Today, The New York Times reported the following: "This week, the United States Department of Agriculture announced its final plans to lower nutrition standards for grains, flavored milks and sodium in school cafeterias that were part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 and that Michelle Obama, the former first lady, had advocated - "Trump Administration Rolls Back … Continue reading Thinking of School Lunches and Federal Guidelines

In an April 12, 2016 report from the Lumberton NC paper The Robesonian (“McCrory: Former teacher inspired pay proposal”), Sarah Willets quoted Gov. McCrory as being inspired by a former teacher to suggest a pay hike for teachers in that election year. He said: “Ruth Revels was one of those teachers who had a lasting impact and … Continue reading If North Carolina Wants to Attract and Retain Great Teachers, Then It Needs to RESPECT Teachers, Not Simply “Reward” Them

“The average wage nationally for people who hold at least a four-year college degree, as teachers must, is $66,872, according to the U.S. Department of Labor”(https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2018/05/16/comparing-your-salary-teacher-pay-north-carolina/617441002/). Below is the latest salary schedule for teachers in North Carolina. Now that a new teacher in North Carolina cannot get a pay bump for a graduate degree, the … Continue reading Look at Teacher Pay in This Way

If one thing is for certain, North Carolina’s school performance grades are a confirmation that student poverty levels have so much to do with how schools perform. Those performance grades also help to fuel “reform” efforts. EdNC.org released a new version of its Data Dashboard that allows users to filter for different variables when viewing … Continue reading Vouchers, Privately-Run Charters, And an ISD – Using Systemic Poverty to Privatize Public Education in North Carolina

Sometimes you can get a glimpse of the culture of a school by the amount of garb students, faculty, and community members wear that dons the name, mascot, or colors of the local high school. At my school, they call it “West Wear.” And I  have a closet full of it much to my wife’s … Continue reading The Best Spirit Wear You Can Own Comes From Your Local High School – And It Makes Great Presents for the Holidays

Let us praise great high school coaches. If you teach long enough in the public schools, you will be fortunate enough to come across some great individuals who coach sports teams all the while teaching these very players lessons of life and success even in the wake of defeat. And I want to praise great … Continue reading Let Us Praise Great High School Coaches

From our State Treasurer: "Did You Know? During 2017, the state spent $3.3 billion on medical and pharmacy benefits. At the same time, costs have increased 5 to 10 percent while funding for the Plan only saw a 4 percent increase. In addition, the state has a $34 billion unfunded liability for retiree health care. … Continue reading About That Letter From the State Treasurer to Teachers With the State Insurance Plan

I could not tell you how many times a student has asked me what my SAT score was – probably to compare his/her score against mine.  (To tell you the truth, I do not remember as most colleges when I applied for school took the best combined score). The problem is that there really is … Continue reading Distorting How Our Public Schools Are Really Performing – Raleigh’s Use of “Revisionist History” Concerning Public Education

So, are you a glass is half- empty person or a glass is half-full person? It’s a generic question. I know. Preferably, I would like to be around a water source and not worry if I had enough to fill a glass and just drink my fill. But there is another way to never have … Continue reading When a “Zero” Becomes a “50” And Other Miracles in Educational Reform

The GOP-led NC legislature’s 2013 decision to end graduate degree pay bumps for new teachers entering the teaching profession was not only misguided, but another wave in the assault on public education here in the Old North State. I confess there exist numerous studies that have shown that advanced degrees do not correlate with higher … Continue reading NC Should Re-institute Graduate Degree Pay For Teachers For Many Reasons