Where to begin? That recent op-ed by Bob Luebke of the Civitas Institute on EdNC.org entitled "Is it time to hit reset on public education in North Carolina?" might be one of the most condescending and intentionally ignorant a piece this public school advocate has read in quite a while. Yes - intentionally ignorant. Why? … Continue reading About That “Is it time to hit reset on public education in North Carolina?” Piece on EdNC.org

Educators for the North Carolina Virtual Public School just received this email from Mark Johnson. Very glad a solution has been found to keep teachers in their positions and for students to have these classes available. But I have to ask - if Johnson supposedly worked out a solution for this in a relatively short … Continue reading NCVPS Has a Solution For This Fall

The new deadline for hospitals to sign on to the State Treasurer's new version of the State Health Plan has passed. And there really is no change to the list of hospitals who are willing to accept the new reimbursement model that Folwell has presented in the same way as someone who is playing a … Continue reading Dear NCGA – For The Health Of Your Constituents, It’s Time To Take Up House Bill 184

In less than three weeks, my high school will play its first football game. In fact, before students even take a class, a game will have been played and put in the record books. And the band will be there with them. There is a tradition at the end of each game at our school … Continue reading In Praise of the High School Band

Sure. Most people here in North Carolina might think of the beginning of the school year as being closer to the end of August, but it actually begins much earlier. Well before students will begin roaming the halls to re-acclimate themselves to a bell schedule, teachers will report to school for “pre-planning,” which is a … Continue reading Actually, School Started Last Week

  North Carolina has over 45 colleges and universities that offer teacher educator programs. In fact, you can find that information on DPI’s website: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/epp/approved/. Fifteen of them are public institutions. Here’s a map. Many of these colleges and universities offer multiple degrees in areas in education. Now imagine if all of them were allowed to … Continue reading Dear Lawmakers, While You Are “Negotiating,” Why Don’t You Expand The Teaching Fellows Program To ALL NC Public Institutions

Like most every other year, 2019 has so far been a rather contentious, perplexing, and trying year for public school advocates. There is simply a lot working against us. However, that only means that we keep fighting for public schools because with the removal of the supermajority in the NCGA there has been progress. As … Continue reading The Top 10 Public School Issues In North Carolina So Far in 2019 – It’s Only August

One issue that seems to be getting lost in all of the turmoil in Raleigh is that there was a lot of talk about reducing testing for public schools this year. There has been the iStation contract debacle, the 31 days of no budget negotiations, a large veto, the Medicaid expansion standoff, an ultimatum to … Continue reading So, How Is That Reduction in Standardized Testing Going?

From today's News & Observer: Hundreds of teachers at the N.C. Virtual Public School are being temporarily laid off, costing those educators thousands of dollars and reducing the online options that will be provided to students across the state this fall. Teachers who are working this summer at the Virtual Public School were notified Tuesday that they … Continue reading NC Has A Teacher Shortage and Our NCGA Enables Two Low-Performing On-Line Charters – So How In The Hell Did This Happen To The Only Virtual Public School In The State?

There is no question that education is political. In the state of North Carolina, over 56% of the state budget is dedicated to public education, most of which goes to K-12 (and pre-K) education. It’s specifically stated in Article IX of the state constitution that the state establish a free and viable means of educating school … Continue reading That “Special Session” in December of 2016