa.christie@hnsb.org
 

Benjamin Keeney - Dresden Board Chair (Hanover High School, Frances C. Richmond Middle School)
Benjamin.keeney@hnsb.org
 

Kelly McConnell - Hanover Board Chair (Bernice A. Ray School, Hanover Transportation, Hanover Special Education)
Kelly.McConnell@hnsb.org
 

Garrett Palm - Norwich Board Chair (Marion Cross School, Norwich Transportation, Norwich Special Education)
garrett.palm@hnsb.org

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POLICY UPDATES

The Policy Committee meets monthly at the SAU. Meeting dates and times are available on the  SAU 70 Calendar. If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to Ryanne Schoonover.  

Below you will find what was presented to the Boards this month. Staff members are encouraged to review the agenda, as some topics may be relevant to your role. You can find our documentation on our board governance solution, Simbli.

 

SAU 70 Updates:
No policy discussion at the  January 27, 2026 meeting. 

Dresden Updates:
Simbli link to January 27, 2026 meeting.

The Board will do a first reading of policy JLP - Parental Notification of and Involvement in Student Welfare and IMAH - Daily Physical Activity. They will also do a second reading of IJOA - Field Trips and Excursions, JLCJA - Medical Emergency Plan for Sports-Related Injuries, and JLIA - Supervision of Students, and the revised JLCK - Special Physical Health Needs of Students. 

Hanover Updates:
Simbli link to January 21, 2026 meeting.

The Board will conduct a second reading of IJOA — Field Trips and Excursions, JLCJA — Medical Emergency Plan for Sports-Related Injuries, JLIA — Supervision of Students, and JLCK — Special Physical Health Needs of Students. 

Norwich Updates:
Simbli link to the January  7, 2026 meeting.

The Board will do a first read of policy JICJ - Student Use of Cellphones and JICJ-F Student Use of Cellphone Contract. As well as a first read of the revisions to policy B8 — Electronic Communications Between Employees and Students.
 

A second reading of policy LDA — Student Teachers and Interns.

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Religious & Federal Holidays as identified by the Calendar Committee