NEW HAMPSHIRE

education.nh.gov

"The New England Secondary School Consortium goals are consistent with high school redesign efforts in New Hampshire and with the Department's commitment to ensure that every student will graduate with the knowledge and the skills needed to be successful in college and careers of the 21st century. Whether they decide to start their careers after they graduate or continue their education beyond high school, all students deserve a rigorous secondary education that prepares them for postsecondary education and meaningful careers. Graduating competent students not only benefits our society, but also better prepares students for future careers and citizenship. Our state's collaboration with the Consortium will help us create a system that can build the capacity of all our administrators and teachers to better identify and address the learning needs of individual students."

—Virginia Barry

New Hampshire Commissioner of Education

Secondary Initiatives

High School Redesign

New Hampshire is deeply engaged in a vision for high school redesign that encompasses the creation of learning communities in which every participant is actively involved in the process of learning. New Hampshire’s goal is that each student will receive a rigorous and personalized education. Every student deserves a course of study that allows him or her to learn in a deep, meaningful and practical way. Not only do students need to know facts, they need to know how to apply those facts to new situations, how to solve problems, and how to expand their knowledge and opportunities. All students deserve a rigorous secondary education that prepares them for post-secondary education and meaningful careers.

 
Next Generation Learning Partnership
Since last summer, the Department has been working on advancing innovative approaches to K-12 learning known as "Next Generation Learning,” or NxGL. In October 2011, school districts, institutions of higher education, and others came together to learn more about Learning Studios and the emerging New Hampshire Network. Workshops engaged teams in what a Learning Studio might look like in a given school and community. The Department of Education also received a grant from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation to help coordinate this project and engage the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future in this work. Recently, the Stupski Foundation has designated Manchester School of Technology as one of a select group of initial high schools nationwide to join a newly launched Learning Lab Network. Through this new initiative, the students, educators, and administrators of Manchester School District will be connected to their peers nationwide, sharing lessons and building a body of evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of student-centered learning. New Hampshire is one of seven states brought together to advance NxGL principles. The other six state education agencies include Kentucky, Maine, New York, Ohio, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. These states work together with intensive support from the Council of Chief State School Officers, the Stupski Foundation, the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, and other partners.

 

Extended Learning Opportunities Project

Extended Learning Opportunities allow for the primary acquisition of knowledge and skills through instruction or study outside of the traditional classroom, including independent study, private instruction, performing groups, internships, community service, apprenticeships, and online courses. ELOs validate the learning that takes place out side of school that is youth centered and focuses both on the acquisition of skills and knowledge and on youth development. This project builds on the successful use of after school, and out of school time programming for enriching and expanding academic achievement.

 

21st Century Classrooms Initiative

A total of $3.2 million in federal funds has been allocated to New Hampshire schools to develop technology-rich learning environments as part of the state’s 21st Century Classrooms Initiative. These classrooms will be well equipped with computer hardware, software, electronic presentation systems, and rich digital and online curricular resources. Students in these classrooms will be highly engaged in interactive learning and higher level thinking skills, whether learning math, science, reading, or history. The use of digital cameras, interactive white boards, robust courseware, digital content, computers, and mobile learning tools will provide students with opportunities to collaborate and connect to rich and relevant content. Investment in core components for technology, collaborative planning, enthusiastic and well-informed leadership, intensive professional development, and IT support are some of the key elements necessary to transform these schools into 21st century classrooms.

 

State Scholars Initiative

The State Scholars Initiative is a multi-state business/education partnership effort focused on increasing the number of high school students who take a rigorous secondary-level curriculum designed to strengthen the chances for success in both college and the workplace. All students deserve a rigorous secondary education that prepares them for postsecondary education and meaningful careers. Furthermore, New Hampshire's Minimum Standards for School Approval require rigorous teaching and learning standards that necessitate the rethinking of the traditional high school structure. These standards call for learning opportunities that are consistent with grade level expectations, yet are offered within a flexible framework that offer a range and variety of experiences.

 

New Hampshire Equity Plan

The New Hampshire Department of Education is engaged in strategic planning to examine teacher quality, equitable distribution, and teacher effectiveness. The intent is to develop a comprehensive plan with measurable outcomes. The data that was used to analyze teacher quality did not point to a clear pattern of inequity in teacher quality among districts. There are inequities in the overall funding that is available across the state from district to district, but funding does not always correlate to student achievement and teacher quality. The most effective way for New Hampshire to ensure that poor or minority children are not taught by inexperienced, unqualified, or out-of-field teachers and thus to promote equity is to support broad based initiatives that improve the teacher quality in all schools and districts. All teachers need to be able to address the individualized needs of a diverse student population: English language learners, students with disabilities, students from poverty, and students with other special needs must have access to a core curriculum that is taught by highly qualified teachers.

 

New Hampshire Response to Intervention Model

The goal of the New Hampshire Response to Intervention Task Force is to lead the transformation of instruction in New Hampshire school districts in accordance with the principles and practices of RTI. RTI is the practice of providing high-quality instruction or intervention matched to student needs and using learning rate over time and level of performance to make important educational decisions.

 

Educator Information System

The New Hampshire Department of Education has implemented a new online system that enables educators to complete their renewal process for their New Hampshire educator certification, including credit card payment. The Educator Information System also facilitates connections between educators, courses, and students, as well as connections to institutes of higher education and educator training programs.

Department of Education Contacts

PAUL LEATHER

New Hampshire Lead

paul.leather@doe.nh.gov

ROBERTA TENNEY

New Hampshire Lead

roberta.tenney@doe.nh.gov