Teachers, superintendents and the public have criticized the State Board of Education's proposal to update minimum standards for public schools, saying it would weaken education, cut state funding and cost taxpayers more tuition. They claim that it will force them to do so.
Since the school board's proposal was announced Feb. 15, education officials have presented the proposal in a review session led by Christine Downing, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment for the Cornish, Grantham and Plainfield school districts. I've analyzed it. Many of their concerns were raised during state commission hearings held April 3 and 11.
At the April 3rd meeting, only two people spoke in support of the state board's renewal, one of whom was hired by the N.H. Department of Education to draft the updated standards for the state board to consider. consultant Fred Bramante.
Bramante worked with several New Hampshire educators to draft the bill, but the board's Feb. 15 version made major changes that changed the wording and removed certain sections.
At public hearings on April 3 and April 11, more than 15 educators and residents criticized the department's document.
Michaela Demeter, a member of the Dover City Board of Education, said on April 3 that the proposed changes would “reverse the state's responsibility to define what constitutes an appropriate education and shift the state's responsibility to pay for that appropriate education in the future.” shall be exempted.”
“If this responsibility is largely left to local school boards, adequate education can look different from district to district, contributing to the serious deficiencies we know exist in our state today. Equality will become even worse,” she said.
She said this “liability waiver” would place an additional burden on property tax payers, who already cover more than 70 percent of local school costs.
In a dissenting opinion from the Dover School Board, Professor Demeter said the language was changed from “teaching students” to “facilitating learning,” which is ambiguous and requires qualified teachers to be in the classroom. He said it could remove the expectation that content needs to be adjusted.
School Board Member Frank Edelblut wrote in an opinion column published April 15 in the NH Union Leader: This does not take away from the important work of teaching and mentoring, but rather acknowledges that it is not the only way students learn the essential knowledge and skills they need to succeed. ”
Educators argue that changing the wording would water down what it means to provide an adequate education.
Demeter said the Dover board also opposes eliminating class size caps. Those concerns are echoed by educators across the state.
Section 306.14 of this document removes the term “class size” and the list of maximum class sizes for each grade from the standards. Instead, the document states that local boards of education will establish “student-teacher ratios” appropriate for their “learning opportunities and levels.”
Edelblut responded to that criticism in an interview after the hearing.
“If you're teaching reading to a second grader who is a weak reader, you're going to have a different class size than if you're teaching reading to a fifth grader who is a good reader,” Edelblut said.
“If you think about it, the first question you ask when you begin an effort to teach students is not, “How many kids should I have in my class?'' The first question you ask is, “What should I teach? ’” he said. “The final question to ask yourself is: What group of students will I be studying with?”
Educators across New Hampshire have threatened to eliminate certain limits on class size and require local school boards to determine “teacher-to-student ratios,” potentially reducing state funding. He has expressed concern that there is. In practice, this means that while districts in relatively wealthy school districts can afford to keep class sizes low, districts that cannot afford to have enough teachers have much larger class sizes and poor learning environments. They say it puts them in a less desirable situation.
“If that means we have to bring class sizes back to normal, then yes, that may be the case,” Edelblut said. “The board will make the final decision.”
Greg Leonard, a social studies teacher at Conval Regional High School in Peterborough, said on April 3 that he fears the revised standards could cause “irreparable harm” to New Hampshire's children. , said the state commission has shown no evidence that its proposal is based on solid foundations. the study.
“Where is the research-based evidence that eliminating class size requirements improves student learning?” Leonard said. “Where is the research-based evidence that removing educator certification requirements improves student learning?”
Brian Balke, Superintendent of Goffstown School Management Unit 19, changed the wording from “provides for” to “may include” in relation to the list of Holocaust and genocide curriculum components. raised several concerns, including:
“I don't understand why that would be the case,” said Balcke, who chairs N.H.'s Holocaust and Genocide Education Committee.
The change in language from “shall” to “may” is made throughout the document, which has concerned educators, and in legislative language “shall” “Can'' means that a program element is required, and “can'' makes it optional.
Croydon Planning Committee member Chris Prost testified on April 11 about the impact of the town's past budget cuts.
“I think for many people the impact of these changes is very unclear, but our town has been able to get a glimpse of what it means for our small community,” he said. I did.
In March 2022, Croydon's state education funding was reduced by more than 50 per cent and the primary school curriculum and teachers were replaced with Prenda Pod Learning due to significant budget cuts. According to Prost, this is “online learning under the guidance of a qualified guide and supervised by an unqualified guide.” The teacher probably won't come to the scene. ”
The pod learning model was recommended by the N.H. Department of Education, Prost said, even though it has never been used as a default education model in any town before.
In an interview after the hearing, Prost said that as a father of children who will soon be attending public schools, he worries about what the future holds for his children's education.
Robert Murray, superintendent of Keene-based School Management Unit 29, told the state board on April 3 that revising the minimum education standards is “probably the most important thing we will do during our school board term.” He said that.
School districts across the state are waiting to see whether the State Board of Education will revise its proposed state minimum standards or send it as is to the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Regulations for final approval.
