Sen. Wooburn (D- District 1) made a claim recently on twitter regarding the quality of public education in the state of New Hampshire.
NH’s foreign born population better educated than our native born population?
Sen. Wooburn offered no detailed facts to back up his statement nor has he been engaged in the fight against the dumbed down Common Core education reform that’s been plaguing our public schools.
Was this a cheap political shot? Those of us who’ve been fighting for quality public schools in NH wonder where he’s been.
Is this his admission that Governor (now U.S. Senator) Hassan’s education policies are failing our children?
IF you live in Wooburn’s district, please contact him and ask him for detailed facts. Then ask him what he has done as your State Senator to oppose Common Core in our schools? Did he stand up against his own party and Governor to object to the dumbing down that happened under Hassan’s tenure? We certainly didn’t see anything coming from him in terms of speaking up for our kids in public schools.
If you live in District 1 make sure you contact him immediately (603)271-3207 Jeff.Woodburn@leg.state.nh.us:
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We are hesitant to endorse any candidate for office. Why? Because many candidates say they oppose Common Core OR support parental rights but when it comes to fighting for this, they don’t have the evidence to show they’ve put forth any real effort.
We decided to highlight some of the better candidates out there running for office. We want to make sure you are an informed voter this fall. We will be brining you info on candidates who’ve stood in opposition to our efforts and on the candidates who put forth the effort we expect.
We’d like you to take a look at one candidate for the New Hampshire Senate:
Rep. Ralph Boehm currently sits on the NH House Education Committee and has the record to prove he’s stood up for parents who oppose Common Core. He’s also supported parental rights so we’d like to highlight his record and encourage voters in Litchfield and Manchester Dist. 18 — Wards 5,6,7,8, 9 to get out there and VOTE FOR RALPH BOEHM.
When you look at his record (and we are only highlighting a few of his votes) you will see that unlike his opponent (Sen. Donna Soucy) Rep. Boehm has the record that shows he will fight for parents.
Sen. Soucy has not only stood against parental rights (she tried to repeal HB542 which is a parental rights law) she actively works against parents who are fighting against Common Core and for better academic standards.
NH Senate Dist. 18 — Manchester Wards 5,6,7,8, 9 and Litchfield.
HB164
Session Year 2011
Title: requiring legislative approval for the adoption of the common core state standards in New Hampshire.
HB142
Session Year 2015
Title: (3rd New Title) relative to student social media policies by educational institutions and nonpublic sessions under the right-to-know law.
HB1231
Session Year: 2016
Title: relative to school district policy regarding objectionable course material.
HB206
Session Year 2015
Title: (2nd New Title) establishing a committee to study non-academic surveys or questionnaires administered by a public school to its students and relative to non-academic surveys or questionnaires given to students.
HB603
Session Year 2015
relative to student exemption from the statewide assessment.
***Not Boehm’s bill but his amendment replaced the bill.
HB1637
Session Year 2016
relative to school attendance in towns with no public schools.
GO OUT THERE AND HELP HIS CAMPAIGN
Home Address:
6 Gibson Drive
Litchfield, NH 03052-2301
Phone: (603)860-6309
Email: ralph.boehm@leg.state.nh.us
PARENTS URGENT WARNING, you have a candidate for New Hampshire Senate who has been actively working against your children!
Scott McGilvray is running for New Hampshire Senate in District 16. As the president of the NEA-New Hampshire, many teachers are disappointed with the NEA’s support of Common Core. Not only did the NEA let the teachers down, this teacher blogs about the pay-off to support Common Core. “NEA has been the recipient of more than seven million dollars since 2009 for the purpose of advocating for CCSS.”
We do NOT need a rubber stamp in Concord working against parents, students and teachers.
There is a good alternative, J.R. Hoell. As a representative, J.R. Hoell has not only advocated for quality academic standards in our public schools, he’s been supportive of parental rights.
Rep. Hoell introduced legislation a few years ago that gave parents the right to opt out of objectionable material. Rep. Hoell has proven to be a champion for public education and parental rights.
