News – Politics – Opinion – Podcasts
What did we learn from the Universal School Choice HB115 hearing? More importantly, WHY do I, as a Veteran Home Educator and Home Education Advocate in NH, care so much? Well, folks, I’ll tell you. The politics of this thing are ugly. Education Freedom Accounts and “School Choice” are ideas that Republicans nationwide invented in … Read more
I hope taxpayers aren’t covering the cost of admission. The NEA is the largest labor union in the US and, therefore, the largest teachers union, so when the NEA in NH announces a teacher’s conference, you’d be right to wonder what they want teachers to know. If you happen to be a member of the … Read more
Good Morning, Commissioner Edelblut, Senators Abbas and Lang, I am writing to you about the Special Education shortfalls in our state. As an older special needs mom with strong connections to the NH disability community and after reading the following article and getting a message from my Senator, Daryl Abbas, I have some major concerns. … Read more
Yesterday, there was a hearing in Concord to expand the EFA (School Choice) program. The EFA program allows families to use state tax money, and take that to an alternative school if needed. It opens up options for families who want an alternative education for their children. Here is a link to the proposed legislation. … Read more
Dear Friends of Classical Education, We are pleased to announce that we have created the Acta Non Verba Foundation, a charity whose mission is to provide financial assistance and mentoring to new and early stage private and public classical schools. The rapid growth of classical education in the United States demonstrates that American parents want … Read more
HB 115-FN – Universal eligibility for the Education Freedom Account program Parents are frustrated with public schools. Rightly so. The state legislature has destroyed them with costly and controversial regulations, resulting in high property taxes and no voice in our public schools. The legislature accepted federal bribes on an ongoing basis to implement “standards-based learning,” … Read more
Merrimack is using three English Language Arts programs, however, one of them causes emotional harm to children. According to the lawsuit against Wit & Wisdom, parents reported that their children had suffered psychological harm because of the Critical Race Theory focus in Wit&Wisdom. All of this was reported here. Now that parents have begun questioning … Read more
My guests are Jody and Ian Underwood. The topic is education, Public, private, Homeschool, charters, funding, including EFAs, and more. From unconstitutional monopiles to Claremont, from 5 feet to 30,000 feet, we fit it all in one hour. Production note: I’m still futzing with the program details: lighting, framing, logo, splash, music, all of it. … Read more
Suppose we ask a very basic question: Under what conditions should we give tax money to, or spend tax money on, people who can afford to get along without it? We don’t give LIHEAP subsidies to people who can already afford to heat their homes. We don’t give Section 8 subsidies to people … Read more
After describing the numerous problems in the Merrimack schools with their science and SEL programs, now is a good time to look at one of the English Language Arts programs used in the school. Oddly enough, it was mentioned during the budget committee meeting that Merrimack chose three E/LA programs for the students. One of … Read more
Republicans went from “EFAs will help low-income, urban kids get out of failing public schools” to “Universal School Choice” so fast, I’m not sure what happened to the so-called conservatives. Political pressure? Are any of you voters asking hard questions or understanding the program enough to truly support Republicans removing the income requirement? Taxpayer funded … Read more
Then it Became Condescending and Orwellian So “Bard” was one of the names for Google’s earlier Artificial Intelligence forays, and I decided, given what others were doing then, to “test” it a bit. The common complaint, back in its early days (otherwise called January 2024), was that it would not answer direct questions asked by … Read more
From the moment the New Hampshire State Board of Education voted to adopt the Common Core Math Standards in 2010, I knew it would be a disaster. Fourteen years later, we see the proof. Schools across America still use Common Core-aligned programs in their schools because those math programs align with their state academic standards. … Read more
As we reach the quarter-century mark in the new millennium, it’s worth looking back on what the politics of this era have done for (or, spoiler alert, “to”) Vermont. First, some important historical context: The last time Vermont Republicans had a majority in the Senate was 1996. The last time Vermont Republicans had a majority … Read more
It’s that time of the year again when the School and Town budgets are presented to taxpayers at the town meetings. This is the time to ensure you are part of the process so your elected representatives understand what you expect from them. Pembroke voters rejected a $3 million dollar school budget last year, indicating … Read more
In 2024, the Green Mountain State saw education costs, aka property taxes, rise more than 13%. All while academic performance continued to decline. The 13% rise could have been higher had the tax rate not been bought down with one-time funds. The low staff/student ratio, increased compensation costs, the Legislature’s incentivizing local school spending, and … Read more
After reading Commissioner Edelblut’s Opinion Editorial on the value of New Hampshire’s Education Freedom Accounts, I felt compelled to share my family’s story. Back in 2002, we were living in Windham, and I was homeschooling our three children, ages 6, 4 and 3. My husband and I had planned to continue homeschooling as long as … Read more
Thanks to all of you who supported EdOpt during our inaugural year! We started Education Options in April. In July our website was ready and we got 501c3 status. We hosted or co-hosted 5 expos around the state in August and December. We have a rich set of education choices in New Hampshire, and that … Read more
Act 183 establishing The Commission on the Future of Public Education in Vermont (a name almost as convoluted as the system it’s supposed to reform) is charged by law to, among other tasks, submit “a written report containing its preliminary findings and recommendations, including short-term cost containment considerations for the 2025 legislative session, [emphasis added] on or … Read more
NH doesn’t do too badly in this roundup – tied for 4th at 44%. Education pays, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics, found out in data published earlier this year. For every level of education completed, Americans earn more and face a lower risk of unemployment. So where have Americans got this figured out? We map the … Read more