Students, staff of closed Nancy Loud School getting new assignments

ROCHESTER — Students and staff of the recently closed Nancy Loud School are getting their 2023-24 school year assignments, ensuring they know where to go Aug. 30, the first day of school.

At Thursday's School Board meeting, Superintendent Kyle Repucci outlined the assignments in his report to the board. Repucci said most staff and students will be moving to the Chamberlain School, located at 65 Chamberlain St.

Parents, students and staff of the Nancy Loud School, which was built in 1880, were told just a week earlier the elementary school is permanently closed. The building has been deemed unsafe for occupancy, according to school district leaders.

The Nancy Loud School closure forces the district to speed up its plans to consolidate Rochester's eight elementary schools, now down to seven. Rochester is working toward building and opening a new elementary school at 753 Salmon Falls Road, aiming to construct it in time to open in 2025. The plan was to close both the Nancy Loud and School Street schools in 2025, as well eliminate modular classrooms at the Chamberlain and William Allen schools.

Now the process of relocating Nancy Loud School students will happen two years sooner than expected.

Repucci said one secretary had been offered a new position within the district. The remainder of the staff, including the principal, and kindergarten through fourth-grade teachers will be going to Chamberlain. Also moving there are a Title 1 teacher, a guidance counselor, librarian, kitchen staff, custodial, special education and other paraprofessionals. Unified arts positions will be reassigned within the district.

More Rochester news: Dollar General gets key variance to open in newly created residential zone in city

"We will make sure no one is harmed by this," Repucci said, in an earlier interview, following the announcement of the school closing. "Everyone will have a job and a safe place to relocate."

Repucci said all Nancy Loud students will be reassigned to Chamberlain with the exception of five students, who have older siblings attending East Rochester School. They will be allowed to follow their siblings' path.

Moving the 88 students to Chamberlain will have no detrimental impact on class size, the superintendent said. A chart provided by Repucci shows the largest class sizes will be 21 and 22 students, those in kindergarten.

Repucci said placement letters were set to be sent out by Aug. 14. The letters will include bus assignments for students, some of whom he said had been walking to the local school.

A popsicle playground day for students and parents to acquaint themelves with their new school is scheduled for Aug. 14.

"Kindergarten placements will be the last to finalize," Repucci said. "Those assignments will have a dry run on Aug. 17 with letters sent out on Aug. 18. Tours for incoming students are scheduled to be held Aug. 21-25."

Repucci said Rochester Child Care, a partner with the school district, has agreed to accommodate the moved students who had been attending East Rochester School's before- and after-school child care.

The firms hired to assess the 1880 Nancy Loud School were Foley Buhl Roberts & Associates, Inc. of Manchester and S.W. Cole Engineering of Londonderry, Totty said.

An engineering review determined the stone and brick foundation has deteriorated and settled. As a result, brick foundation walls and exterior wood-framed walls along the southeast exterior wall are displaced outward. These walls support the second floor and roof above. These conditions make it unsafe to occupy.

A further review by S.W. Cole Engineering of Londonderry determined the foundation would continue to deteriorate, requiring both repair work to shore up the walls and further testing to determine ways to secure the foundation.

"The southeast wall has shifted and structural columns to the basement floor are unstable," city school district facilities manager Dave Totty said.

This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Nancy Loud School students, staff get new assignments in Rochester NH