A group of North Country residents gathered in the library of a school in Lancaster last night to talk about the future of the White Mountain School District. The forum was part of a series of community based meetings about public education. NHPR?s Doug MacPherson reports.
THE FORUM WAS SPONSORED BY EIGHT NEW HAMPSHIRE NON-PROFIT GROUPS, INCLUDING NEW HAMPSHIRE PUBLIC RADIO, WHICH COLLECTIVELY MAKE UP ?THE NEW HAMPSHIRE CIVIC CONNECTION.?
15-PARTICIPANTS SAT IN A CIRCLE. MODERATORS PRESENTED THEM WITH FOUR CHOICES DESIGNED TO IMPROVE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. ONE CHOICE WAS TO RAISE STANDARDS AND STRESS BASIC SKILLS. ETHAN LAPLANTE OF LANCASTER, A SENIOR AT THE WHITE MOUNTAIN REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL, WONDERED IF RAISING STANDARDS DOESN?T SOMETIMES COME AT THE EXPENSE OF THE BASICS. LAPLANTE SAID SOME STUDENTS ARE OVERWHELMED BY THE MATERIAL THEY MUST LEARN TO PASS STANDARDIZED TESTS.
TAPE ETHAN LaPLANTE 412 why are we forcing it on them? Teach them the basics, and let them carry it on in their electives in high school, but if you don?t teach them the basics than they can?t do any of that stuff, at all. :11
MANY IN THE GROUP SEEMED TO SIDE WITH MOLLIE WHITE OF TWIN MOUNTAIN, THE MOTHER OF A KINDERGARTEN STUDENT.
TAPE 3 MOLLIE WHITE 168 have a dialogue about what each individual child needs. Yes, it takes time, it takes money, but if you?re really going to overcome these things you?re not going to overcome them by standardizing and trying everybody into the same shoe. B/c none of us look alike here. :14
WHEN PRESENTED WITH THE IDEA OF GIVING PARENTS A CHOICE OF SCHOOLS, MOST WERE DISMISSIVE. THERE AREN?T A LOT OF CHOICES TO BE HAD IN THE NORTH COUNTRY. ONE GENTLEMAN THOUGHT A VOUCHER SYSTEM WOULD STIMULATE SCHOOLS TO EXCEL, BUT MANY THOUGHT VOUCHERS MIGHT DECIMATE ALREADY LIMITED SCHOOL RESOURCES.
ON THE SUBJECT OF PROVIDING SCHOOLS WITH ADEQUATE FUNDING ? MOST THOUGHT NEW HAMPSHIRE OUGHT TO DO THAT, BUT MANY BLAMED ELECTED LEADERS FOR FAILING TO FIND A WORKABLE FORMULA. COURTNEY VASHAW IS A SECOND YEAR HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER WHO GREW UP IN WHITEFIELD AND ATTENDED SCHOOLS THERE. VASHAW SAID SHE RETURNED OUT OF WHAT SHE CALLED ?SHEER STUBBORNNESS.
TAPE COURTNEY VASHAW, TEACHER 350 I am making 5 thousand dollars less here than I could one town over. And it?s bothersome. And will I be teaching in 5 years? I can?t say I will be. I love what I do, I love my students I love teaching /// but if I can go to law school and triple my salary, there?s nothing keeping me in education aside from my students and my passion for my kids. :23
THE GREATEST CONSENSUS DEVELOPED AROUND THE IDEA OF INCREASING COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
SEVERAL PARTICIPANTS APPEARED SHOCKED TO LEARN THAT MEMBERSHIP IN PARENT TEACHER ORGANIZATIONS AROUND THE NATION DROPPED BY 60-PERCENT DURING THE 1960?S AND 70?S.
EVERYONE AGREED ON THE NEED FOR MORE COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT. BUT LUCIUS MACINTIRE, A RETIRED BANKER FROM JEFFERSON, STRESSED THE NEED FOR THE RIGHT KIND OF INVOLVEMENT.
MACINTIRE SAID IMPLEMENTING CURRICULUM SHOULD BE LEFT TO SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS.
TAPE LUCIUS MACINTIRE Those are the people who know, and they?re the professionals. That?s what we?re paying them for. Therefore I think the public shouldn?t be overbearing in what they?re expecting because you?ve got too many opinions. You?ve got a hundred a one ways to teach this particular class because this one wants this set of textbooks and one wants another set of textbooks. :18
MANY IN THE GROUP STRESSED THE NEED FOR CITIZENS TO VOLUNTEER IN SCHOOLS. ROXIE SEVERANCE SAW TWO SONS GO THROUGH DISTRICT SCHOOLS. SHE VOLUNTEERED AT EVERY STAGE, BUT SAID HER EFFORTS WEREN?T ALWAYS WELCOMED.
TAPE 3, ROXIE SEVERANCE 099 I can remember one year /// 101 I go to the whitefield school and want to volunteer and they don?t need anybody. I mean they actually said, they don?t need anybody, I was shocked. :11
SEVERANCE ENDED UP IN LANCASTER, WHERE SHE WORKED ON A PROJECT WITH A GIFTED STUDENT. BUT SHE WONDERS IF THE DISTRICT SHOULD HAVE A PROFESSIONAL VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR TO HELP PULL IN THE COMMUNITY.
BY THE END OF THE FORUM, EVERYONE AGREED ON THE NEED FOR BETTER COMMUNICATION ABOUT SCHOOLS. BUT CHARLIE BAYLIES, A CONSULTING FORESTER FROM WHITEFIELD, SAID EVERYONE?S KNOWN THAT FOR YEARS.
TAPE CHARLIE BAYLIES, CONSULTING FORESTER. The number one thing on this immediate priorities fom January 17th, 1996, educational improvement meeting: communication. Number one. Now how much have we improved on communication? I think we?ve gone backwards on that one. :14
IN THE COMING MONTHS, SEVERAL MORE FORUMS ON PUBLIC EDUCATION WILL BE HELD IN OTHER NEW HAMPSHIRE COMMUNITIES. FOR N-H-P-R NEWS, I?M DOUG MACPHERSON.
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