{"id":286,"date":"2008-09-23T16:02:19","date_gmt":"2008-09-23T20:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/?p=286"},"modified":"2017-12-18T16:21:44","modified_gmt":"2017-12-18T21:21:44","slug":"nh-parents-beware-the-school-reformers-are-coming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/2008\/09\/23\/nh-parents-beware-the-school-reformers-are-coming\/","title":{"rendered":"NH Parents Beware: The School ‘Reformers’ are Coming"},"content":{"rendered":"

September 23, 2008
\nEdWeek<\/a><\/p>\n

N.H. Seeking to Reinvigorate High Schools<\/p>\n

One New Hampshire high school student fell in love with accounting while working at a local business. Another attended the recent Democratic National Convention<\/strong> as a campaign volunteer. And a third, whose relative worked in the state immigration office, researched challenges facing newcomers to the state.<\/p>\n

All earned high school credit for their work outside school, an opportunity available under a burgeoning high school redesign effort in New Hampshire that sets its sights beyond simply stiffening course requirements and graduation standards.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Its vision: To personalize learning for students, offer them the chance to apply content in real-world contexts, and engage struggling students in content through alternative approaches outside of classrooms, including internships, exhibitions, graduation projects, and apprenticeships.
\nHigh School Snapshot<\/p>\n

Students entering high school in New Hampshire stack up slightly better than the national average in reading, based on their 8th grade scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress.<\/p>\n

New Hampshire students headed to high school performed better on the state\u2019s own test than on the national assessment.<\/p>\n

Approximately 4,400 students did not graduate from new Hampshire\u2019s high schools in 2007; the lost lifetime earnings in the state for that class of dropouts alone are more than $1.1 billion.
\nSOURCE: Alliance for Excellent Education<\/p>\n

A forum last week organized by state officials, business representatives, and school administrators to assist in the effort attracted hundreds of individuals, including district leaders, principals, and teacher-leaders from 80 of the state\u2019s high schools.<\/p>\n

“Yes, we want students to work rigorously in a core curriculum of courses. But it doesn\u2019t always have to be delivered in the traditional Carnegie [unit] mode of delivery,” said Mary Heath, the state\u2019s deputy commissioner of education. “The whole point of this is to ignite that fire in students so learning becomes something that they want to do, not something that they have to do.”
\nConcerns for Future<\/p>\n

New Hampshire has a relatively homogeneous 62,500 high school students, and a graduation rate of about 77.1 percent, according to an estimate by the Editorial Projects In Education Research Center. (Editorial Projects in Education publishes Education Week.)<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not bad compared with the nation as a whole, but it\u2019s not as high as the rates in neighboring Maine and Vermont, at 77.2 percent and 80.2 percent, respectively.<\/p>\n

Fearing that its high school programming was in danger of becoming outdated, the state board of education and department of education, in 2004, convened a panel to study how to prepare students for the 21st century.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The work culminated in 2005 with an overhaul of the state\u2019s school-approval standards. Districts are now encouraged to support alternative education programs, distance-learning opportunities, and \u201cextended learning opportunities,\u201d in which students can get credit for activities outside of school, provided that such activities permit students to acquire knowledge and skills taught in the classroom.<\/p>\n

The rules\u2019 capstone is a requirement that districts set competencies for each classroom course, including those that integrate outside learning opportunities, and a method to measure student mastery, ideally through portfolio assessments or exhibitions. Students who meet the course standard earn credits toward graduation. The approach, which goes into effect this school year, moves away from the traditional Carnegie-unit system based on seat time.<\/p>\n

Though several of these features are being considered by other states\u2014nearby Rhode Island is phasing in portfolio assessments as part of its high-school graduation requirements, and South Dakota last week announced it would rethink Carnegie units\u2014New Hampshire is trying to unite them in one stroke. And it is doing so even as it negotiates a new state definition of educational adequacy as part of a settlement in a 17-year lawsuit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all being very careful that we don\u2019t lose sight of the gains that have been made or backslide on funding,\u201d said Mark V. Joyce, the executive director of the New Hampshire School Administrators Association.<\/p>\n

