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Origins
In 1846 the state of New Hampshire passed
legislation creating a commissioner of common schools. This
legislation marked the beginning of organized public education
in the state. Under the guidance of the commissioner, teacher
institutes were inaugurated. These institutes brought teachers
together over a period of a day or two to discuss common issues
and listen to speakers on a variety of educational Back to
Topics. Since most teachers at the time had very little training,
the meetings were valuable because they enabled teachers,
usually isolated in single-room schoolhouses, to share their
problems and offer one another support.
By 1853 the institutes had become very popular
and teachers were beginning to develop a sense of professionalism.
At that year's meeting a suggestion was made that a state
association for teachers be formed. The next year an invitation
was issued to teachers throughout the state. It read in part:
It is hoped and expected to give birth to
an association that may exist and do good as long as teachers
and taught have one duty left, one bond of interest to unite
them . . . In the association no party stripes or sectarian
division can enter. Its platform will be as broad as science,
humanity, and truth.
One hundred teachers attended the organizational
meeting in Concord during two days in June, and on November
27, 1854, the New Hampshire State Teachers Association held
its first meeting, electing John S. Woodman of Hanover as
president. Its purpose as stated in that first meeting was
to "promote sound learning through discipline, the interchange
of ideas, and the united efforts of professional teachers."
The association's original constitution addressed
membership in the following manner: "Any male teacher
of good moral and intellectual character," could become
a member by signing the constitution and "paying, in
advance, an annual taxation of one dollar." Article III
of the constitution however provided that "ladies: could
be admitted to membership "by courtesy." Although
members only "by courtesy," women, as early as 1860,
were presenting lectures to the annual meeting. One of them,
Miss M.J. Emerson of New London, spoke on "The Disciplinary
and Ornamental in Female Education."
The New Hampshire State Teachers Association
was one of the "founding ten" state education associations
that formed the National Education Association in 1857.
Women
Admitted
In 1876 the association's constitution was changed to admit
women as full members. They did not have to pay the association's
initiation fee, however. This may have been seen as the "gentlemanly"
thing to do for the "ladies," or it may have been
related to the large disparity in the salaries of male and
female teachers. In that same year of gaining membership,
two women were elected councilors to serve on the governing
body of seven officers. By 1879 three of the vice presidents,
one of whom was elected from each county, were female. It
was not until 1921, however, that a woman was elected to the
presidency.
Hard
Work, Low Pay
In 1866 the average weekly teacher's salary in the state was
$8.22 for men and $4.41 for women. There was reluctance to
hire women for the winter terms because much manual work was
required and classrooms were cold. The wood stove that heated
the school had to be started up early so that ink frozen in
the ink wells would be thawed by the time the students arrived
at 8:00 a.m.
The typical schoolhouse of the period had
one classroom for all grades, no sanitary facilities, no lights,
and no furnace. Pupils sitting close to the fireplace or wood
stove used books and handkerchiefs to protect themselves from
the intense heat, while those further away wore their heavy
winter clothing to try to keep warm.
Better
Teachers, Better Schools
One of the first causes the association took up was the need
to establish a state normal school for the training of teachers.
At its second meeting, in 1855, members called upon the Legislature
to take this action. Finally after 16 years of association
advocacy, members were able to celebrate the creation of the
state normal school at Plymouth.
The next major issue for the association
was that of teacher certification. Members believed that without
mandatory state certification the public would not look on
teaching as a profession. For many years resolutions were
passed at each annual meeting and sent to the State Department
of Public Instruction urging a certification requirement.
A school superintendent wrote, "to those who had incompetent
nieces who needed teaching positions such a law seemed arbitrary
and undesirable. For many years anyone could teach with no
other qualification than being near and dear to some school
committee member."
The first New Hampshire teacher examinations
were given in 1896 to 39 candidates, 31 of whom passed. Teacher
certification did not become a state requirement, however,
until 1909.
