Okay. I have said it before - even before this pandemic but... I want the seven-period school day back. It’s better for schools. It’s better for teachers. But most of all, it is better for students. In years past, winter weather and Winter Break obviously dictate a great amount in the time I see students … Continue reading This Pandemic Reinforces That We Should Go Back to the 7-Period School Day

The average school year is 36 weeks. Most school systems operate by a semester system of 18 weeks each. Split those into quarters and you have four 9-week periods that traditional schools calendars utilize. We have spent almost an entire quarter in remote teaching and learning. From WUNC.org in December of 2018: “The General Assembly cut … Continue reading Week 9 Of The Most Intense Professional Development In My Career – Imagine The Renewal Credits All Teachers Have Actually Earned

By now most students who are taking an Advanced Placement test(s) in the next two weeks are feeling the stress, anxiety, and weight that these tests may invite. And by the second week in July they will have received their scores and with those scores can sometimes come a collision between expectations and what a … Continue reading What AP Scores Can Show and Never Will – Especially This Year

Nothing like using the current pandemic to promote a really bad education reform that has already proven to be terrible at best. From Terry Stoops at the libertarian think tank John Locke Foundation: Here's a closer look at that poll: It's from EdChoice. They do not really like public schools. Stoops says in this post, … Continue reading NC Does Not Need More Virtual Charter Schools. Actually, We Don’t Need Any.

“We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and restore its promise for all of our people. Together we will determine the course of America and the world for many, many years to come.” – Donald Trump, Jan. 2017. Those words began the inaugural address of one Donald Trump … Continue reading Philomath Is Where “Mr. Citywide, Hypnotized, Suit-and-Tied” Needs To Go – Trump’s Fable Of Reconstruction

There has been an incredible emphasis on the STEM curriculum approach in our public schools. And I fear that because of the limiting of resources and reduction of per-pupil funding by our state government that other subject areas have and will suffer for it especially in wake of this virus-induced economic downturn. There is no … Continue reading We Need The Arts And Humanities In Our Public Schools More Than Ever

National unemployment is now at levels not seen since the Great Depression. The state of North Carolina now has almost 14K cases of COVID-19 reported in this pandemic. School buildings have been shut down for eight weeks. We just entered Phase I of Gov. Cooper's plan to reopen the economy. We still have no new … Continue reading Thank God! The NCGA Has A Bill To Make The Rhododendron The State Shrub

Think of a student who has been elected the president of the student body and is a student leader on the panel to investigate infractions of academic honor codes. That student becomes privy to confidential information (answer keys, copies of the test) that would make his transcript look better in the eyes of the most … Continue reading Imagine The Scenario: Sen. Richard Burr As A High School Student

By now many of you have heard or read about the damning state audit report of DPI for the 2019 year that found some rather gross negligence of tracking federal grant money. Of course, Mark Johnson deflected all responsbility to others. It's never his fault. Yet, hours after that report came out, the Chief Financial … Continue reading And He’s Terrible At Scapegoating: Fallout From NCDPI’s Audit

The ill-timed and ill-purposed bill that Sen. Ralph Hise filed on Tuesday intends to remove all income requirements for obtaining a voucher to use in attending private schools in NC. As reported on NC Policy Watch this morning: A senate bill filed Tuesday would remove income eligibility requirements for the state’s so-called “Opportunity Scholarships” created … Continue reading So Sen. Hise, The Opportunity Grants Aren’t About Helping Low-Income Students After All?