Education
The crumbling wall between public money and religious schools
New Hampshire’s latest bid to create “education freedom accounts” – a voucher-like program allowing public school dollars to be used by families in private schools – is not the first attempt of its kind. But it is the broadest. The proposed law, Senate Bill 130, would give parents the option of using per-pupil public school […]
Bill on citizenship exam requirement heads to Senate Education Committee
What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803? Why were the Federalist Papers important? Both questions are on the federal citizenship exam, and you must get a 60 or better to pass. You’d have to do 10 points better to graduate from a state university or community college under a bill before […]
Half a million dollars coming to state to support homeless students
On Monday, New Hampshire will receive the first installment of American Rescue Plan money that has been earmarked for homeless students. New Hampshire will receive nearly $2.3 million in total. The state will receive an initial distribution of $573,993, and the remainder will be delivered as soon as June. The money will be used to […]
For youngest students and their teachers, ‘back to normal’ carries big challenges
Charlene Kurtz has weathered it all since COVID-19 hit – from screens to schedule changes. A year ago, the Manchester kindergarten and first-grade teacher wasn’t sure how she would teach core concepts to 7-year-olds over a camera and a computer. These days, she feels like she’s mastered it. “I’ll be honest: Almost all of my […]
How school lunch leftovers could help in hunger fight
New Hampshire lawmakers are hoping to tackle a persistent problem in the state’s schools: leftover school lunch food that goes to waste. House Bill 500 would allow schools to team up with nonprofit programs to redistribute leftovers. Under the law, schools could repackage perishable meals into frozen meals and send them home on Fridays for […]
Some schools struggle to meet mandate on in-person learning
When Seacoast Charter School in Portsmouth opened its doors for the school year last fall, there was little in the way of hard guidelines from the state. So the district designed its own plan. The school divided its students into “cohorts.” Cohort A would come into school for in-person learning on Monday and Tuesday and […]