Parents you have the proof so now it’s time to make sure you inform your neighbors and friends who really supports students, parents and public education in New Hampshire. It’s NOT Scott McGilvary.
UPDATE: Joe Duarte is running for Senate in District 16 and is a far better choice for voters in BOW, DUNBARTON, HOOKSETT and parts of MANCHESTER.
URGENT ACTION NEEDED:
Call/Write the Senate Education Committee IMMEDIATELY:
*David Watters — District 4, Dover
david.watters@leg.state.nh.us
(603)271-8631
*Kevin Avard — District 12, Nashua
Kevin.Avard@leg.state.nh.us
(603)271-4151
*+John Reagan — District 17, Deerfield
john.reagan111@gmail.com
(603)271-4063
*Molly Kelly — District 10, Keene
molly.kelly@leg.state.nh.us
(603)271-3207
*Nancy Stiles — District 24, Hampton
nancy.stiles@leg.state.nh.us
(603)271-3093
TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 2016: SENATE EDUCATION, ROOM 103, LOB
Public hearings for the following bills
9:00 a.m. HB 1229, prohibiting the inclusion of statewide assessment results in a student’s transcript without consent.
position — SUPPORT
information — This is a reasonable privacy protection for students. The statewide assessment is not designed as a measurement for individual performance. It was originally created for school district comparisons as well as school and teacher accountability. This bill prevents assessments from being used for a purpose for which they were not intended.
9:30 a.m. ***HB 1338, relative to student exemption from the statewide assessment.
position — SUPPORT
information — This bill is in response to increasing demand from parents to refuse their child’s participation in mandatory testing, including the statewide assessments that are aligned with College and Career Readiness Standards (aka Common Core). This bill acknowledges parents’ rights to direct their children’s education. If the student does not participate in the assessment, this bill requires schools to provide an alternative educational activity which can be as simple as study hall or free reading time. This bill also protects the schools from any penalty from non-participation. We already have seen scores adjusted for students who did not take the 2015 Smarter Balanced Assessment to indicate schools’ scores are not diminished by lower participation. Nothing in this bill changes the requirement for schools to administer the exam and make it available to all students for compliance with federal waiver conditions. The House Education Committee was supplied with examples of rewards and punishments that occurred in NH school districts.
EXECUTIVE SESSION MAY FOLLOW
New Hampshire parents, once again your rights are under attack by the Senate Education Committee.
The Senate Education Committee today voted 3 to 2 against parental rights (HB603) in New Hampshire. HB603 : This bill declares that a student exempted from taking the statewide assessment by the student’s parent or legal guardian shall not be penalized. The bill also requires a school district to provide an appropriate alternative educational activity for the time period during which the assessment is administered..
HB603 would put into statute important legislation supportive of parental rights to opt out of the Smarter Balanced Assessment.
We know the numerous problems with the new Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA):
1) School Board Member and State Representative David Murotake testified that Nashua teachers said this about the SBA a) totally grade level inappropriate
b) Seems the test was designed more as a psychological or sociological experiment, not as
a measure of academic learning
c) It is nothing less than child abuse for my special ed students in my classroom
2) According to Rasmussen: The Smarter Balanced Common Core Mathematics Tests Are Fatally Flawed and Should Not Be Used An In-Depth Critique of the Smarter Balanced Tests for Mathematics
3) Dr. Gary Thompson, License Child Psychologist calls the Common Core assessments: Cognitive Child abuse
4) Teacher in NY reports that the Common Core testing is child abuse
There is enough evidence to show that the Smarter Balanced Assessment should be halted in the state of New Hampshire. However since our Governor and her Commissioner ignore these warnings, it is up to the parents to step in if the school administrators will not.
Parents have the fundamental right to guide their child’s education and that is consistently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. However in this rush to chase federal dollars, concern for children is no longer taken into account. Yes parents, your children are now subjected to child abuse per trained professionals and medically licensed physicians so we can get our money back from the federal government. TALK ABOUT GREED.
