With the effects of House Bill 17 from the surreptitious special session of December in 2016, Mark Johnson became the most enabled incoming state superintendent in state history. He has powers that even his predecessor did not possess one-tenth the magnitude of. And considering that he ran against her adherence to the “status-quo”, that’s rather … Continue reading HB17: The Power Grab for Mark Johnson From That Special Session in December of 2016 – Remembering Why We Marched in May and Will Vote in November

When Bill Cobey announced his resignation from the State Board of Education in July effective in September, it seemed coincidental. But maybe not. Since then two other members have submitted resignations from the SBE. Alex Granados reported today for EdNC.org: "Also since the resolution of the Supreme Court case and reorganization at DPI, Cobey, as … Continue reading 3 Members of the NC State Board of Education Have Resigned To Help Public Schools

“At DPI, we want to transform our education system to one that uses 21st century best practices so students and educators have access to unique learning experiences personalized for their individual needs and aspirations.” – Mark Johnson from “North Carolina Public Schools Accelerating into 2018” in EdNC.org (https://www.ednc.org/2017/12/20/north-carolina-public-schools-accelerating-2018/). The term “personalized learning” has become a bit … Continue reading The Myth of the Buzzwords – About “Personalized Instruction” in North Carolina and the Need to Invest in PEOPLE

When an NC lawmaker makes a claim about how well they have treated public education, the whole story may not be told – only a glossy version. In this season of electioneering and rather important midterms, it is important to know that the biggest part of the iceberg is under the water level where most … Continue reading Debunking 13 Common Electioneering Claims Made by Current Politicians Concerning NC’s Public Schools

Funded 120 reading specialists for the next school year at low-performing schools ($50k per). Funded Governor's School for a few years. Covered the budget cut at DPI this year. Funded a full restoration of Teacher Fellow Program for a while. Funded teacher assistant positions around the state for the coming year. Funded professional development for … Continue reading Instead of iPads, That Six Million Dollars Could Have…

Remember when Sen. Chad Barefoot said this in February of 2017 concerning House Bill 13? “For years, the General Assembly has been sending tens of millions of dollars to districts for new classroom teachers for the purpose of lowering classroom sizes,” he said. “The question we keep asking over and over again is, ‘What did … Continue reading Class Size Chaos: The NCGA’s Deliberate Distortion of the Truth – Remembering Why We Marched in May and Will Vote in November (#10)

Today Mark Johnson announced that reading teachers in k-3 will receive a brand new Apple iPad to use in classrooms this year. On the surface, this seems like a positive notion. But... From Travis Fain at WRAL: Reading teachers across the state, from kindergarten to third grade, will get computer tablets from the state this … Continue reading About Those New iPads From Mark Johnson – Finding $6M To Spend After Slashing DPI’s Budget

Every year athletes, schools, teams, and other professional organizations sign endorsement deals that outfit the contracted with certain merchandise and materials so that they can be promoted to the general public and help get customers. No one could be more suited for that type of deal than a teacher. Standing up in front of those … Continue reading What If Teachers Had Endorsement Deals? A Satirical Look at School Supplies

In October, the venerable James Ford of the Public School Forum delivered the keynote address at the North Carolina English Teacher’s Association. It was more than exceptional as Ford highlighted that what hurts our schools most are external factors that are not being dealt with such as systemic poverty. Part of his presentation included a … Continue reading The Secret Algorithms of EVAAS and SAS – Remembering Why We Marched in May and Will Vote in November (#9)

This is an actual Facebook post from a lawmaker in the North Carolina Genera Assembly. It deserves a few responses such as: