Panorama survey prompts new supports at Henniker Middle School, assistant principal says

Christina Keating, assistant principal at Henniker Community School, told the school board that staff reviewed Panorama survey results with seventh- and eighth-graders and used student input to shape immediate action steps and longer-term supports.

Keating said she met with students in whole-group sessions during late‑May and early June to discuss results on school belonging, climate and behavior. "We did notice and wonder and action steps," she said, summarizing student comments and the in-the-moment suggestions the students provided. Students asked for "teacher training," more student voice and choices, clearer expectations and more consistent consequences.

Keating described several initiatives already underway: targeted hiring to better match student needs; a summer and fall rollout of responsive classroom strategies (a four- to six-week implementation period in classrooms); expansion of restorative practices; and a reworked Student Support Center (SSC) with a digital sign-in and processing form so staff can track incidents and follow up quickly.

The school has started a student agency group and daily student‑led announcements; Keating said the eighth-grade buddy program is being expanded to include cross‑grade mentoring with younger students. Keating also described changes to lunch scheduling to reduce crowding, more structured Friday rotations for middle schoolers, and a plan to let teachers book targeted intervention time ("wins") for students who need extra support.

Keating said the SSC digital reporting sends an immediate notification to her inbox and helps the MTSS‑B (multi‑tiered system of supports — behavior) team track patterns. "We have a space, and we're in classes too," she said of SSC, adding that it has been particularly effective for middle-school students.

Board members and staff asked about discipline consistency and how the school would respond when students request more consistent consequences. Keating and other staff explained that the district uses tiered behavior supports (tier 1–3) and that the SSC and MTSS processes allow teams to assign tier‑appropriate interventions, from teacher-level consequences to referrals for 504 or special education evaluation if patterns persist.

Keating said teachers have provided positive feedback on hiring and that staff-led professional development included responsive classroom training and regional offerings. She also noted the district’s recent rollout of ParentSquare, which administrators say has improved home–school communications: as of the meeting, district staff had posted 56 newsletters and 130 parents (about 46% of enrolled families) had interacted with at least one post.

The board praised student engagement in the Panorama process and asked Keating to bring follow-up reports to future meetings describing measurable outcomes from the initiatives.

Keating presented slides summarizing student notices, wonders and action steps; the board agreed the student voice component added useful context to the data and directed staff to continue following the MTSS‑B process and to return with updates.