Common Core Archives - Granite Grok

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BANFIELD: Public Ed – Six-Figure Salaries, Rising SPED Costs, and the Questions We’re Not Asking

February 3, 2026 Ann Marie Banfield

Six-Figure Salaries, Rising SPED Costs, and the Questions We’re Not Asking Across our state, SAU superintendents and administrators are paid six-figure salaries to lead public school systems that are supposed to serve all students well. Yet year after year, public confidence erodes, student outcomes stagnate, and special education (SPED) budgets continue to climb. At some … Read more

Universal EFAs: Not a Good Idea

March 12, 2025 Doris Hohensee

Rep. Rick Ladd, Chairman of the House Education Funding Committee, argues that Universal Education Savings Accounts (EFAs) are needed because: A “one size fits all” system of education is not the best learning environment for all students. (House Calendar No. 15, March 7, 2025, HB 115 on pg. 13) Chairman Ladd knows exactly why public … Read more

Former NH Superintendent that Supported Dumbing Down of Our Public Schools

September 20, 2023September 19, 2023 Ann Marie Banfield

Bill Gates was a primary funder of the dumbed-down Common Core Standards and once said something about knowing if Common Core would work after a decade. Common Core was adopted by most states in 2010. We now have over a decade to see that this fad failed.

DeSantis vs. Sununu on Public Education

August 30, 2023 Ann Marie Banfield

There is a big difference between Governor DeSantis and Governor Sununu when it comes to improving public education. Democrats will claim that Republicans do not care about public education because they are the party of tax and spend.

Stop Blaming Teachers for the Education Failures at the State Level

July 20, 2023July 19, 2023 Ann Marie Banfield

New Hampshire public schools have been dumbed down for over a decade now. Even before the Common Core/Next Generation Science Standards, the State was using poorly crafted and dumbed-down academic standards for our public schools.

Dumbing Down NH Schools: Why It’s Happening

October 28, 2022 Ann Marie Banfield

I was not surprised by this bad news. As NHPR reported:

“Test scores released this week by the U.S. Department of Education show New Hampshire students’ reading and math test scores on the decline, continuing a trend seen over the last nine years.”

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SAU16/Exeter Administrators, Selling More Snake Oil to Spin the Failures of Remote Learning

March 11, 2022 Ann Marie Banfield

In the latest article drafted by school administrators in SAU16/Exeter, David Ryan, Esther Asbell, and Christopher Adriski try to smooth over the disaster they helped create in the school district.

Medical Staff Shortage Can Be Traced Back to Dumbed Down Common Core and Next Generation Standards

December 4, 2021 Ann Marie Banfield

I warned, that with the dumbing down of public education, one of the areas that would suffer would be, the medical profession. Granted the fuzzy math era hurt the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) field too. Common Core and the Next Generation Science Standards are contributing to the lack of medical professionals working in the hospitals because they do not prepare students for the STEM field.

While Superintendents are Dividing Kids by Race: Math Scores Falling

November 29, 2021 Ann Marie Banfield

Did your Superintendent mention this to you or your school board members? didn’t think so. I mean, they are busy dividing us by race! Psst…they can’t blame COVID!

Send Club for Growth BACK to Washington D.C.

August 28, 2021August 28, 2021 Ann Marie Banfield

Club For Growth will be hosting an event in Concord on Tue, August 31, 2021. My advice– SKIP IT. Tell them to go back to Washington D.C. and start advocating for the repeal of the Every Student Succeeds Act. (ESSA) That would actually be helpful to parents. This is a 1061 page federal education law that needs to be repealed.

How About A Meeting in SAU16 on Physics and Calculus?

August 22, 2021August 22, 2021 Ann Marie Banfield

The DEIJ meeting, aka the dog and pony show, showed the community where this district is now focused. HINT: it’s not on academics.

Rich Girard’s vs. Victoria Sullivan’s Education Plans for Manchester Public Schools

June 18, 2021 Doris Hohensee

It’s encouraging that parents and voters are finally speaking out against the radical agenda being imposed upon students in our public schools. Sadly, many school board members and administrators refuse to listen to parent’s concerns. They need to be voted out.

More Snake Oil Coming Out of (SAU16) Exeter

August 13, 2021June 16, 2021 Ann Marie Banfield

A third-party firm called “2Revolutions” is now in SAU 16, and someone needs to provide the public with the “cost” to taxpayers. When I filed a Right to Know Request to determine the cost, I was provided a sum of $16,000.00. That figure may have changed since that request was sent.

It’s Time for Public Schools to Focus On Academics.

May 28, 2021 Ann Marie Banfield

Commissioner Edelblut, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for bringing Ian Rowe to the State Board of Education meeting on March 15th. This was a wonderful presentation that I believe highlights the importance of refocusing on literacy in the classroom.

Is it a Bad Idea to Replace Classrooms and Teachers with Digital Learning?

July 14, 2020 Ann Marie Banfield

For several years, those of us who research public education noticed the push for placing children in front of a screen to do the work of the teacher. We’ve seen it with the push for 1:1 devices. And yet Silicon Valley techies have done the opposite.

This Rot we’re Seeing with BLM Riots Started in Our School Systems.

June 7, 2020 Ann Marie Banfield

Now that you’ve seen the mayhem in action, where is this coming from? Why does it appear to be mainly young people who are rioting and expressing their Marxist views? LOOK NO FURTHER THAN YOUR LOCAL PUBLIC SCHOOL.

“Study: Historic Drop in U.S. Reading and Math Scores Since Common Core ‘Debacle’”

April 29, 2020 Skip

That’s the headline over at Breitbart. Like anyone is really surprised that a system of learning and content that was never really beta tested would have turned out as awful as we all saw it to be? It was Edu-babble supreme and only succeeded in one thing – separating parents from being able to help … Read more

Where has Volinsky Been?

December 25, 2019 Ann Marie Banfield

In the article titled: “Volinsky calls for Edelblut to go,” (Union Leader, Dec. 18) Executive Councilor Andru Volinsky argues that Commissioner Edelblut has advanced policies that weaken financial support for public schools.

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Only You Can Keep Wakefield Common-Core Free

November 24, 2019 Steve MacDonald

Wakefield is holding another public session on a potential introduction of Common Core to its curriculum. As noted here, back in October, the town has – until now – shown no interest in the standard. Now it seems like something or someone is hot to embrace it.

Why am I not surprised: “First Common Core High School Grads Worst-Prepared For College In 15 Years”

October 31, 2019 Skip

This is the opposite of what we were told would happen with trillions of taxpayer dollars and an entire generation of children who deserve not to have been guinea pigs in a failed national experiment. For the third time in a row since Common Core was fully phased in nationwide, U.S. student test scores on the nation’s … Read more