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A Look Into The Lives of Homeschooled Teenagers
A Documentary Project
Mason Ember
Mason will share his homeschooled journey, and discuss his documentary project. He will also be filming parts of the AERO Conference.
Mason is a young filmmaker, artist, and lifelong-homeschooled 15 year old from the NYC metro area. His interests include music, urban infrastructure, politics, ecology, and storytelling. In 2024 he began production on a feature documentary about other homeschooled teenagers, their lives, and their visions for the future.
Live Free and Learn: Education Freedom,
the New Hampshire Way.
Kate Baker Demers
New Hampshire is unique in the nationwide Education Freedom landscape. We have the fastest growing and most popular program that is award-winning for effective implementation. In the free state, Education Freedom is not a theory but rather a core value held by the majority of Granite Staters. Join this session to learn about the unique aspects of how our NH Education Freedom policies were smartly designed to operate better with freedom & parent power at the core.
Kate Baker Demers - an innovator and education entrepreneur - has dedicated over two decades to advancing education freedom for NH families. As the Executive Director of the Children’s Scholarship Fund NH, she has implemented and manages the NH Education Tax Credit (ETC) Scholarships and the NH Education Freedom Accounts (EFAs), empowering thousands of families to direct funding to learning experiences tailored to each child.
New Hampshire's Education Freedom Account (EFA) program, praised by EdChoice for its effective implementation, allows families to use state funding for various educational expenses, including private school tuition, tutoring, and homeschooling materials, with a focus on transparency and efficiency.
Through the NH ETC, Kate and her team have raised and awarded more than 15 million dollars in scholarships to children in need.
A recognized leader in school choice, Kate has developed best practices for sustainable education freedom and advised policymakers nationwide. She serves on multiple nonprofit boards and was appointed by Governor Sununu to the NH Council for Thriving Children.
The Breadth of Education Options
in New Hampshire
Tim Carney
Tim will discuss the variety of ways New Hampshire Department of Education is supporting education freedom and innovation in the state.
After a 28-year career as a civil engineer, Tim has been working with the New Hampshire Department of Education (NHED) in various roles over the past ten years. Most recently, Tim has managed a number of alternative education initiatives on behalf of NHED. These programs include Learn Everywhere, Home Education, Nonpublic Schools, Open Enrollment Schools, and the Public School innovation program. Tim’s efforts have focused on implementing improved communication of the availability of these alternative education pathways to parents and students, as well as providing a clear process for vendors and School Districts to participate in the programs as appropriate.
Using Local Media To Tell Student's Stories
Annmarie Timmins
Annmarie Timmins is a journalist and former New Hampshire school counselor. She reported for the Concord Monitor for nearly 20 years and is now the education and youth reporter for New Hampshire Public Radio. She was awarded a year-long Neiman journalism fellowship to Harvard to study the intersection between criminal justice and mental illness. While her reporting on education includes the voices of lawmakers and policy writers, she wants to hear most from students, families, and educators who are on the front lines of education.
Special Virtual Session - Democratic Education in Times of Conflict
One Crazy School - Ukraine
Communication Skills Important for Democratic Schools
Joe Ringlehan
Joe will talk about basic communication skills necessary to facilitate democracy in our schools and in life. His talk will center on I messages and Listening skills that allow for an open and honest dialogue between parties.
Joe Ringlehan has been associated with Play Mountain Place for over 35 years. He started in 1987 as a teacher. Beginning in 1994 he began to lead the Communication Skills Workshops all parents and staff are required to take at Play Mountain Place. He also took the workshops to many local schools and community groups over the years. In 2003, his daughter attended Play Mountain Place and two years later, his husband, Joey, began teaching there. When long time Director, Judy Accardi, retired in 2021, Joe took over as Director to help guide the school into the next chapter of its history.
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