TODAY: NH Senate Education Committee Public Hearing on IB
Bedford one of two NH school districts in danger of losing its International Baccalaureate program to HB 1403.
Dexter High School may implement an International Baccalaureate program for juniors and seniors in the 2012-13 school year.
Courtesy of the Association of IB Schools
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It's been one of most controversial topics in town. In fact, it's been a contentious subject throughout the state and in many other parts of the country.
Since the New Hampshire House of Representatives passed House Bill 1403 by a 209-102, veto-proof majority, Bedford is one of two Granite State school districts (along with Merrimack Valley) currently in danger of losing the International Baccalaureate (IB) program.
Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and connected to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the future of the often controversial program has moved to the floor of the New Hampshire Senate.
Those who oppose IB in Bedford, and those parents and former students who expressed their support of the program quite vocally in front of a handful of local legislators last month, now have the opportunity to sound off as the Senate Education Committee is holding a public hearing Tuesday at 1 p.m. in the Legislative Office Building in Concord.
IB is currently in its fourth year at Bedford High School.
Jane Aitken
9:09 pm on Monday, April 30, 2012
I am not sure what right the school officials have to use the kids as political mules... but they have told them they could 'get a day off school' if they will come to the state house to protest this bill! They are using the kids to do 'electioneering'...
I guess they have proven the point of the opponents.
Dennis Taylor
12:08 am on Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Electioneering is a misdemeanor everybody!!! We taxpayers will pay for the teachers and physical plant tomorrow, while many students skip out. Why not send a bill for the prorated cost to each child for this decision to waste our money? This would be a great real world learning experience in which they get to protest, but not on someone else's dime. Even Thoreau went to jail for not paying his taxes in a protest against the Mexican war. Is a consequence too harsh for our liberal army of zealots--encouraged by electioneering teachers? As for the teachers in favor of IB, why not skip the middle man, and send 50% of your paycheck immediately to the UN for redistribution to the world's poor? This would be a worthy act of personal charity, not the forced plundering of the unwilling so that you can experience a "feel good" moment.
Dennis Taylor
12:12 am on Tuesday, May 1, 2012
To the moderator:
To be in danger is to be at risk of losing something valuable or worthwhile. The kids are in danger of keeping IB, not losing it.
Katie Bell
8:07 am on Tuesday, May 1, 2012
I'm SURE Patch meant to state that students who oppose HB 1403 have the opportunity to "sound off" AFTER school ends, not at 1:00 PM when the hearing begins ..... right Patch? Surely the local Patch wouldn't be actively promoting a misdemeanor, would it?
Ryan O'Connor
8:20 am on Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Thanks for the heads up, Katie. It should have said "former students." I just fixed the story.