Questions About Bow Education
To Mr. Paul Revere and the Bow Citizens Coalition,
FACT: The Bow High School teaching staff currently has 12 members with MA +30 years experience, 5 with MA +15 years experience, 26 with MA + some years experience, 4 with BA +30 years experience, 5 with BA +15 years experience, 13 with BA+ some years experience, a Principal and Assistant Principal with at least an MA + some years experience each I would guess and a Superintendent with a PhD + some years experience. That makes a total of 68 educators (of 100 +/- total staff at BHS) for 617 students which is roughly 9 students per educator.
FACT & QUESTION: Why can’t these 68 educators with their credentials and levels of experience that are also very well paid, I might add, to the tune of $4.8 million plus in wages and benefits (68 educators for $3,387,555 in wages & $1,364,146 in benefits) budgeted annually for Bow High School, develop a program to challenge all our students (and to supplement the current AP program for our brightest students) at Bow High School? That could/should be “the best thing since sliced bread” and a “slam dunk” all in one for the taxpayers and students I would think?
QUESTION: Why is it necessary to spend all this additional money outside of Bow on an IB Programme to challenge our students globally when we supposedly have all this expertise right here in Bow, NH USA already? This really makes you wonder if we are currently getting our money’s worth from our tax dollars if our educators cannot currently challenge our students?
QUESTION: What is this IB Programme really costing us, not just the obvious cost which they frequently refer to but all the incidental hidden costs like substitute teachers to cover the ones that go out for training for example? Do our current students learn or benefit from these substitute teachers, confusion and lost time in the classroom while our paid educators gallivant around the country being trained in this IB Programme??
QUESTION: Why are we currently focusing on the application process to this IB Programme of progressivism, beliefs, values & theory of a global society and not on the basics of knowledge like reading, writing, English language, geography, math, science and American History? Why isn’t a rigorous curriculum of education already in place in Bow High School?
QUESTION: How do the teachers at the BES and BMS feel about having most all the money budgeted for “professional development” in the school district being gobbled up by the travel and training expense involved with the Bow High School IB Programme and application process? Does this jeopardize or affect the education of these younger students?
QUESTION: How does an IB Programme like this challenge our bright students in the multiple tier level classroom system now in place at Bow High School where you have varying degrees of learner abilities in the same classroom? Will this IB Programme just add more confusion? Why aren’t we challenging all our students at all levels?
MY OPINION: All Bow students need to have a solid well rounded academic/knowledge based education and that is what the taxpayer is responsible for supporting with their tax dollars, not this global fluff.
MY OPINION: Stop this IB Programme nonsense!
Rick Hiland
Bow