Public Schools Rising: Increased access, opportunity and equity for NH students

What happens when our small, rural state implements policies and programs that empower public schools to make learning flexible, accessible, and equitable?

Public Schools Rising is a short animated tour of three New Hampshire public schools that have embraced a modern culture of learning—one that is student-centered and accessible to each and every child. Though they are located in very different communities, these schools are reimagining learning by leveraging New Hampshire state policies and programs that are responsive to their students’ needs and the needs of today’s world.

These schools are staffed with passionate professionals who value student voice and look for opportunities to personalize the curriculum and help students pursue the future they want. They also have established powerful partnerships with employers and families in their communities.  In return, community members have seen how support for their public schools is a sound investment in everyone’s future.

Public Schools Rising explores:

• Extended Learning Opportunities (ELOs) – at Spaulding High School in Rochester, we meet George, a student who is learning about audio engineering by working with a local business, and exploring how he can turn his passion into a profession.
• Career and Technical Education (CTE) – at Hinsdale High School, we meet Kelsey, who is earning high school biology credits and nursing credentials by working in a local nursing home. Internships like these help New Hampshire students relate their learning to the world they live in.
• Performance Assessment of Competency Education (PACE) – in Concord, Avery and her classmates demonstrate their competency in science by building a solar oven rather than taking a traditional test.

Policies that support programs like these empower students by unlocking their individual strengths. Their backgrounds, learning styles, and experiences become powerful parts of their story instead of challenges to overcome.  They figure out how they learn – and work – best.

Students at these schools aren’t just doing well on paper. They are THRIVING. Educators and families report that they become self-directed, fiercely motivated, and confident about the opportunities and challenges they’ll encounter in the world beyond high school.

We hope you enjoy this fun animation and that you get a sense for what’s possible when students, communities, and schools come together for a shared vision of learning. SHARE WIDELY if you think this is what public education should look like for every student in New Hampshire!