A draft equity audit presented by the GreatSchools Partnership found a number of strengths in the Governor Wentworth Regional School District—strong staff commitment, engaged students and a variety of curricular and co-curricular offerings—but also highlighted gaps in access to advanced courses and extracurricular activities from town to town.

Consultants Jean Hager and Sarah Malinowski told the board the audit combined multiple data sources: student focus groups, administrator surveys, course-enrollment lists and other district-provided records. Key findings included underrepresentation by students from some towns in advanced-course enrollment and in National Honor Society membership; the audit showed Wolfeboro students comprised a substantially larger share of advanced-course enrollments than several smaller member towns.

The consultants recommended a set of next steps, including standardized districtwide communication to families and students about course pathways and extracurricular opportunities, improved and aligned professional development for staff, more consistent behavioral/discipline data collection across buildings, and intentional outreach to underrepresented families and students. The audit team also recommended establishing district committees to track student-wellness indicators and to implement restorative discipline practices where appropriate.

Board members asked for the draft audit and the supporting survey and focus-group materials to be made available to trustees. The consultants said they would incorporate feedback into a final report and work with the district task force to create a three-year action plan.

Ending: Consultants said the audit is intended to inform a multi-year action plan; the board asked administrators to post the draft and the underlying data sources to the district’s shared files and to schedule follow-up conversations with the task force and principals.