"Hey neighbors. My name is Nick Bellows, and I appreciate you for taking a couple minutes of your time.

The last couple years has been an honor to serve on the Rochester School Board. I grew up here in town. My wife grew up here in town, and now our kids are students in our schools. My wife works for the district. I’ve been a teacher for 20 years myself. This work is important to me. I care about it. I care about kids. I care about our city. And strong schools are at the heart of both of those.

The work that I do on the board, try to get it back to one question: What’s best for kids? This is going to guide everything that I do. Even if it means standing apart from the majority. What’s best for kids means preparing them for th to thrive in the real world so that they can return to Rochester and make this a better place to live.

The way that we’re going to do that is by having great staff working with our kids. We got to attract them, and we got to be able to keep them. We need a rigorous curriculum that’s going to challenge them. We need to create opportunities for our kids so that they can identify and pursue their interest and their passions. We need to have facilities that will allow this work to happen. And we need to earn the trust of the community. We do that by managing our schools responsibly and with our students’ best interest at heart.

I definitely don’t have all the answers, but humility is serving me well in this role—showing up willing to learn, willing to listen, and I’m committed to continuing to serve our kids by showing up prepared, steady, thoughtful, and real.

I’m really grateful for my neighbors in Ward One for trusting me to do this work, and I thank everyone in Rochester for working with us to help make our schools better for our kids. Thank you."

Notes:

The Public Information and Community Engagement Office for the City of Rochester is pleased to announce that the Meet the Candidates video series is now available for viewing ahead of the upcoming Municipal Election.

The nonpartisan series introduces voters to candidates for Mayor, City Council, School Board, and Police Commission. Each candidate was given up to three minutes to speak directly to voters, share their priorities, and present their personal message.

To ensure fairness and transparency, all videos were recorded live in a single take, without edits, hosts, or predetermined questions.

The views and opinions expressed in the following video are those of the candidate and do not necessarily reflect the views of the City of Rochester, its elected officials or staff. The content is presented as part of a public information effort to provide equal opportunity for all candidates to address the community.

Transcript was taken directly from the GovTV website closed captioning. AI added bold/italic fonts for emphasis and separated paragraphs where appropriate.

As someone who grew up in Rochester, I know this community and am committed to its future.

As a veteran public school teacher, I know what makes schools work.

As a father of two kids in Rochester schools, I share the hopes and concerns of local families.

As a school board member, I am committed to listening, learning, and earning your trust to keep making our schools stronger.

I want to make sure our schools have excellent staff so our kids can succeed.

I believe students need challenging academics and chances to explore their interests and passions, so they’re ready for the real world.

I will advocate for safe, functional schools and work to ensure every student has access to high-quality learning spaces, including classrooms, labs, and arts facilities.

I make decisions with students’ best interests at heart and aim to do it openly and thoughtfully, listening to families and giving them a real voice in the process.

Nick Bellows - Rochester NH School Board, Ward 1 Facebook Page

Vote Bellows Campaign Website