Monthly Archives: June 2020

NEA-NH: Schools Are Not Designed For Social Distancing

Frank Edelblut, New Hampshire’s Education Commissioner, selected school administrators and school boards representatives for his official Task Force. NEA-NH, and the 17,000 professional educators we represent, was not invited. “We were instead offered a place on a workgroup, meaning the voices of those in the classrooms, hallways, buses, cafeterias and offices – the frontline for any return to school – were not given a chance to vote on the final recommendations going to the Governor,” said Megan Tuttle, NEA-New Hampshire President. Since the Commissioner chose to ignore them, NEA-NH surveyed our members to be sure their voices were heard. We asked […]

Miss A Workshop or Tuttle Talk? Don’t Forget About Our YouTube Page

Over the past few weeks, NEA-NH has conducted a number of online workshops and member conversations. Many of these have been recorded and posted on our website. Previous Tuttle Talks appear in their own archive that can be found here. Workshops conducted for the Educate and Elevate Campaign can also be found on their site here. But you can always get access to these and other recordings on our YouTube page. Be sure to visit and catch up on any Talk or Workshop you may have missed.

NEA-NH: Current STRRT Proposals Do Not Go Far Enough To Protect Students and Educators

June 23, 2020 – CONCORD, NH -The STRRT Task Force reviewed half of their preliminary draft recommendations and sub-actions for reopening New Hampshire’s public schools today during an online meeting where members worked to fine tune the recommendations prior to submitting them to the Governor on June 30. “We are concerned that these recommendations do not go far enough to protect the health of our students and staff, and that loosening these guidelines even further seemed acceptable to the Commissioner and some members of the Task Force,” said Megan Tuttle, President of NEA-New Hampshire. “We watched in disbelief as the […]

NEA-NH Statement on the Safe Re-Opening of Our Public Schools

CONCORD, NH – June 19, 2020 – NEA-New Hampshire released their statement on the safe re-opening of our public schools today. Something important happens in our schools and classrooms that remote learning can never replace. While remote learning is a necessary response to a national emergency, it can never replace the productive learning environment of our schools and classrooms; it does not provide equal opportunities for an adequate education; and it is clearly unsustainable for the majority of New Hampshire’s parents. Remote learning does not provide the important socialization skill building found in our public schools; the one institution that […]

Upcoming Tuttle Talks: Navigating the Safe Reopening of Our Schools

The next two Tuttle Talks will be devoted to safely re-opening our public schools NEA has released internal guidance for affiliates on reopening schools for in-person instruction. The guidance addresses four key dimensions of the reopening process: How best to amplify educators’ expertise through bargaining and/or other collaboration structures to address COVID-19 issues; How to ensure safe and healthy school operations, including contingency shutdown plans in the event of a resurgence of COVID-19 in a community; How to manage continuity of education; and How to address the significant changes in educators’ wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment […]

Unemployment Eligibility in Light of COVID-19: Q&A Session With The NH Dept of Employment Security (Recorded)

On June 10, NEA-NH hosted a live Q&A session with representatives from the New Hampshire Department of Employment Security to answer member’s questions about eligibility for unemployment benefits as a result of cutbacks due to COVID-19. More than 160 members attended the live session. We’re providing the audio portion of the event in case you were unable to attend. If you have any questions about your eligibility, please be sure to visit the New Hampshire Department of Employment Security website. You can also start a claim there.