Education Reformers Alert

[Rosie the Riveter]

For a little background -- Students from Bedford who in the past had attended a Manchester High School, West, are leaving Manchester, starting next year, to attend their new Bedford High School.

One proposal that has surfaced from the West High School redesign committee is to make the Manchester High Schools, schools of choice. By creating academies, like a performing arts academy, science and technology academies, and a lab school etc. The district would encourage students from all over Manchester and the surrounding tuitioning towns to choose to attend West because of it's unique programs rather than forcing students to attend their assigned school.

I understand that this does not solve all the problems of the education system in general, but I know that giving parents and their children a choice of what school they attend rather than assign them to attend their neighborhood school is a small step in the right direction. History has shown that when schools of choice are introduced to a district all the schools in the area improve because of the increased competition.

I would encourage anyone that is a proponent of school choice to join me at the public hearing March 21 at 7PM at the Manchester school district offices @ 286 Commercial Street, Manchester, NH to speak in favor of making West, and by default the other high schools in Manchester, schools of choice.

[error]

If we show up, do we have to speak?

[Rosie the Riveter]

If we show up, do we have to speak?

Nope, you don't have speak -- you can just applaud for me when I speak

[Lloyd Danforth]

Mike.  Don't forget t point at the podium and yell: "There's Rosie!"

[Rosie the Riveter]

Hey -- don't even think about it --  I gotta hang on to my street cred. I think there is actually a chance that they will put these academies/magnet schools in place with the right amount of public support.  Now, I just have to make sure they see that support -- back to my mission -- of rallying my ed. reform troops -- maybe I'll see you there.

~Kate

[ny2nh]

Kate - I'll do my best to get there....but Thursday there are some critical votes in Concord. The Education Committee will vote on the Education Adequacy bills and the Judiciary Committee is voting on HCR1 and HR8 - Greg Sorg's request to the court to explain how they came up with the Claremont decisions. That might mean I'm on the phone Wednesday night.

On that note - I will liekly need to flood the newspapers with Letters to the Editor on Monday - so if anyone can help me out, please email me at tsimmons @ theNHadvantage . com

Thanks!

[Rochelle]

Awesome. I'd love to go. I get off work at 7:00, though, would it still be going on at like 7:30?

My former hometown had school choice--it was an interesting system, but deifnitely better than mandatory assignment.

[Rosie the Riveter]

I could not believe it!! I was the only speaker at this public forum!!

I want to say, Thanks! to my nhfree buddies that came to applaud and back me up -- But the parents in this town need a real kick in the pants. They had the chance to advocate for school choice but no one did, except me, and my kids don't even attend the public schools.

OK-- the public forum was not well publicized. I saw it in the union leader months ago and only once, but man, 17,000 students in the district and there were only a handful of people on hand for the forum and all except like two came because I asked them too. 

I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I'm sure the school district doesn't really want to hear from parents so it makes sense to hold a forum and not tell anyone about it -- I was interviewed by the UL and the Manch Express so I'll look forward to seeing the misquotes in tomorrows paper.

Baahh- I'm in a bad mood now 

[error]

Sorry I didn't make it. UPS FINALLY delivered the last of my stuff and I've been busy unpacking.

[ny2nh]

Even though she was the only speaker, Kate was great....as expected. Like she said, how sad that more parents aren't interested in this. I only knew about it because Matt emailed me that Kate was planning to speak.

The UL article this morning says the committee wants to recommend redistricting....including reorganizing the grades so that 4th graders arein the middle school and 7th graders are in the high school. That seems absurd. It also mentions that the committee will meet with teachers this afternoon to discuss their concerns. Why couldn't their concerns be discussed at the public hearing so that the public would know what the concerns are?

[Tom Sawyer]

Even though she was the only speaker, Kate was great....as expected. Like she said, how sad that more parents aren't interested in this. I only knew about it because Matt emailed me that Kate was planning to speak.

The UL article this morning says the committee wants to recommend redistricting....including reorganizing the grades so that 4th graders arein the middle school and 7th graders are in the high school. That seems absurd. It also mentions that the committee will meet with teachers this afternoon to discuss their concerns. Why couldn't their concerns be discussed at the public hearing so that the public would know what the concerns are?

7th graders in High School... are they out of their minds. 

[d_goddard]

for posterity

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[Rosie the Riveter]

 

[Rocketman]

Rosie rulez!

[error]

+1 for the Matrix reference.

West High: 9 people

By ERIC BAXTER
ebaxter@manchexpress.com

Last night the plan to hammer out a gold-standard plan for West High School?s future became more of a search for the golden city of El Dorado, with a solution ever fading into the distance.

A lackluster public turnout at the Future of West High School Committee last night was followed by the decision by the committee to not take a firm  stance on any one of several plans floated by subcommittees.

?I just don?t know,? said Frank Bass, committee chairman, of the what will need to be done to secure a viable future for the school.

Instead, the committee will be going before the Board of School Committee at its regular meeting next month and asking for an educational consultant to provide better insight into the problems, as well as looking for a way to blend all the ideas into a major plan for possible use by the whole district.

?I think this will be a great opportunity for the schools,? Bass said.

Three major plans were essayed for consideration: a learning academies plan, straight redistricting and a reconfiguration of West Side schools to  blend middle and high schools.

A survey sent out by the district to the middle and high school parents and students received tallies that indicated most were against the academies ideas, as well as the other two.

Kate Richards, a Manchester resident and mother and the only speaker at the forum, said she was in favor of the academies model, where smaller schools catering to specific interests, like performing arts or technology are used.

She said creating academies at West would attract more students and prompt the other schools to better themselves in response.

?The door of opportunity is open, (the district) just has to walk through it,? Richards said.

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