Schools, families and communities work together to help children grow, learn, and develop skills in all areas. There are many ways to ensure that children will have success in kindergarten, and when reaching out to young children they learn best through play. The NH State PIRC is offering Kindergarten Readiness Train the Trainer opportunities which explore before school entry activities that build stability and continuity so all children enter kindergarten ready to learn. 

Training Date: Thursday, October 6, 2011
Location: Casey Family Services, 105 Louden Road, Concord, NH

Click here to download the flyer.  To register, email: frontdesk@picnh.org or phone NH PIRC (603) 224- 7005.

Want Turnaround Money? Involve Parents, Duncan Proposes

By Michele McNeil on July 14, 2010 12:00 PM
Source: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2010/07/want_turnaround_money.html

After getting pushback from local education advocates who have been feeling left out of the school turnaround process, Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced today that districts will be required to involve parents and the community as a condition of receiving school improvement grants.

In a speech to the NAACP in Kansas City, Mo., Duncan said he would change the administration's ESEA draft to acknowledge the key role that communities play in turning around persistently failing schools. Even members of Congress have been critical of the lack of community involvement in the Education Department's four required models that are attached to $4 billion in SIG funding.

According to prepared remarks, Duncan said:

"You also made it crystal clear to us in recent meetings at the department and at the White House that the community must be at the table when decisions are made around how to improve struggling schools. And we agree.

So, today, I'm announcing that—based on your input and the very productive engagement we have had around the school improvement grant program—we will revise our ESEA reauthorization proposal to require parent and community input.

That means notification, outreach, public input, and honest, open discussion about the right option for each community. This is really common sense, and most superintendents understand this. But we also know this is very hard work, and it's a challenge to build consensus around these very tough interventions."

Duncan's speech didn't provide any details on how such a requirement would play out logistically, or practically. Already, the popular "transformation" model requires districts to "provide ongoing mechanisms for family and community engagement." The new plan would extend this requirement to all models, and leave many of the details on how exactly to obtain such engagement or input to local districts. The administration's goal is not to give parents and the community veto power over any particular turnaround model a district chooses, according to sources, but to involve them in the process as a school goes through its improvement steps.

Still, this is pretty vague language, so it will be interesting to monitor just how much punch this proposal carries, or if it makes the four turnaround models any more palatable to critics.

NH State Board of Education Adopts Common Core State Standards

Subject: NH State Board of Education Adopts Common Core State Standards
From:    "NH Department of Education"
Date:    Tue, July 13, 2010
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The State Board of Education adopted the Common Core State Standards at their July 8th meeting. They held two public hearings in order to receive direct feedback. At the June Board Meeting, June 9th, they discussed the English/Language Arts standards. At the July meeting, July 8th, they received feedback first on the mathematics standards and any additional comments on the English/Language Arts standards. Since February 2010 the NH Department of Education has received feedback from the general public, parents, educators at all levels (preK-16), and organizations representing a wide range of interests to help the State Board of Education make a decision on whether or not to adopt the standards for NH.

The Board’s motion states that they are adopting the Common Core State Standards in principle and that they are committed to “a thoughtful, orderly transition process for implementation and assessment to ensure that all New Hampshire students experience a successful and productive future.” The State Board of Education will expect regular reports from the Department on the progress of implementation.

NH Commissioner of Education, Virginia M. Barry, Ph.D. said, “These standards seek to provide a clear consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce. Common standards will help ensure that students are receiving a high quality education consistently, from school to school and state to state.”

The final version of the K-12 Common Core State Standards was released on June 2, 2010. The standards, in literacy and mathematics, were developed through a joint project of the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). The standards were developed to define the knowledge and skills students should have in order to graduate from high school able to succeed in entry-level, credit bearing academic college courses and in workforce training programs. They are intended to be clear, rigorous, and to build on the strengths of current state standards, in order to ensure that all students are prepared to succeed in our global society.

The Department will support districts in the alignment of our NH standards to the Common Core Standards and in the transition from NECAP to a new assessment based on the Common Core. This process will happen over the next five years.

For more information on the Common Core Standards and New Hampshire’s transition process, including support documents, go to http://www.education.nh.gov/spotlight/k12_ccss.htm .

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