NH School Scoop for August 20, 2024
The 306s, School Choice, Filling School Staff Positions and much more.
📰 Front Page
The Big Story
The week’s big story is the State Board of Education’s decision to pass the first of two parts of the minimum standards (Ed 306). Since we first reported on the decision Wednesday, Rep. David Luneau, who serves on the House Education Committee, has reminded us that the State Board cannot amend academic standards without the recommendation of the legislative oversight committee.
Here’s the NHED Press Release of the State Board decision.
Reaching Higher New Hampshire (RHNH) delineates those areas of the standards that have not been addressed and that have been hoped for by many NH educators. And here is RHNH’s press release on the 306s.
The Boston Globe NH Morning Report filed this account on the minimum standards decision.
Here’s the Concord Monitor’s take on the 306s
The NEA-NH and AFT-NH presidents issued a joint statement on the status of the minimum standards/
Filling those elusive staff positions
It’s mid-August, and administrators throughout the state are working overtime to find qualified staff, especially in math and STEM. Fortunately, NH districts are doing a bit better this year than last. (paywall) The Learning Policy Institute (LPI) has completed a comprehensive state-by-state analysis of the factors affecting teacher shortage. Do you want to geek out? Check out this data from LPI and click on NH once you’re on the site. Some districts still struggle to find bus drivers weeks before the kids arrive. Here’s the national look at the bus driver shortage.
What are the candidates’ views on education?
We regularly search for state and national candidates’ thoughts on education, which is often elusive. The good news is that the Granite State News Collaborative, comprised of 16 NH news outlets, will sponsor candidate forums this fall. Submit a question on education for these men and women vying to represent you.
In his recent interview on X with Elon Musk, former President Trump stated that he wants to ”close up the Department of Education and move education back to the States.” This idea dates back to the Reagan Administration.
The latest poll from the Saint Anselm College Survey Center reveals NH candidates’ standings in the Gubernatorial and US House races. Likely NH voters were also asked what they feel is the most critical issue facing America. “Education” was 10th on the list, capturing only two percent of the responses. The top four issues are economy/inflation, border security, elections/voting, and abortion.
School choice issues in Lempster
A parent in Lempster, NH, wanted to send her child to a Catholic school instead of the traditional tuition-based choice in a town without a high school. The local school board declined, and it is now raising several legal questions with potentially far-reaching consequences for school choice in NH. Check out the Boston Globe’s coverage (potential paywall) and NHPR.org reporting.
Teachers: the parental notification law is changing.
Teachers should be aware of the change in the parental notification from HB 1312 that will be in effect on September 17, 2024. This new legislation adds sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and gender expression to the topics requiring two weeks’ advance parental notice. NHED has not released a technical advisory on 1312, but in the meantime, it may help to consult the 2023 parental notice version.
A NH District Court judge temporarily allows a transgender youth to play team soccer.
HB 1205, just signed by Gov. Sununu, prohibits students in grades 5-12 who were born biologically male to participate in girls’ sports teams even if they identify as transgender. A day after the law was enacted, a judge ruled that a Plymouth teen could temporarily participate in their school’s soccer team.
NH towns do not unanimously support the Rand decision.
If you remember, the Rand decision considerably modified the administration of NH’s Statewide Education Property Tax (SWEPT). Now, a coalition of 26 property-rich towns says they would be unduly harmed if the decision remained.
🎯 Extra Credit:
Gov Sununu signed a proclamation recognizing September 2024 as “Welcoming Schools Month.”
Congrats to the finalists for NH Teacher of the Year.
This is an example of how not to facilitate a field trip to a courtroom. Yikes.
Some schools struggle nationwide with the “funding cliff” as pandemic money runs out.
Students (and adults) can register for NHPR’s 2024 Civics 101 Summit, during which participants can experience the recording of NHPR’s award-winning civics podcast.
I haven’t vetted this list, but here’s a pretty robust accounting of AI links for educators.
As reported last week, HB 1265 will require districts to compare administrator and teacher salaries a week before March budget meetings.
A piece of advice for educators working in school districts: don’t use district email for anything personal, especially if the theme is political.
With the school year beginning, how much money are you spending on your classroom or your school? A new survey states that 1/4 of educators spend more than $500 on classroom supplies and resources each year, and another 25% spend between $300 and $500.
📖 Picks of the Week:
Journalist sends kids on a smartphone-free vacation
Jonathan Haidt, author of the best-seller The Anxious Generation, reports on a journalist who took her two teen sons, two teen girls, and six of their male friends on a month-long non-smartphone trip. Read about how it went!
How about high school and literacy?
Traditionally, schools are intensely focused on early literacy, and rightly so. But it’s time to focus on high schoolers’ reading ability. Do you remember “writing across the curriculum?” Perhaps it’s time to consider “reading across the curriculum.”
And…how about getting students excited about science again?
What’s so fun about science? Why should your students care about it? How can you convince your students that science is so compelling that they may want to be scientists someday? This author is a teacher jazzed about science. By the way, EdSurge is an online journal from ASCD/ISTE that should be on your regular feed.
Thank you for signing up for the NH School Scoop. It is heartening to see how many subscribers we have after just a week!
Do you have education news you'd like to share? Please send it to the Scoop Team for consideration (well, that's really one person) at nhschoolscoop@gmail.com. We’ll also publish events from NH education non-profits.