Her Excellency Governor Kelly A. Ayotte
and the Honorable Executive Council
State House
Concord, NH 03301
Gov. Ayotte and Members of the Council,
Thank you for taking my testimony today. My name is Debrah Howes.
I am president of the American Federation of Teachers – New Hampshire. Our 3500 members across the state work in PreK through 12 public schools as educators and school staff, in our public universities as faculty and in our cities and towns as public employees. We educate, support and assist tens of thousands of public school students in their schools every day across the Granite State.
AFT-NH is looking forward to learning more about the nominee for Commissioner of Education Caitlin Davis and her view of how the commissioner should lead the Department of Education. Because of her extensive background, working diligently and successfully in various divisions within the NH DOE, and her reputation of fostering strong, cooperative working relationships with the Granite State’s public school districts, we feel she is a candidate uniquely suited to lead the department and support our public school educators and students in these difficult times.
As we know, most Granite State families choose to send their students to the local neighborhood public school because they know and trust the staff who work there. Those families rely on that public school to help their child to learn and thrive. Those students, families, public school educators and school staff all deserve a Commissioner of Education who is dedicated to helping all Granite State public schools meet students’ needs so that they can learn and thrive.
We need a Commissioner of Education who has an accurate and clear eyed view of how students are currently learning, and teachers are teaching in our Granite State public schools. We are encouraged that Ms. Davis, through her background in a variety of roles in the department and her collaborative approach with school districts, understands that our public school classrooms are not “one size fits all,” but incorporate differentiated instruction, student inquiry, hands on learning, Socratic method and student choice. For too long we have heard from a commissioner who inaccurately described our public school classrooms as a lecture only model, teach to the middle, devoid of any interest or imagination for students. To be clear, Granite State public school classrooms don’t look like this, and certainly haven’t for at least a quarter of a century, possibly more. A commissioner with a more accurate view of real, contemporary, public-school classrooms will be helpful so we direct attention where it belongs.
Public schools are not perfect. The opportunity for a robust public school education is not equally afforded to every student across the Granite State, even though it is right guaranteed in the state constitution. Using data to identify where more support is needed, then advocating for additional State funding so the students in those schools get the robust public education have a right to is a role we hope to see the Commission of Education playing.
The next commissioner will also have a much bigger role in the disbursement of federal funds. Under the new state block system that seems to be working its way down from Washington it will be more important than ever that the new commissioner assures that funds are getting to public schools to support students and learning as intended.
Teachers should have the support of the Department of Education. They should be on the same team, working together to figure out what is best for New Hampshire’s students. When there is a new law to implement, we need clear rulemaking and technical advisories to allow us to know what is now required or prohibited. The past decade, that hasn’t always been the case.
Teachers and school staff also want to genuinely be listened to about the work they do. When the department undertook its recent revision of the Minimum Standards for Public Schools, there was no plan to seek the input of public school teachers, administrators or other school staff as part of the drafting process. We hope the inclusion of teachers is more intentional when the process of rewriting the many outdated curriculum frameworks begins under the new commissioner.
AFT-NH and its members are looking forward to hearing about the plans for the future of public education in New Hampshire and hopefully a future where educators are not looked at as the adversaries but partners and professionals. Specifically, we are looking for educators to be informed of rule changes AND have the opportunity for meaningful involvement, not just being told about them after decisions have been made.
Additionally, we are looking for a department that does not look to intimidate educators or administration and overstep their role by reaching into local issues.
We look forward to hearing Ms. Davis address these and other issues and look forward to hearing more about her plans for the Department of Education.
Thank you,
Debrah Howes,
President, AFT-New Hampshire