Board of Aldermen — 2/20/18 Page 6
We have the chance to take another critical step in ensuring excellent education for every student in
every school — a four-year teachers contract that makes significant progress toward fairly paying our
teachers for the critical work they do in our classrooms. This contract will help stem the ongoing out-
migration of trained, seasoned teachers to neighboring districts, like Hollis-Brookline, Amherst and even
Manchester for the higher pay those districts offer to mid-career teachers.
We're improving our school infrastructure, too. We have invested in school safety. We completed
extensive renovations at Sunset Heights. In September, we cut the ribbon for the new playground at Dr.
Crisp. Our youth soccer and lacrosse leagues continue to grow, and we are actively working to meet
that demand. For our young athletes we completed two new fields near Charlotte Elementary. We will
finish a third field later this year.
A New Summer Jobs Program
For our young people, one goal is to create opportunities and expand horizons. A summer job can be a
transformative experience. | am announcing tonight that this coming summer we are beginning a new
city youth jobs program for Nashua high school students. Students will work in a variety of city
departments from Economic Development to Public Works. These young people will learn skills and
gain experience that will help prepare them for college, careers and adulthood.
Our First Family Day at Holman Stadium
| am also announcing tonight that for our kids and families we will be holding the first Family Day at
Holman Stadium this coming May 12. Varsity baseball players from Nashua North and Nashua South
will hold a clinic on the fields at Coach’s Corner for all the kids who may want to play baseball.
Combined with a family picnic, this should be a wonderful day at Holman.
Empowering Our Neighborhoods
Improving educational results for our kids, strengthening families and empowering our neighborhoods will
not only improve the quality of life for many Nashuans, but will also help make Nashua more resistant to
the scourge of opioids and more able to meet the needs of our businesses for well-educated, well-
prepared new employees.
In my last State of the City address, | told you that we were going to form a partnership to meet a
growing need — hungry kids who go home without knowing if they will have enough to eat. Fact-based
research shows that feeding hungry kids gets results; hungry kids cannot learn effectively. So, in our
Crown Hill neighborhood, home of the Dr. Crisp Elementary School, we formed a partnership including
the Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter, Southern New Hampshire Services, Dr. Crisp, the Salvation
Army, End 68 Hours of Hunger, and others. We called our program Nashua Meals for Kids. In July, we
began providing meals at different sites in Crown Hill. By the end of the summer, we had served over
7,000 meals to neighborhood children. Meals for Kids is ongoing and is now helping with evening and
weekend meals.
Last fall, we opened our Arlington Street Community Center at the freshly painted, carpeted, and
furnished Crown Hill Fire Station building located next to Dr. Crisp School. The idea behind the center is
to bring services that exist in Greater Nashua into the neighborhood and closer to the children and
