The rules of education are changing, says Hopkinton High School Principal Christopher Kelley.
As technology and the communication programs it harbors continue to rapidly develop, students are finding new ways to engage with each other every day, and educators everywhere are just trying to keep up. Despite such challenges, Hopkinton found itself ranked the top high school in New Hampshire for a third straight year by U.S. News & World Report this week.
The rankings are based on several metrics, including test scores, adding up to college readiness while also considering the student-teacher ratio.
“We have a staff that’s very humbled by it,” Kelley said. “It’s a combination of many things, but it’s not a building goal we set every year.”
Given the opportunity to discuss the school’s recognition, a conversation with Kelley and two other faculty members instead turned to the challenges educators are facing these days. Kelley mentioned the school’s high college placement rate (94 percent, not including students entering military service) and its rigorous advanced placement programs, but understanding the academic and emotional needs of students has become the greatest challenge.
Michelle Cotnoir, chairwoman of the world language department, has been working at the school since 1984.
“When I started, they didn’t have the internet and all of this stuff is just bombarding them every day,” she said. “Their lives, the lives of students, have gotten more intense. There has always been pressure on teenagers, but I think there is much more now.”
“More potentially catastrophic now,” added Corrine Lajoie, director of school counseling.
Social apps, some which allow users to post messages anonymously, are carried in the pockets of nearly three quarters of teens, according to a 2015 study by the Pew Research Center. Among those teens, 94 percent are online throughout the day while passing through the halls, sitting down for lunch or riding the bus home.
While most students use these systems to communicate with friends, make plans, or even do their homework, they can also be used with malicious intent.
“After 12 years, I think back and I don’t think we had as many social or emotional issues with our students as we do now,” Kelley said. “That has grown and it can be taxing on our system.”
Aside from social engagement, students are also using devices to look up information while doing homework or studying for a test. Immediacy has become the key, Kelley said, and teachers are trying to adapt to the strategies students are using to learn.
“Education is no longer about teaching just the facts,” Kelley said. “We want our kids to go deeper.”
And that’s where the students want to go. Their desire to learn drives the environment at Hopkinton, Lajoie said. It’s a competitive environment, one that attracts families to the town and puts pressure on school officials and faculty to meet a standard each year. Repeating as New Hampshire’s best high school for a third straight year is an indication that the standard is being met.
“We are privileged to be in a community that really supports education,” SAU 66 Superintendent Steven Chamberlin said. “For us, we are still trying to be the best we can be. It is far from completed, but it is certainly nice to have the recognition.”
(Nick Stoico can be reached at 369-3314, nstoico@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @NickStoico.)