HB603 is a valiant effort to ensure parents will have that right to refuse this abusive testing scheme.
Today April 28th, the Senate Education Committee voted “Inexpedient to legislate” on HB603. That means the majority, three of the five members, voted to KILL HB603 and deny you your parental rights. (Senators Stiles, Watters and Kelly) Why? Well as you can see in this video, Senator Stiles spells it out for you. She’s concerned about losing federal dollars.
Forget that this testing scheme may be harming children.
Forget that the Common Core math assessment is fatally flawed.
Forget that the questions are developmentally inappropriate for your children.
Forget that the Nashua teachers are warning parents about the serious problems with this assessment, Sen. Stiles makes it clear that her concern is over federal dollars.
So is she right? Does New Hampshire run the risk of losing federal dollars? And how much do we get annually from the feds? We all know how high our property taxes are each year and that’s where the majority of your school’s budget comes from.
On average schools receive less than 10% of their budget from the Feds. In other words, you pay over 90% through state and property taxes to your schools but your voice doesn’t matter. The feds pay less than 10% and that’s what Sen. Stiles is concerned about.
Since HB603 would put into statute a parent’s right to opt out of these bad assessments, let’s look at how that has impacted other states. Did they lose federal funding?
According to fairtest.org there is nothing to fear as Sen. Stiles would have you believe. States, districts and schools sometimes claim they will lose federal Title I funds if parents, students or teachers boycott standardized tests required under No Child Left Behind (NCLB). As far as we know, no school or district anywhere in the country has ever been penalized for failing to test enough (95%) of its students. Further, seven states (Utah, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington and California) have laws allowing opt out, and none have been sanctioned. Parents, students and teachers generally should not fear harmful consequences to their schools due to federal law if parents boycott standardized tests.
We’ve heard these threats before but where’s the PROOF? Where’s the proof Sen. Stiles that New Hampshire would lose federal dollars (OUR money) if we were to put in statute the parental rights we already posses?
Why are our elected representatives more concerned about pleasing the federal U.S. Department of Education bureaucrats more than the parents and residents who elect them?
We urge everyone to contact New Hampshire Senators and vote AGAINST the Committee recommendation to KILL HB603 and to support parents in New Hampshire. Senators@leg.state.nh.us
Parents your voices were silenced in the Senate Education Committee yesterday but you have one more opportunity to change that.
HB206 required school districts to adopt a policy regarding student participation in non-academic surveys or questionnaires. The original Bill required districts to obtain written consent from parents before they could survey your children on personal information including sexuality, drugs, alcohol, etc.
Parents from across the state wrote the committees and testified in support of this important legislation. Rep. Terry Wolf-R from Bedford watered down the language by removing written parental consent through an amendment in the House.
The watered down version passed the House and moved to the Senate Education Committee where more parents came out to support HB206 but demanded that written consent be added back.
We are sorry to report that in the Senate Education Committee, the entire Bill has been amended to a “study committee.” A study committee is where legislation goes to die.
The State does not have the right to walk into your home and gather information on your family without your consent. Why do they think they have the right to gather information on your family through your children without your consent?
There is still an opportunity to overturn this decision. Write your Senator and then send a copy to all of the senators (Senators@leg.state.nh.us) asking them to vote NO on the Study Committee Amendment and support an amendment that restores written consent to the original Bill.
Tell them it is their duty to uphold parental rights in New Hampshire.
Talking points:
1) VOTE NO on the AMENDMENT to send HB206 to a study Committee
2) Introduce and SUPPORT a floor Amendment that adds written consent to HB206
3) Vote to support HB206 with a floor Amendment that restores written consent
4) Their duty is to uphold our parental rights NOT undermine them
1) 9:00 AM 4/14 LOB 103 HB 323, relative to the administration of the statewide assessment program.
Please attend this important hearing on testing and OPPOSE HB323.
