News – Politics – Opinion – Podcasts
Remember Ruth Ward, who helped repeal the only RSA that actually required schools to bring students to proficiency in reading and math? She’s at it again. She has proudly announced a new bill that would allow the Claremont school district to collect its adequacy funds before attendance is confirmed, at the beginning of the year. … Read more
Many districts in New Hampshire have not elevated math education in our public schools.
Several parents in Pelham have reached out to me about a newly elected school board member who ran on a platform of improving public schools. Pelham students have been struggling academically for years, and teacher retention continues to be an ongoing issue. I know this personally—former teachers have contacted me directly to describe the poor … Read more
The financial website Wallet Hub just came out with state rankings for public education, and Vermont came in overall 19th out of the fifty states. Pretty “meh” on the surface. But the overall score was based on components of outcomes and safety, and purely on the outcomes side, Vermont ranks 25th. That’s more like a … Read more
New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte has signed House Bill 361, which prohibits local school districts from imposing any mask mandates in schools or district property at the local level. This bill prohibits school boards and other public education agencies from adopting, enforcing, or implementing a policy that requires students or members of the public to wear … Read more
Public schools are fully engaged in mental health treatment in New Hampshire’s schools. But does any of this actually help children? We now task school counselors and teachers with assessing and treating a child’s mental health while they attend school. There have been numerous problems with this initiative in our schools. We’ve found that some … Read more
Ian Underwood, a scientist and mathematician (not to mention a libertarian), breaks down why we should rethink how schools measure success and the impact it should have on education funding. Speakers’ opinions are their own and may not represent those of Grok Media, LLC, GraniteGrok.com, its sponsors, readers, authors, or advertisers. Follow these links for … Read more
This is the conclusion from Lucy Foulkes, who at one time, believed bringing mental health therapies and services into the schools would help students. She is now explaining why mental health services in the schools, are not working: The reality is more sobering. Researchers have now run many studies testing the impact of universal school … Read more
Buses built by Lion Electric are bursting into flames across the fruited plains. The fires have prompted a local transportation company providing bus service to a Vermont school district to discontinue use. After reported fires in Lion Electric buses across the country, Student Transportation of Vermont removed Barre Town’s buses for safety precautions. They reached … Read more
The New Hampshire School Administrator Association Executive Director, Dr. Mark MacLean, and Associate Executive Director Jerry Frew discuss the role of school superintendents and their staff, why their six-figure salary is justifiable, and their perspective on school funding. Speakers’ opinions are their own and may not represent those of Grok Media, LLC, GraniteGrok.com, its sponsors, … Read more
President Trump issued an Executive Order ending the era of Obama discipline policies in public schools. In the EO, you will see how Obama pressured schools (by withholding federal funds) so his policies would be implemented in public schools: *In 2014, the Obama Administration issued guidance pressuring schools (including with threatened loss of federal funding) … Read more
I saw an article in the Maine Wire this weekend about a case that is to be heard by the Supreme Court regarding Maryland parents’ challenge to a ban on opting their young children out of storybook readings in Maryland elementary schools about pride parades, gender transitions, and drag queens. I was scanning the headlines … Read more
As a matter of public policy, if the Democrat party is behind something, it is probably bad for women and children, minorities, individual rights, human dignity, liberty, individual responsibility, taxes, education, or the future. Whatever they call it, it does the opposite or something radically tangential to its advertised purpose. I was reminded of this … Read more
Paul Ingbretson continues the Claremont Decision discussions with a public Q&A featuring presenters Attorney Greg Sorg and Senate Counsel Attorney Rick Lehmann. Queries and points were brought by a number of N. H. State Representatives and other members of the public. I want to again thank Paul Ingbretson for making these available for us to … Read more
From local elections to legislative debates to legal challenges, discussion of public education in New Hampshire has been dominated by two persistent myths. The first is that more spending is the primary means of producing better educational outcomes. The second is that our educational outcomes are stunted because funding for K-12 public schools has “been slashed,” as … Read more
In a time where we need to help parents become even better parents, the Manchester School Board is going in the opposite direction. Today, the New Hampshire Senate Education Committee heard a bill (SB34) to support parental consent for Medicaid billing. In many cases, parents will sign off on Medicaid services, but services can change, … 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
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
If you have not read Part 1 of the disaster in the Merrimack schools, you can read that here. You will learn why Merrimack residents are pushing back on the school budget along with the poor quality of academics. It is a good preface for looking at the other problems in the district. Merrimack has … Read more