During its first 75 years, the association
was an advocate for many progressive educational changes,
including compulsory school attendance, the free tuition law,
free textbooks, state supervision of teachers and schools,
and a teacher retirement system. These issues were of real
importance to members, but some of the associations' most
valuable benefits were likely the camaraderie, support and
learning that took place at meetings. The titles of some of
the lectures given at meetings offer a look at what was pertinent
to educators: "The Metaphysics of Thought" (1858),
"Best Methods of Teaching Orthography" (1863), "In
What is the Common Method of Teaching Reading Most Faulty"
(1866), "What Shall Be Done With Pupils Who Do Not Get
Their Lessons" (1871), "Alaska" (1883), "Study
of the Civil War" (1886), "The Fascination of Greek
Inscriptions" (1908).
As the nation prepared for, and entered,
the First World War, New Hampshire's teachers took notice
of matters beyond the classroom, inviting speakers to address
the association meetings on Back to Topics such as "The
United States and the United World" (1912) and "The
Deeper Meaning of National Preparedness" (1915). In 1914
association members passed a resolution calling for "full
participation in the electoral franchise" for women.
Growth
and Change
Until 1922 its officers ran the association: a president,
a vice president from every county and a council of seven
members. As membership increased, it was recognized that a
more representative form of governance was needed. In 1920
the creation of an assembly of delegates was recommended.
It was voted on and passed in 1921, and since its 69th annual
meeting in 1922, the assembly has set policy for the association.
In 1925 the association hired its first staff person, John
W. Condon, to serve as a part-time executive secretary. John
H. Starie became its first full-time executive secretary in
1947. In 1945 New Hampshire's teachers elected Daniel MacLean
of Berlin to be their first NEA Director, a position that
serves as liaison between the state and national organizations.
Mr. MacLean was followed in that position
by Mabel McKelvey in 1951, the year she was also elected to
the presidency of the state association. Miss McKelvey was
later elected to the Executive Committee of the National Education
Association. One of the conference rooms at the state headquarters
in Concord, referred to by staff as Mabel's Room, is named
in her honor.
Government
Relations
The association has had a legislative committee, now called
government relations, since the 1920s. This committee, along
with members and staff, has worked to initiate and pass legislation
beneficial to teachers and education and to block legislation
deemed unfavorable. Perhaps the most important legislative
issues of the last forty years have been the establishment
of a sound teacher retirement system, the enactment of the
fair hearing bill in 1958, and passage of the public employee
bargaining law (RSA 273:A) in 1975.
The association began its efforts to establish
a teacher retirement system in 1931. It took 19 years before
this objective was realized. In 1950 Governor Sherman Adams
signed the teacher retirement bill into law. Since then the
association has successfully continued to seek improvements
in the system that is so important to the security of retired
members.
The fair hearing law (RSA189:14a) provides
that teachers who have taught satisfactorily for three years
in one school district are entitled to reasons in writing
and a hearing if they are to be nonrenewed. Prior to passage
of this statute, teachers with any length of service could
be let go and never told why. The cloud of questions which
surrounded such a nonrenewal often made it difficult to find
another teaching position and certainly impossible to improve
one's performance if improvement were necessary. Under this
legislation, after a hearing before the local school board,
the local board's decision may be appealed to the State Board
of Education.
Under RSA 273:A local associations and their
school boards can negotiate arbitration procedures in their
contracts to settle disputes about nonrenewals. However, this
right is currently jeopardized by House Bill 341, which would
eliminate arbitration rights and substitute an appeal process
so narrow that it would make teachers vulnerable once again
to the political whims and biases of local school boards.
Public
Employees Gain the Right to Bargain
The backdrop for the passage of New Hampshire's public employee
bargaining law was the devastating strike in the Timberlane
School District. Starting in 1971, teachers sought recognition
from the school board to have the association represent them
in bargaining. The school board repeatedly rejected proposals
for association recognition as the bargaining agent and refused
to negotiate working conditions or a grievance procedure.
