Academic improvements

The preliminary data generated by the New Hampshire Statewide Assessment System for 2022 has shown some improvement in New Hampshire students’ academic performance levels for the first time since the pandemic. According to a press release from the New Hampshire Department of Education, assessment scores, including ones that measure proficiency in English and math, dropped for students in grades 3 through 8 in 2021. This year, scores have improved among grades 3 through 7 and have remained the same for grade 8. “Assessment scores are inching upward and returning to near pre-pandemic levels, but it is clear that there is still work to be done to recover from the academic declines that resulted from Covid-19,” Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut said in the release. “New Hampshire has not fully regained ground, but these early signs of improvement are promising.”

Health commissioner steps down

New Hampshire’s Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Shibinette has announced her resignation, effective December 2022. Appointed to the position by Gov. Chris Sununu in January 2020, Shibinette has led the Department of Health and Human Services’ response to Covid-19 and regularly accompanied Gov. Sununu at televised press conferences to provide updates on the pandemic. “Covid-19 has been a challenging time for our state, our country, and for health care,” Shibinette said in a statement. “During this time, it has been a privilege serving as your commissioner. The last three years have been incredibly challenging yet equally rewarding.” Gov. Sununu said in a statement he “cannot thank her enough” for her service to New Hampshire over the course of the pandemic. “Throughout her tenure, Lori has played a key role in my administration as New Hampshire’s top health official,” he said. “From the early days of the pandemic to her leadership at New Hampshire Hospital, Lori has earned the respect and trust of New Hampshire’s citizens. I consider her a great friend and wish her all the best in whatever she decides to do next.”

Call for child care workers

A new marketing campaign has been launched by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services in partnership with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central New Hampshire to address the state’s shortage of child care care workers. According to a press release, the campaign will utilize a series of eight public service announcements, which will run as television, digital and social media ads, to recruit applicants for various positions in child care facilities throughout the state via the New Hampshire Connections Child Care Job Board. “Family stability across New Hampshire depends on access to child care options that best fit their individual needs,” DHHS Associate Commissioner Christine Santaniello said in the release. “From home-based child care to larger centers, families need quality, fully-staffed child care providers that can meet New Hampshire’s demand.” The campaign is being funded by a portion of the state’s American Rescue Plan Act child care funds.

New crisis line

New Hampshire has implemented a new three-digit dialing, texting and chat code, 988, as a suicide prevention and crisis lifeline. The number will connect callers experiencing suicidal, mental health or substance misuse crises to a national network of more than 200 call centers via the established National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. “New Hampshire remains committed to providing streamlined access to mental health support services, and providing on demand assistance through 988 is another positive step in that direction,” Gov. Chris Sununu said in a statement. According to a press release from DHHS, the 988 line will augment, not replace, New Hampshire’s Rapid Response system, implemented in January 2022 as part of the state’s 10-year Mental Health Plan, which provides 24/7 mental health crisis services and, when necessary, deploys mobile crisis response teams, to New Hampshire residents experiencing a crisis.

Training for women in government

The New Hampshire Women’s Foundation will run “Women Run!” a day-long nonpartisan training program designed to teach New Hampshire women skills and confidence needed to run for state or local political office, on Wednesday, July 27, in Manchester. Participants will learn about the past and current landscape of women’s representation in New Hampshire government and campaigning techniques. The percentage of women in public office in New Hampshire is 37 percent in town offices, 41 percent in city offices and 23 percent in mayorships, according to an email from the New Hampshire Women’s Foundation. Visit nhwomensfoundation.org/womenrun to learn more.

A new New Hampshire Historical Highway Marker has been installed in Carroll, just north of the intersection of Routes 3 and 302 in a tourist section of town known as Twin Mountain, commemorating the glacial boulder where Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, a Congregationalist clergyman, abolitionist, proponent of women’s suffrage and the brother of author Harriet Beecher Stowe, preached his sermons in the late 1800s. It is the 274th marker installed as part of the New Hampshire Historical Highway Marker program, according to a press release from the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources, which oversees the program.

The Manchester Health Department reopened the public beach at Crystal Lake, located off Bodwell Road in southern Manchester, for swimming after closing it earlier this month due to elevated levels of E. Coli. Water samples will continue to be taken every Monday through Labor Day, with results announced every Tuesday at manchesternh.gov/departments/health/services/water-quality.

Elm Grove Companies will break ground on a new rental housing development, Depot & Main Apartments, at the end of this month at 41 Main St. in Salem, according to a press release. The more than $20 million project is a 74-unit Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and Workforce Housing community created to meet the need for affordable rental housing for New Hampshire’s low to moderate income families and workforce. A ceremony will be held at the ground-breaking on Tuesday, July 26, at 10 a.m.