| In this week’s NH Education News Roundup: Governor signs bill opening tuition agreements to religious schools, tutoring program supports Manchester students hit hardest by pandemic, new Learn Everywhere programs approved by State Board of Ed, and NHHEAF invites students to summer college roundtables. Governor signs bill that allows towns to send students to religious schools at taxpayers’ expense — Governor Chris Sununu signed House Bill 282 last week, which allows school districts to form tuition agreements with religious schools. The bill also allows a town to tuition with schools outside the district, regardless of whether that town operates a public school. Prior to the new law, school districts could only tuition with schools outside the district if they did not have a public school at the student’s grade level and the approved school was nonsectarian. The new law broadens the tuitioning agreement to include any school district and any approved school — including religious schools. Supporters of the bill have said that it expands options for school boards, but there have been several concerns over the bill, including concerns that it violates the New Hampshire Constitution. There have also been concerns around religious freedom, since the bill does not require school boards to offer a nonreligious option, and students could be required to attend a religious school if that was the only agreement in the district. State Board approves three new Learn Everywhere programs — At its meeting on Thursday, July 8, the NH State Board of Education approved three new organizations for the Learn Everywhere program: Friends Forever International (FFI), North Main Music, and Seacoast Science Center. FFI was approved for its immersive and remote courses in leadership, multiculturalism, creativity, healthy living, and others; North Main Music was approved for courses in music; and, Seacoast Science Center was approved to offer science credit for its semester-long fellowship program. Through the NH Department of Education’s Learn Everywhere program, public high schools — including charter schools — are required to award credit for courses taken through Learn Everywhere programs, even for core courses like math, language arts, and science. There is no requirement that the Learn Everywhere program meet the rigor or competencies of the local school. Manchester tutoring program helps New Americans, students of color — A new volunteer tutoring program is providing support for Black, brown, and immigrant students in the Manchester School District. The Manchester Community Action Coalition (MCAC) Virtual Community Tutoring Program, formed last November, now serves 37 students and has more than 60 volunteer tutors, the Granite State News Collaborative reported last week. The program was recently awarded $20,000 from the YWCA New Hampshire and another $20,000 from the Southern New Hampshire University Center for New Americans. The Manchester School District has the highest percentage of minority students in the state. The program was designed to help students who may not be receiving the support they need at home due to parental obligations outside the home. Technical advisory on “Divisive Concepts” law expected this week — The NH Department of Education is expected to release a “technical advisory” regarding how teachers should be designing curriculum around the state’s new anti-discrimination law that was included in the state budget, the New Hampshire Bulletin reported last week. “My goal is that it’s going to be a useful technical advisory so that people can feel comfortable and there’s not some ambiguity around what somebody should or shouldn’t be talking about,” Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut said. The stakes are high: Any violation of the law could result in a lawsuit against a school, and the violator’s teaching credentials could be revoked. Pittsfield principal shares pandemic experiences in ‘New York Times’ — For Pittsfield Middle High School Principal Derek Hamilton, the reality of the pandemic really began to set in when he visited the school lunchroom and saw students sitting one or two to a table. Hamilton was one of four school principals who shared their insights on the last 15 months in a June 30 New York Times article. He told The Times that his biggest concerns early on were keeping people safe and ensuring technology was available to all and working properly. As time went on, community trust and the logistics of hybrid learning became the greatest challenges, he said. |
Attention school leaders and educators: All through the coming school year, Reaching Higher wants to highlight success stories from schools around the state. If you have an idea you’d like to share — an exciting new program, a lesson learned over the past year, a student-led initiative, a community project, or even an everyday routine that’s making a difference — please contact Sarah Earle at s.earle@reachinghighernh.org.
Experts say Pell grants, tax credits aren’t helping those most in need — At a hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee last month, higher education leaders told lawmakers that the policies and tools in place for assisting students with college costs are out of reach for many low-income students, students of color, and students with disabilities. Pell grants don’t cover enough of the cost of college to realistically support low-income students, and tax incentives generally benefit upper-income families, experts told the committee.
“The ability to graduate should not be conditional upon a student having good fortune,” said Marshall Anthony, Jr., a senior policy analyst at the Center for American Progress. “But we’ve created and perpetuated a system where that unfortunate reality has been the standard for far too long.”
NHHEAF hosting Virtual Summer College Roundtables — The New Hampshire Higher Education Assistance Foundation is holding Summer College Roundtables every Tuesday afternoon throughout the summer, featuring workshops with colleges from around the region and country. Representatives from three different colleges or universities will present each week, sharing campus highlights and admissions information and answering questions. Sessions are every Tuesday from 2:00-3:00 p.m. through August 31. Register here.
Education Up Close
PROOF POINTS: Rural students shift away from math and science during high school, report finds
Hechinger Report, Jill Barshay, July 12, 2021
Senate bill would create national apprenticeship college consortium
Higher Ed Dive, Ryan Golden, July 6, 2021
Summer Rewind: How to Conduct Student Focus Groups
School Leadership Reimagined (podcast), Robyn Jackson, July 7, 2021
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