A little over three years ago, an extended editorial appeared in newspapers across North Carolina concerning public education. I happened to read it in the Winston-Salem Journal. It was written by Walter McDowell, a board member of BEST NC. McDowell, a former executive with Wachovia, talked of the dire need to transform education in North Carolina. … Continue reading Mark Johnson Wants To Reduce Over-Testing? Then Do Not Let the ACT Have This Much Power Over NC High Schools.

Malcolm and I have been to many West Forsyth football and basketball games – home and away. Most children with Down Syndrome are highly visual learners. Malcolm is no exception. He looks for familiar people and sights. It gives him his bearings and helps with social equilibrium. Malcolm knows the way to West Forsyth. He … Continue reading A Meaningful and Valuable Part of Our School Culture – The Titan Cheerleading Squad

“As God as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.” – Arthur Carlson, General Manager of WKRP, a fictional radio station in Cincinnati. It’s Thanksgiving , and I just watched this episode again and it makes me laugh at how it wonderfully pens human nature which tends to be full of lofty, sometimes monetarily-induced, intentions but … Continue reading “As God as My Witness, I Thought Turkeys Could Fly” – ISD’s, Vouchers, and Unregulated Charters in North Carolina

Those words were said by Amy Wright, a mother of two children who were born with Down Syndrome and the founder of Bitty and Beau’s Coffee Shop in Wilmington, NC. Last year, she was named CNN’s Hero of the Year (http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/17/world/amy-wright-2017-cnn-hero-of-the-year/index.html). If you are the parent of a child with Down Syndrome, what Wright spoke … Continue reading “I would not change you for the world, but I will change the world for you.”

Every so often, State Supt. Mark Johnson releases an “NC Reads Reading Tip” on his Twitter account to give suggestions to parents and guardians about how to help foster and greater love of reading at home. Considering those who have propped up Johnson as the state’s leader of the public school system also are trying … Continue reading Wayne County Does Not Want the ISD Takeover – Taking Mark Johnson’s #NCReads Tips to Understand the Wording of WCPS’s Response Letter

“If you are looking at the state to be innovative, you’re looking in the wrong place,” state senator Craig Horn, R-Union, told a group of educators gathered at a NCICU Digital Learning and Research Symposium. Horn then pointed at Moody. “That person,” he said, “is innovative.” (https://www.ednc.org/2018/10/31/rowan-salisbury-schools-moves-forward-as-renewal-school-district/.) He is exactly right. It's about the people. In … Continue reading The Misuse of the Word “Innovation” – It’s Really About the People

If the midterm elections in North Carolina showed anything about public education, it's that there is still incredibly strong support for public schools being fully funded and educational reforms being more regulated and researched. Just ask the following lawmakers: Bill Brawley introduced and championed HB 514, a bill that literally helps to segregate student populations … Continue reading North Carolinians Want Strong Traditional Public Schools. These People Just Found Out.

If you are a parent of a child in NC's public schools, you may have received the following email from Mark Johnson: It came to my personal email. I have never given my personal email to Mark Johnson. So how did he get it? There could be no other answer than his office took them … Continue reading The Latest Red-Herring Survey From Supt. Mark Johnson – Still Being Complicit to NC’s Testing Culture

Remember this from 2013? (From a 2013 NCAE Report) : It says, The Appropriations Act of 2013 (“budget bill”) strips away career status from teachers and school administrators and denies the opportunity for career status to teachers in the pipeline. Career status ensures an opportunity to be heard and a reasonable basis for being dismissed or demoted. When … Continue reading We Could Have All Lost Career Status Last Summer If Not For What We Did in 2013 – Act Now For Tomorrow

Stop extending massive tax cuts to corporations and wealthy people. Maybe we as a state should not keep extending more corporate tax cuts for businesses and people who make significantly more than the average North Carolinian. We haven’t really seen the trickle-down effect from that here in our schools. Do away with the Opportunity Grants. We … Continue reading Before a Policy Maker Claims That “We Will Have To Raise Taxes On People To Fully Fund NC Schools,” Tell Him To Consider These Measures First