The school-approval standards got another legislative boost in 2007, when the state legislature passed a bill that had been championed by Gov. John Lynch, a Democrat, to raise the compulsory age of school attendance to 18, from 16. The legislation essentially made the provision of extended learning opportunities a requirement, and lawmakers also provided $4.5 million to boost alternative education.<\/p>\n

The push to make high school more relevant can\u2019t come fast enough, Gov. Lynch\u2019s spokesman said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s critically important for our state and the future of our economy that more of our young people graduate and get a diploma,\u201d said Colin Manning. \u201cBusiness leaders tell us that they have the products and have the customers, but they really need that skilled workforce.\u201d
\n\u2018Not Easy to Change\u2019<\/p>\n

Stakeholders in the state acknowledge that the redesign won\u2019t be a simple endeavor.<\/p>\n

\u201cHigh school, by its expected role in history, is not easy to change,\u201d said Mr. Joyce, of the school administrators\u2019 association. \u201cIt becomes almost an institution unto itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

One challenge is the state\u2019s relatively large number of high schools, most of them small. Only five have more than 1,500 students. While that arrangement has resulted in strong ties between schools and communities, smaller schools generally have fewer resources and time to dedicate to reform efforts.<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s forum gave educators from across the state a chance to reflect on best practices, discuss plans for putting the high school redesign goals into practice, and to work through specific policy obstacles.<\/p>\n

Some bright spots exist. The 800-student Laconia High School, in Laconia, this year began a program to assign each student to an adviser who will help to tailor learning to that student\u2019s particular areas of interest. And with help from a grant from the Quincy, Mass.-based Nellie Mae Education Foundation, 60 Laconia High School students have completed an out-of-classroom assignment, according to principal Steven Beals.<\/p>\n

Though pleased that his school has laid the groundwork for reform, Mr. Beals is modest about the changes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not in any capacity suggesting we\u2019re good at any or all of [these reforms],\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

State officials, too, acknowledge that their vision for high schools is a work in progress. One challenge could involve teacher contracts, which are also typically based on Carnegie-unit standards of time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is redefining the role of a teacher as a facilitator of learning, rather than a teacher who stands in front of a class of 25 students, five periods a day,\u201d Ms. Heath of the state education department said. \u201cThat whole contractual conversation is an area we need to place a lot of focus on over the next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rhonda Wesolowski, the president of the New Hampshire affiliate of the National Education Association, said not all districts have engaged teachers in the development of learning competencies.<\/p>\n

Still, last week\u2019s forum, Ms. Wesolowski said, was a model of teacher engagement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was fabulous,\u201d she said. \u201cOne of our core values is partnership as well as collective action<\/strong>, and that was at its best.\u201d <\/p>\n

Update on July 30, 2009: See a video of the King of Educational Quacks. Hear him bash conservatives. The State of NH paid this man thousands of dollars to administer student “surveys”. Yes you read that correctly, SURVEYS paid for as part of \u201cFollow the Child\u201d program. <\/p>\n

NH\u2019s schools are under attack and are in serious trouble thanks to these self-esteem types – nothing more than educational “consultants” who are snake oil salesmen for what is known as the products of the education \u201cindustry\u201d. Once again they are sucking the taxpayers dry while brainwashing our children.<\/p>\n

Russell Quaglia, self-appointed Student Aspirations Guru<\/a><\/p>\n

###
\nTranslation of ‘collective action’: Delphi Technique. This sounds like part “Follow the Child” and part “International Baccalaureate”, the latter program being one which REQUIRES community service and whose mission is based on the UN’s political goals, not academics. Whichever, the agenda is shrouded in the language of ‘reform’. Parents take note, and beware new ‘programs’ coming to your public schools.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

September 23, 2008 EdWeek N.H. Seeking to Reinvigorate High Schools One New Hampshire high school student fell in love with accounting while working at a local business. Another attended the recent Democratic National Convention as a campaign volunteer. And a third, whose relative worked in the state immigration office, researched challenges facing newcomers to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,100,71,23,50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles-nh","category-education","category-governor-watch","category-school-curricula","category-taxes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5801,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286\/revisions\/5801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}