Yearly Archives: 2017

Open Letter to NH Senators and Reps: Please Support Full-day Kindergarten

Waiting Only Hurts Their Futures Dear NH Representative/Senator On behalf of the 17,000 members of NEA-New Hampshire, I am writing you today to ask you to support the Committee of Conference report on SB 191, increasing funding for those communities that have full day kindergarten. To be clear, SB 191 as amended by the Committee of Conference, is not perfect. NEA-New Hampshire has always, and will always continue, to advocate that full day kindergarten be funded in full in the same manner as all other grades. However, NEA-NH also recognizes sometimes you have to compromise in the process of getting […]

2017 Excellence In Education Awards Ceremony

NEA-NH President Megan Tuttle presented EDie Awards to the winners of the School Nurse of the Year and one of the four winners of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching at this year’s EDie award ceremony on June 10. The New Hampshire School Nurses’ Association selected Barbara J. Kelly, R.N. as the 2017 School Nurse of the Year. “Kelly represents excellence in school nursing as demonstrated through her kind, compassionate and proactive approach to student care. She is a leader and learner, and is highly respected by her students and colleagues,” Tuttle announced before presenting the […]

Betsy DeVos Compares School Choice Critics To ‘Flat-Earthers’

No other name for it. When she says “choice” she means vouchers. And the cuts to pay for them are devastating. Kate Abbey-Lambertz HuffPost•May 23, 2017 Opponents of school choice policies are akin to “flat-earthers” who are fighting innovation in education, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said Monday night. DeVos gave a speech praising President Donald Trump’s plans for the “most ambitious expansion of education choice in our nation’s history ― a day before his administration released a budget proposal that would slash Education Department funding by more than $9 billion. “The time has expired for ‘reform.’ We need a […]

My Turn: Past Decade Has Seen Big Changes in Education

By TOM RAFFIO For the Monitor Wednesday, May 10, 2017 I’m sorry to leave the State Board of Education but am pleased with what we’ve accomplished over my 10-year term, the last five as chairman. I’m most proud of the working relationship we built between the board and the department and, most importantly, with parents, educators, and businesses throughout the state. One of the board’s key priorities since I came on 10 years ago has been to help our schools move toward personalized competency education. This is a big change for our whole school system. It’s a new way of […]

NEA-NH Presidents Comments to State Board of Education

This morning, NEA-New Hampshire President Megan Tuttle provided the following remarks during the public comment portion of the New Hampshire State Board of Education meeting: Good Morning ladies and gentlemen. My name is Megan Tuttle and I am the President of NEA-New Hampshire. Your agenda for today includes discussion on proposals to revise the New Hampshire English Language Arts standards and the Mathematics standards. The 17,000 members of NEA-NH, frontline employees in the daily challenge to bring the goals of the standards to life for our students, urge you to reconsider this action. After 18 years of teaching, I can confidently […]

A headshot of Megan Tuttle

Full Day Kindergarten is a Sound Educational Investment

An open letter to the House Finance Committee Dear Chairman Kurk and Members of the House Finance Committee, After more than 25 years of trying, New Hampshire is finally poised to fully fund those communities that have full day kindergarten. Kindergarten is a magical time in a child’s life. During kindergarten, children learn to get along with each other, they discover the joy and challenge of reading and writing, and they learn what it means to be in school. We know that kindergarten is a key “bridge year” for children—a year for children to move from unstructured play and early […]