Happenings @ SAU 70

Important Dates

August 

• 27 First Day of School, All SAU 70 Schools

District Calendar 

From Our Superintendent

I am honored and thrilled to have been selected by the board to lead this district and build upon the work of my predecessor, Jay Badams. I would like to take this opportunity to thank both for their confidence in me and to further introduce myself. 

My career in education has been shaped by many opportunities across three states: Kentucky, New Hampshire, and Vermont, where I have had the privilege of working in a wide range of school environments and in various positions.  I have had extensive teaching and administrative experience, which includes teaching every grade from kindergarten through university (except 7th grade), and working as a Dean of Humanities, Principal, Assistant Superintendent, and turnaround agent. I have spent significant time in districts facing unique challenges, collaborating with teams to implement targeted strategies that helped to significantly improve the lowest-performing high school in the state of Kentucky.  It also instilled in me the profound belief in the power of collective effort and the potential within every learner to succeed, regardless of their starting point.

Equally formative has been my experience within some of the highest-performing schools, including the initial planning and development for the opening of a new high school. Here, I learned the critical importance of fostering innovation, nurturing excellence, and continuously refining practices to ensure that our most successful students are consistently challenged and supported to reach their fullest potential. This dual perspective has provided me with a comprehensive understanding of what it takes to build a truly equitable and high-achieving educational system.

Across all of these experiences, one guiding principle has remained constant: always seeking improvement. I look forward to collaborating with each of you as we embark upon this journey together: our dedicated and amazing staff, supportive families and community members, and first and foremost, our students.  Education is a dynamic field, and our commitment must always be to grow, adapt, and innovate to best serve all of our students. I am excited to continue with this effort in our district, working alongside you to identify our strengths, address our challenges, and collaboratively build an even brighter future for every child in Hanover and Norwich. I look forward to this new school year together.

Robin Steiner
Superintendent SAU 70 Schools

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From Our School Boards

 

Welcome to the 2025-26 school year. We hope you are enjoying the final days of summer break. As we all prepare for the new school year, we thought it would be helpful to share information about the four boards that govern our schools.

 

First however, it is our pleasure to welcome Robin Steiner as our new superintendent of schools effective August 4th. While we will miss Dr. Jay Badams, are grateful for his years of service as our superintendent (THANK YOU JAY), and wish him well on his new endeavors, we are extremely excited that Ms. Steiner has agreed to move on from her role as Assistant Superintendent into the Superintendent position as of August 4th. We look forward to working with her in this new capacity. Please look to other parts of this newsletter for information about Ms. Steiner and her new role.

 

Now, an overview of our school board structures. Our district is governed by four school boards, each with an unique Chair.

 

• Hanover - Responsible for the Ray School, consists of members elected by Hanover residents to three year terms each March. Chaired by Kelly McConnell.

• Norwich - Responsible for Marion Cross School, consists of members elected by Norwich residents to two or three year terms during Vermont's town meeting day each March. Chaired by Garrett Palm.

• Dresden - Responsible for Richmond Middle School and Hanover High School and consists of the Hanover and Norwich Board members. Chaired by Benjamin Keeney.

• SAU 70 - Responsible for the SAU offices and consists of the Hanover and Norwich Board members. Chaired by Lisa Christie.

 

Our members include:

• Lisa Christie, Norwich

• Michael Costa, Norwich

• Gina C. des Cognets, Norwich

• Marcela Di Blasi, Hanover

• Benjamin Keeney, Hanover

• Kelly McConnell, Hanover

• Deborah Bacon Nelson, Hanover

• Neil O'Dell, Norwich

• Garrett Palm, Norwich

• Carrie Russell, Hanover

• Renee Sullivan, Hanover

• Tara Velozo, Hanover

• Ian Sun, HHS Representative to the Dresden School Board

Their emails and contact information can be found on the School Board Members page. 

 

Each School Board has committees that manage specific areas of school governance. Future newsletters will explain in greater detail the committee work and composition. 

 

Board meetings, including committee meetings, are open to the public. We hope you will join us for some or all of them. To help you attend, the 2025-26 Board meetings can be found on the SAU 70 calendar.  

 

In addition, we have adapted a new Board management software for this year, allowing you to access all Board documents from Simbli.

 

If you have questions about any agenda or non agenda items, please contact the Board Chair for the school affected by your questions, concerns, and ideas (e.g. for Ray School matters contact Kelly). Thank you. We look forward to hearing from you this year.

 

 

Board Meetings

We’ve made links to board meetings available for your easy reference.  The Zoom links are listed below as well as start times.   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.
 

Hanover Board Meeting - August 13, 2025 - 7 PM Ray Elementary School
Norwich Board Meeting - August 14, 2025 - 6:30 PM Marion Cross School
Dresden Board Meeting - August 19, 2025 - 6 PM Hanover High School Library
SAU 70 Board Meeting - August 19, 2025 - 7 PM Hanover High School Library

 

 

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Additional Information from the SAU 

Calendar Update
Our online calendars have been refreshed for the new school year! Consider subscribing to stay up to date on important events and schedules. (Note: If you were previously subscribed, you’ll need to resubscribe to continue receiving calendar updates.)

Transportation Notice
Due to the continued closure of Crosby Street, SAU 70 buses will take an alternate route through town. This detour may cause a 5–10 minute delay for both morning pick-ups and afternoon drop-offs. Thank you for your patience and understanding!

Student Registration Reminder
Families—if you haven’t already, please take a moment to complete your PowerSchool Registration. This ensures we have accurate, up-to-date information for your student before the start of school.

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Religious & Federal Holidays as identified by the Calendar Committee.  Each month we will include these important dates.

 

August 

• 1 Lammas Day

• 1 Santo Domingo Celebrations

• 2 Tisha B'Av

• 3 Fast of Ninth of Av

• 8 Raksha Bandhan

• 9 International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples

• 14 Vigil of Assumption Day

• 15 Dnationominition of the Holy Virgin

• 15 Feast of the Assumption

• 15 St. Mary's Day

• 16-17 Krishna Jamnashtami

• 21-28 Paryushana

• 22 Death of Prophet Muhammad

• 24 Martyrdom of Imam Reza

• 26 Ganesh Chaturthi

• 26 Onam

• 26 National Day of Repentance

• 27 First Day of School, All SAU 70 Schools

• 30 Santa Rosa De Lima

September 

• 1 Labor day

• 1 Martyrdom of Imam Hassan Asgari

• 4 Mawlid an Nabi (Birthday of Prophet Muhammad)

• 6 Ullambana

• 7 Pitru Paksha

• 21 Mabon (Fall Equinox)

• 21 Pchum Ben

• 22-24 Rosh Hashanah (New Year)

• 22 Navratri (Nine Nights) or Mysore Dasara

• 24 Our Lady of Mercy Day

• 24 Schwenkfelder (Thanksgiving)

• 25 Gedaliah Fast

• 26 National Day of Praise and Worship

• 28 - 10/2 Durga Puja

• 29 End of Safar

• 29 Michaelmas

• 30 Fiesta De San Jeronimo