If you cannot attend, please send an e-mail to: Senators@leg.state.nh.us
SUMMARY: Why to OPPOSE HB323:
* Cements in Competency Based Assessments through state law
* Doesn’t allow “opt outs” for parents if the assessments prove to be problematic
* Adds MORE testing, does not reduce testing
* Makes it difficult for any new Governor to remove CBE from NH schools
* Further dumbs down education instead of focusing on literacy and academic excellence
* Continues to put the State and Feds in control of curriculum instead of local school boards and parents
* CBE is dumbed down workforce training that focuses on dispositions, attitudes and workforce skills vs literacy
* CBE reduces the child down to “human capital” for the state vs. educating the student to the best of their ability
URGENT CALL TO ACTION:
Many parents e-mailed and attended the hearing on HB206. HB206 AN ACT relative to non-academic surveys or questionnaires given to students that originally included WRITTEN consent from parents before the school district could survey your children.
An amendment offered by Rep. Terry Wolf (R-Bedford) removed written consent and watered down the Bill.
Many parents testified before the NH SENATE Education Committee asking that written consent be put BACK in via an amendment. That has NOT been done and we are hearing that the Senate Ed. Committee will be IGNORING parents and voting against written consent. This is UNACCEPTABLE to the many parents who showed up to testify in support of parental rights.
PLEASE take your time this weekend to CALL the Senate Chair (John Reagan 603-463-5945) on the Senate Ed Committee. Ask him to LISTEN to the MANY parents who want to be fully informed on these surveys.
Talking points:
1) Respectfully discuss your concerns about surveys given to children in our schools
2) The Senators received a large number of e-mails from parents requesting written consent from parents
3) This legislation supports local control in education because it’s the parents who will be notified and informed.
4) How can they disregard the large number of parents who showed up to the hearing in support of HB206 WITH a written consent amendment
5) They should not be protecting company profits for survey companies but supporting parental rights
PARENTAL RIGHTS should be upheld by our elected representatives, not undermined!!! CALL TODAY
You can also call this number and leave a message for the Senate Education Committee members: Phone: 271-3091
PARENTS in GOFFSTOWN/MANCHESTER/LITCHFIELD: there is an option IF your child is assigned Common Core curriculum that is objectionable. HB542 was a law passed a few years ago that allows a parent to REPLACE objectionable materials if they are assigned to their child.
The basis of this law was so that parents could replace a book that was assigned that might contain pornographic material, or any material that the parent found objectionable.
We know of one parent who has used this law to replace the MATH program his child was using at a NH public school.
Now his children are using a traditional math book that teaches his kids real math without the confusing and developmentally INappropriate math concepts.
IS is an option worth considering if needed.
WE also want to make you aware that Senators Soucy and D’Allesandro BOTH co-Sponsored legislation to REPEAL this law and take that RIGHT away from parents. Luckily that Bill was killed in the Senate after a few parents showed up and testified against it.
YES, that’s RIGHT BOTH SENATORS: D’ALLESANDRO AND SOUCY TRIED TO TAKE AWAY A PARENT’S RIGHT TO CHOOSE BETTER MATERIAL FOR THEIR CHILDREN.
IF you live in Manchester, there are options when you vote on Nov. 4th. The challengers to Soucy and D’Allesandro OPPOSE Common Core and knowing the history of the current senators, it would be best to REPLACE them in Concord.
Check out George Lambert and Eileen Landies who are both running for those Senate seats. The last thing we need is to send back two sitting senators who do NOT respect the rights of parents. We need Senators to STAND UP for our kids.
CONCORD – Nashua Republican Doris Hohensee said when no one else would step up, she decided to take on state Sen. Bette Lasky, D-Nashua, in one of the most Democratic districts in the state.
Hohensee, a longtime advocate of home schooling and public education reform, said opposition to the Common Core standards are a major issue in this campaign.
“We are seeing a coalition mobilizing against this because it’s bad for the teachers and bad for the students. We’ve got labor unions with concerns, school boards saying it should be delayed or done away with,” Hohensee said.
“As far as I’m concerned, Bette Lasky has done nothing about this and so my involvement will either move her to do something, or I’ll get in there and change things.”
