Great Schools

Priorities for New Hampshire Public Education: NEA-NH’s 2020 Legislative Agenda

It is clear to us that great public schools are the result of valuing children over profit. As a society, we have long held that the value of public education was so great, that we would all share in its costs. Elected officials have the power to create and fund laws that can help fulfill that or break that promise. So as long as politicians have a say in what goes on in our classrooms, we must be sure our voices are heard by them as they go about the people’s business in Washington, Concord, and our local communities. Students […]

Charter Grant Has Far Too Many Unanswered Questions

NEA-NH President Megan Tuttle released the following statement today: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Yet, this is exactly what we have come to expect from programs and initiatives championed by our education commissioner, Frank Edelblut. First it was the hype and misdirection surrounding his “Learn Everywhere” rules. Now it’s his “look I found $46 million for our charter schools with no strings attached” plan. Let’s be clear: the money Commissioner Edelblut is peddling from Betsy DeVos will cost New Hampshire far more than $46 million over five years and will do nothing to help […]

McAuliffe Sabbatical Seeking Applicants With Great Ideas

Do you know a teacher with a great idea about education? If so, please consider recommending the Christa McAuliffe Sabbatical program to them. Each year the sabbatical, administered by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, awards a year-long leave of absence to an exceptional New Hampshire public school teacher. The sabbatical provides the teacher with the time, space and funding to explore, through a self-designed project, new ideas and ways to enhance classroom teaching. This is a unique opportunity for a full-time classroom teacher and their school to gain statewide recognition for innovative approaches to classroom instruction. The Christa McAuliffe Sabbatical […]

Local Officials and Educators Urge Governor Sununu to Sign Budget

CONCORD, NH – June 26, 2019 – Today, elected officials and educators gathered at Somersworth Middle School to make a plea to the Governor: please do not hold our school districts, our communities, and our property taxpayers back by vetoing the recently proposed compromise by the legislature on the state budget. “As every parent and educator knows, the last thing legislatures should be doing is decreasing school funding. But that is just what our Governor is indicating he may do by vetoing a budget that would provide the biggest increase in education funding in more than 20 years to maintain […]

State Board Votes to Devalue NH Diplomas

“The double-standard voted into place today is insulting to education professionals across New Hampshire.” Megan Tuttle, NEA-New Hampshire President NEA-NH is disappointed but not surprised by the vote taken by the State Board of Education to adopt Commissioner Edleblut’s ‘Learn Everywhere’ rules. “Today, the New Hampshire State Board of Education (SBOE) voted to no longer require state certification, student teaching, adherence to the state’s code of conduct or probationary periods to teach a high school class for a semester and award graduation credit,” said Megan Tuttle, NEA-New Hampshire President. “They instead will now rely solely on a vendor’s application describing […]

Housing and Schools: How Educators can Help Students

Quick! Do housing and land use policies come to mind when you think about what’s necessary for all students to learn to their fullest potential? If you’re like most people, probably not. But housing and land use policies, concludes a new report, have a “significant effect on schools” and can “affect enrollment trends, concentrations of poverty and school diversity, school funding, stability of enrollment vs. ‘churning’ of students, and [the] ability of students to complete their homework and focus during the school day.”