Twins - better together or apart? – Mothers say the state should allow parents decide if twins share classes or not

Hooksett Editor — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 18:20:00 GMT

Whle they’re not in school yet, Melissa Dooley of Epsom is already concerned about where her 8-month-old fraternal twins’ will be placed in the classroom.

Dooley said she wants Isabella and Lukas to be together when they enter school, but later they might do better separated. That is not always a choice parents of twins get.

“Because my son, right now, depends on his sister,” Dooley said.

Dooley is a member of the Queen City Mother of Twins Club, a group of mothers of twins and triplets who have been supporting the so-called “twin bill” -- SB-78 -- through the New Hampshire Senate and House of Representatives.

The bill says parents, at least 60 days before school begins, can request that “twins or multiples be placed in the same classroom or in separate classrooms.”

It also says: “No school board shall adopt a policy of automatically separating or placing together twins or other multiples.”

The bill is an attempt to create a standard throughout New Hampshire, said Trisha Korkosz of Hooksett, the mothers’ club president.

“It makes everyone on the same playing field. You don’t have to worry if you move from one town to another,” Korkosz said.

She has 5-year-old twin boys, Elijah and Duncan, who will enter kindergarten in the fall. Korkosz has requested her twins stay together for at least kindergarten.

“Just because they’re in the same classroom doesn’t mean they’re sitting together. It doesn’t mean they don’t have different friends,” Korkosz said.

Carrie Tulloch of Bedford has fraternal twins -- Shea and Owen -- and she intends to split them up when they enter the Bedford School District.

Tulloch’s twins have different personalities, so, they will probably do well apart, she said.

McKelvie Middle School Assistant Principal Ed Joyce said Bedford parents are already given a choice.

“We allow parents the option of how they want to group their kids, in the same class or not. We’ve had it go both ways, but we do solicit their input on that because it is something we try to get right ahead of the school year starting,” he said.

Tulloch said that’s the way it should be.

“I think whether my kids are going to be together or separate for the first few years of schooling, I should be involved in that decision,” Tulloch said.

SB-78 is sponsored by state Sen. Sheila Roberge, R-Bedford, of District 9, who represents Bedford, New Boston, Merrimack, Mont Vernon and Lyndeboro.

Tulloch said Roberge has worked hard to push the bill.

“Even though she’s a senator, she’s followed the bill through the house and testified for the House Education Committee,” Tulloch said.

The bill was introduced on Jan. 4 and the Senate passed it on March 8. Now the House is poised to pass it, too.

With the wording amendments that the House made in May, the bill has to go back to the Senate before going to Gov. John Lynch for approval. Lynch hasn’t said whether he’ll sign the bill, Korkosz said.

Club meetings

The Queen City Mothers of Twins Club -- with more than 80 members from the Manchester area -- meets on the third Wednesday each month at 7 p.m. at the Manchester Knights of Columbus at 800 S. Porter St.

At meetings, mothers talk about all sorts of twin-rearing issues.

“People say things like, ‘Oh my goodness, which are the best sippy cups?’ I know, it sounds stupid,” Tulloch joked.

Korkosz said the club is set to celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2008. The group’s Web site is www.queencitymothersoftwinsclub.com.

Korkosz also started an online petition for SB-78 at www.petitiononline.com/NewTwins/petition.html. The petition has more than 600 signatures.

Both Tulloch and Korkosz have been to every hearing on the bill, and each brings their twins, too.

“They have small suitcases, like adult suitcases, and they fill it with things for them to do and share with their friends. And some snacks,” Korkosz said.

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Twins - better together or apart? – Mothers say the state should allow parents decide if twins share classes or not