Eventually, in total frustration, the teachers
voted on February 25, 1974, to withhold their services and
picket the schools. The school board in retaliation voted
to fire the teachers and had this endorsed by the community
at the March school district meeting.
The rage and frustration of this strike and
the teacher firings was deeply destructive to the community,
the schools, and the teaching careers of those who chose to
stay out. It paved the way for the enactment of the law that
gives public employees the right to organize and bargain with
their employers. The publicity surrounding the strike was
seen as casting a negative light on New Hampshire and according
to John Tucker, executive director of the association during
the strike and later speaker of the New Hampshire House of
Representatives, caused lawmakers to realize that "New
Hampshire could not afford to be a state with repressive,
regressive public policy in the area of labor relations."
The association, which had been attempting to win passage
of a bargaining law for public employees, worked with other
public employee unions, progressive citizens, and legislators
to gain approval of this legislation, which became law in
December, 1975. Since that time, bargaining has become a function
of local associations. NEA-NH provides support for this activity
through its UniServ program.
Change
is Constant
In 1854 dues were set at $1 for male teachers. Now, the annual
delegate assembly sets dues. In 1953 there were 1,450 members.
Today there are over 15,000 members. A staff of one has become
as staff of 34. Offices, originally a single, small rented
room on North Main Street in Concord, have expanded to include
an association-owned headquarters building on South Spring
Street and rented space for regional offices in Manchester,
Dover, Gorham and West Lebanon.
The organization has gone through several
name changes. Starting as the New Hampshire State Teachers
Association, it became the New Hampshire Education Association
and in 1982 acquired its current name, the National Education
Association-New Hampshire.
In 1981 the association extended full membership
rights to employees who offer support services in our public
schools. These education support personnel, referred to as
ESP, now represent 18 percent of the organization and are
beginning to play a larger role in association affairs. In
1990 the Assembly of Delegates instituted an ESP standing
committee. The creation of this committee gives a formal place
in the organizational structure to this segment of the membership.
Upon its founding in 1854, the association
determined to improve education and bring dignity and respect
to New Hampshire's teachers. Over its more than 100-year history
it has remained constant to those goals while expanding them
to include all public school employees.
A Hero for New Hampshire and the Nation
In 1985 NEA-New Hampshire members were overjoyed when association
activist Christa McAuliffe, a Concord teacher, was chosen
to go into space with U.S. astronauts to teach a lesson from
the space shuttle Challenger. Christa exemplified the quality
of New Hampshire's public schools. She was extremely proud
of her profession and her involvement in the association.
When the spacecraft exploded shortly after takeoff on January
28, 1986, the entire nation mourned.
New
Initiatives
In 1996, the association began an ambitious initiative, the
New Hampshire Foundation for Teaching and Learning. Incorporated
as a nonprofit foundation with its own board of trustees and
officers, the NHFTL will provide a permanent structure for
the improvement of New Hampshire public schools, free from
the political influences that have plagued previous school
improvement initiatives.
A strategic planning process begun in 1995
has yielded a new mission and vision for the association.
NEA-NH has adopted three program priorities in which to concentrate
its energies: public education and school support, public
affairs, and member advocacy.
As NEA-NH moves toward the 21st century,
it continues to work for the strengthening of public education
and for the benefit of its inspired and inspiring members.
Structure and Staff
NEA-New Hampshire is organized into 10 regions: Amoskeag, Capital,
Lakes, Eastern, Monadnock, North Country, Seacoast, Souhegan,
Southeast and Upper Valley. Each region has approximately 1,000
to 1,200 members and serves from two to 25 of the 213 local
associations affiliated with NEA-NH. The state association provides
a director and a part-time secretary for each region. The organizational
concept is "unified service," which is shortened in
NEA-NH nomenclature to "UniServ."
In addition to the UniServ staff, NEA-NH
has administrative, legal, public relations, research, communications, public education and school support,
benefits and other staff at its Concord headquarters.
NEA-NH is a state affiliate of the 3.2 million-member
National Education Association.
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