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Finally, a Budget!
From NH School Funding Fairness Project’s 9/30/19 Newsletter: Finally, the Legislature and Governor have reached a budget deal, and there’s a lot to like! Basically, for…
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A Changing Role for ANHPE
Regular readers will have noticed fewer posts than usual to anhpe.org. Though in recent years we have actively opposed privatization – statewide school vouchers (SB…
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Zip Codes Can Dramatically Limit Future for NH Students
Garry Rayno’s column today in InDepthNH and other papers makes the key point about the impact of insufficient state funding for public education in New Hampshire…
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Update On Budget; Important Public Hearing This Thursday!
As you know, Governor Sununu vetoed the legislature’s budget, and the State is now operating under a “continuing resolution,” meaning that last year’s budget remains in effect. …
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Budget Hearing 8/29: Speak Up for Students, Property Taxpayers and Local Businesses!
Public Hearing: The Effect of the Budget Impasse on Education House and Senate Ad Hoc Budget Committee Thursday, August 29, 10 a.m. (hold a sign…
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A big hurdle remains for Learn Everywhere
The following op-ed by Bill Duncan was published in the Concord Monitor on July 24, 2019. We are at an interesting juncture in the debate…
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NH School Funding Fairness Project Newsletter 7/22/19
As Summer Sizzles, Let’s Turn Up the Heat on the Budget! What’s been happening at the State House There’s still no news on a budget…
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An eloquent reminder of good things happening in our public schools
Sometimes it feels as if public education is under siege. Lately the education news has been mostly about reductions in school funding and the Education…
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Governor’s Budget Veto Hurts Students and Property Taxpayers
The following was published in the Concord Monitor as a “My Turn” piece on July 10, 2019. In the wake of the Governor’s veto of…
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As budget talks continue, keep up the pressure for fair school funding!
NH School Funding Fairness Project Newsletter, July 7, 2019 Now that budget negotiations are taking place behind closed doors, there’s no real news to report. However,…
Congratulations to Sanborn Regional School District for winning The Nellie Mae Foundation’s Lawrence W. O’Toole Award!
Sanborn Regional School District was recently awarded the Lawrence W. O’Toole Award, which is given to a district, individual, school, or nonprofit that exhibits great leadership through innovation in moving student-centered learning forward in New England. The Nellie Mae Education Foundation will present the award to the district at a ceremony later this year. (more…)
Sanborn Regional School District nominated for $100,000 grant–Vote today to show your support!
Sanborn Regional School District has been selected as one of six finalists for the Lawrence W. O’Toole Award, a $100,000 Nellie Mae Education Foundation grant. The award is granted to an individual, organization, school, or district that exhibits great leadership through innovation in moving student-centered learning approaches forward in New England.
This is a great honor recognizing the important work Sanborn has done in the PACE pilot project and in making competency based learning real for their student. You can show your support for Sanborn and New Hampshire by voting here. Voting lasts through September 30, and is restricted to one vote per email address. (more…)
Students exceed expectations on Smarter Balanced Assessments in four states–Hetchinger Report
In the four states that released results from their annual statewide assessments–Missouri, West Virginia, Oregon, and Washington–students exceeded expectations on the Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA), reported the Hechinger Report. Experts say that though many factors likely contributed to the results, students are performing better despite the more difficult exam: (more…)
Gov. Hassan’s veto of HB 603, the opt out bill, strongly supported by the NH business community
There has been wide coverage of Gov. Hassan’s veto of HB 603, the bill that would allow parents to opt students out of the annual statewide assessment without penalty to the student or the school district. The most complete coverage has been by the AP, published in the Concord Monitor but the Union Leader did its own story as well, featuring the letter the Business and Industry Association sent Gov. Hassan urging her to veto the bill. (more…)
Gov. Hassan vetoes opt out bill: HB 603 “sends a bad message to our students”
Governor Hassan has vetoed HB 603 which would allow parents to opt students out of the annual statewide assessment without penalty. Her veto message emphasized the importance of full participation for legal, accountability, and funding reasons, stating that the federally mandated assessments are required for many federal education grants and are also necessary for informing teacher instruction: (more…)
NH Sheriff: Early childhood education can curb crime and help communities prosper
In an opinion piece in the Concord Monitor, Merrimack County Sheriff Scott Hilliard advocates for early childhood education, citing evidence that early support ultimately helps curb teen pregnancy, crime, and even drug use–a growing problem in the Granite State: (more…)
Models of excellence can help elevate conversation around Common Core and student potential
In a column for Education Week, Rob Berger, Chief Academic Officer for Expeditionary Learning, argues that in order to have an open and honest conversation about Common Core and higher standards, policymakers and educational leaders need models of student work that demonstrate academic excellence and student potential. Without examples of student potential, it is easy for Common Core critics to use the familiar lines–the standards are not age appropriate, they are too difficult, etc. (more…)
In districts experimenting with new tests, writing questions is only half the task–NHPR
NHPR chronicled the challenging process that four school districts are undertaking to roll out the highly anticipated PACE project. Teachers have been meeting with each other and the NH-based Center for Assessment to develop the assessment questions and to calibrate them, a process that ensures uniform grading among classrooms and districts. While the assessments aren’t “standardized,” in the usual meaning of the term, they do need to be comparable across districts to be valid measures of student learning, making the calibration process crucial in order for the PACE project to work. (more…)
Former governor of Arizona rallies support of Common Core as state fights battles similar to ours in New Hampshire
In a letter to the Daily Caller, former Governor of Arizona Jan Brewer defends the state’s decision to adopt the Common Core standards and calls for action against its opponents. Common Core has become a political issue, with opponents trying to undermine the standards by attacking elements of implementation. But Brewer, a Republican, openly advocates for the standards: (more…)
Mom Lee Laughlin researched the arguments on both sides and supports the standards and the Smarter Balanced Assessment
In an article for the Concord Monitor, New Hampshire-based writer Lee Laughlin writes that the anti-testing rhetoric is so obscure that she needs to rely on her communications degree to decipher the message. A parent of school-aged children, she has heard the arguments both for and against the Smarter Balanced assessment that New Hampshire and many other states use, has done her research, and had her son take the test this year: (more…)
Advancing New Hampshire Public Education 