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Rochester Education

Rochester offers a comprehensive and well-balanced array of public and private educational programs, from pre-school and kindergarten through adult education.

The public school curriculum focuses on basic academic skills at its eight elementary schools, while also preparing students to become productive, responsible citizens and neighbors. While maintaining the academic emphasis, Rochester Middle School introduces students to a broader curriculum, encourages more independence and a greater degree of responsibility. Spaulding High School offers a comprehensive program that includes a full complement of math, sciences, fine arts, English and foreign languages, vocational and technical education, Air Force R.O.T.C., social studies, business, and physical education.

Spaulding, widely regarded as one of the most beautiful high school facilities in New England, is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. The school serves more than 1,500 full-time students and offers adult education programs to the community for job retraining, vocational education, adult basic education, computer and a wide variety of special interest. Academics are complemented by a full range of extracurricular activities including drama, sports, music, vocational clubs and planned social events.

Through volunteer support of parents, schools benefit from such organizations as the Parent-Teacher organizations, various sports booster clubs, and music boosters that help raise funds for various school activities.

An active Business/Education partnership exists to prepare students for careers and guarantee a skilled work force to meet the needs of business and industry in the area. A School-to-Work initiative in Rochester known as Pathways to Success was organized to bring together the needs of students, educators and business. It has resulted in job shadowing and internships to help students make the connection between what they are learning in school with what they will need when they enter their careers. Externships are conducted where businesses arrange for teachers to go to their workplace to gather and bring information back to the classrooms. Annual Career Awareness Expos are also held in order for students and parents to meet business people from various fields that can help them prepare for successful careers.

Berwick Academy is an independent coeducational country day school, grades K-12 serving the Seacoast area of southern Maine and New Hampshire. In three divisions that are separate but coordinated for the continuing development of the student (Lower School, Middle School and Upper School), Berwick Academy establishes a learning partnership between the student and teacher that encourages the development of curiosity, creativity and academic excellence. New highlights at the Academy are the Kozlowski Athletic Facility, Kindergarten Facility and a Science Facility.

Higher Education
In addition to its regular programs for children and youth, Rochester schools provide continuing education opportunities. In addition to continuing education courses, two-year Associate degrees to four-year Bachelor degrees and higher education programs are available through accredited institutions such as the University of New Hampshire in Durham; Granite State College in Rochester; McIntosh College and New England College in Dover; New Hampshire Community Technical College at the Pease International Tradeport; and Franklin Pierce College and Hesser College in Portsmouth.

Granite State College in Rochester provides adults with a college education in a flexible, personal, and adult-centered environment. As an accredited college offering Associate’s and Bachelor’s degrees, continuing professional education and certificate programs, Granite State College focuses on what you want to get out of adult higher education.

McIntosh College in nearby Dover has served the region since 1896 with corporate training programs, eight-month CPA programs and a multitude of Associate degree programs. Through their affiliation with New England College, McIntosh can offer students a continuous program of study resulting in a Bachelor’s degree. To accommodate the needs of the college and the community, McIntosh College purchased a hotel near its campus where they also offer a full-service conference center.

The University of New Hampshire in Durham encompasses an area of over 1,700 acres. Started in 1892 as an agricultural college, it quickly transformed into an engineering mecca. Many of its creative systems and technological designs can be found all over the world and beyond, including NASA’s space program.

Rochester Public Library
The Rochester Public Library is a vital part of the Rochester Community. There are almost 60,000 books and nearly 200 newspaper and periodical subscriptions plus videos, books on tape and CDs. Many programs are available for children and adults at no charge, and the library staff works hard to meet the needs of the community whether it be a book, access to the Internet, or providing a meeting place for groups.

The Rochester Public Library is also fully automated and has a Web site www.rpl.lib.nh.us, which provides access to the on-line catalog. Books can be renewed on-line and the collection searched. The library is open 69 hours per week but the “virtual library” on the Web allows access to the library’s collections even when the library is closed.