Education
Amid another COVID surge, the state’s schools brace for the challenging winter ahead
The post-Thanksgiving COVID-19 surge is more than theoretical in Bow. On Tuesday, 20 children in the elementary school were home from school after testing positive for COVID-19 or reporting a family member in their home who did, Superintendent Dean Cascadden announced to parents. In the middle and high schools, the numbers were 14 and 15, […]
State board approves final education freedom account rules
The New Hampshire State Board of Education approved formal rules for the state’s education freedom accounts program Thursday, completing the latest stage in a program that has seen higher than expected interest. The new regulations – if fully approved by lawmakers in the coming months – will provide clarity to the voucher-like program. Currently, the […]
Executive Council approves extension of Prenda learning pod program
The Executive Council voted Wednesday to extend a $5.8 million contract with a national company that provides “learning pods” to public schools, advancing a school choice program even as take-up in the existing program has been slow. In a 4-1 party-line vote, the council authorized a two-year extension of the state’s existing contract with Prenda. […]
Bullying reports plummeted during remote learning school year, state numbers show
Reports of bullying in New Hampshire schools plummeted in the 2020-2021 school year as most schools entered remote learning, according to recent numbers from the Department of Education. With most students learning via video screens, and many classrooms abandoned for the majority of the school week, elementary schools recorded 364 reported incidents of bullying of […]
School enrollment decline persists despite return to classrooms
Enrollment has dropped slightly in New Hampshire public schools this year, continuing a years-long trend that appears to have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. From the 2020-2021 school year to this fall, the number of students in New Hampshire public schools fell from 160,715 to 159,334, according to numbers released by the Department of […]
Bill would let school districts divert local tax money to private education
For decades, “public education funding” has carried a simple connotation: money, raised by state and local taxpayers, going to local public schools. But Rep. Kevin Verville sees that as a flawed definition. And he’s betting that his fellow Republican legislators do, too. “When I hear the term public education, I hear that we are going […]
$17 million sought for student debt relief, but few eligibility details offered
A $22.5 million request for vaccine rollout and outreach isn’t the only agenda item raising questions ahead of Friday’s Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee meeting. The Governor’s Office for Emergency Relief and Recovery is asking for $17 million in federal pandemic money for a new student debt relief program but has given the committee no details […]
Uproar over form to report teachers puts state’s Commission for Human Rights in the spotlight
Ahni Malachi doesn’t have time to wade into political disputes. As executive director of the New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights, Malachi, her staff, and her panel of commissioners field around 200 allegations of discrimination every year – evaluating claims by tenants, employees, and patrons. “I kind of come in every day and put my […]
Amendment aims to expand exemptions from vaccine requirements
This story was updated November 15, 2021 at 2:45 p.m. to include a comment from the governor. Lawmakers will hold a public hearing Tuesday on an amendment that would not only add private employers and schools to those disallowed from requiring vaccines but also create a conscientious objection exemption from the COVID-19 vaccine. That last […]
Schools, parents raise concerns over state rules restricting remote learning
School administrators and teachers appeared before the State Board of Education Wednesday to voice opposition to a proposed rule that would prevent school districts from imposing schoolwide remote learning due to COVID-19. But Drew Cline, the board’s chairman, pushed back at some of the criticism, arguing that the current rule does not adequately include parental […]
Supply chain issues are taking a big bite out of school lunch menus
On Oct. 26, the food service director for Governor Wentworth Regional School District hopped on a Zoom call with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The news was disheartening. The next monthly shipment of staple items from the department would contain only one meat item: pulled pork. The rest of the shipment would consist of canned […]
1,600 students approved for ‘education freedom accounts’ in first quarter, commissioner says
New Hampshire’s Department of Education has approved around 1,600 students to receive “education freedom accounts” this fall, Commissioner Frank Edelblut said Wednesday, indicating a demand for the voucher-like program that has exceeded initial expectations. In comments to the Executive Council Wednesday, the commissioner said the ballpark figure – which surpassed estimates in the spring of […]