Education
Census data shows that children make up the most diverse part of the state’s population
This story was updated at 10:20 a.m. on Sept. 1 to clarify that City Year brings coaches to work in schools, not teachers. When Eva Castillo came to the United States from her home country of Venezuela, she wasn’t planning to stay. But life happened. She met her husband, a Manchester native, and over the […]
Mask requirement question puts school districts in the middle of a great divide
Deep into a late-night school board meeting on the future of mask mandates in the Merrimack Valley School District, Chairwoman Seelye Longnecker paused to take stock of public opinion. A torrent of parents had emailed ahead of the emergency meeting with views on their preferred policy. The question was simple: Should masks be required? But […]
Lawmakers allow ‘education freedom account’ rules to move ahead despite lawyers’ concerns
New Hampshire’s “education freedom account” program is on track to roll out across the state this month, after a critical vote Thursday by the state’s Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (JLCAR). But the vote – which approved a set of interim rules designed to allow the program to become operational by the start of […]
Federal money awarded to create new charter schools in the state, expand existing ones
After years of controversy and delay, New Hampshire’s Department of Education has awarded the first tranche of a $46 million effort to double the number of charter schools in the state. On Aug. 11, the department announced the first seven recipients of the federal funding, which was approved by the Trump administration and is meant […]
Council to consider contract to address learning loss among students in nonpublic schools
New Hampshire students in nonpublic schools could soon benefit from federally funded “learning loss” programs to address any setbacks caused by remote instruction. Under a contract appearing before the Executive Council Wednesday, the New Hampshire Department of Education would set aside $1.58 million for in-school instruction and summer-school learning loss programs to help students at […]
In reversal, state’s NEA chapter supports COVID vaccine requirement for teachers
The New Hampshire chapter of the National Education Association is supporting a vaccine requirement for teachers, reversing an earlier position as cases of the Delta variant of COVID-19 continue to climb. In a statement Friday, NEA New Hampshire said that its board members agree with the national NEA’s decision Thursday to announce support for a […]
Here’s what you need to know about schools reopening amid another COVID surge
New Hampshire is weeks away from the start of the 2021-2022 school year, and school boards across the state are wrestling with a crucial operational question: Are mask mandates necessary? On Wednesday, state epidemiologist Dr. Ben Chan gave a clear answer: Probably yes. During a briefing to schools and child care providers Wednesday, Chan said […]
Children’s Scholarship Fund gets one-year contract to administer ‘education freedom accounts’
This story was updated on Aug. 9 at 11:15 a.m. to correct the income level for a family of four at 300 percent of the 2021 federal poverty level. New Hampshire will launch its new “education freedom accounts” program with one organization administering the accounts, after the Executive Council approved a single-source contract Wednesday with […]
$116 million headed to state’s schools as part of pandemic relief package
New Hampshire will receive another $116 million to support its schools as they deal with lingering effects of the pandemic, officials announced Thursday, the final tranche of a program passed by Congress in March. In a statement Thursday, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said the federal department had approved New Hampshire’s proposal for how […]
School boards watching closely as Learn Everywhere gets rolling
Shashank Dubey was never interested in the education business. Then his son came home from elementary school with spelling homework. Each week, Dubey’s son would be assigned 20 words and a test for whether he could spell them. Then, the test would be repeated a week later after the students had time to practice the […]
Under new law, high school seniors must pass civics exam to graduate
Future New Hampshire high school seniors will have a new requirement to graduate: a passing grade on the national civics exam given to new Americans. Under a law signed by Gov. Chris Sununu last week, high schoolers two years from now will need to pass the 128-question civics naturalization examination in order to graduate. That […]
School leaders carry a heavy burden as they prepare to welcome back students
With the Delta variant spreading, vaccination rates plateauing, and mask-wearing increasingly divisive, school leaders have an unenviable job this year: write pandemic safety plans using inconsistent public health guidance and interpret local transmission rates to decide when to scale up or scale down safety measures, such as masks. Then, they must sell it to staff, […]