Earlier this week one of Sen. Phil Berger's cronies in the NCGA tweeted this: "Billions of dollars in unreserved cash" is what he said. Then this is reported by Carolina Forward today on Twitter: It links to a report by Talk Poverty, an initiative from the Center of American Progress, about levels of poverty in … Continue reading Let’s “Talk Poverty” And Consider Its Effects On Public Schools

Remember that this state has not had a new budget in three years. North Carolina has one of the nation's most miserly unemployment benefit systems, never expanded Medicaid benefits financed by the federal government, still maintains the lowest minimum wage legally possible, and is one of a few states to outlaw collective bargaining rights for … Continue reading From “High-Octane Growth” In Public Education Spending To “No Comprehensive Spending Plan” In Months: Revisiting The NCGA’s Mission To Defund Public Schools

This past March, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson put together a "task force" to root out indocitrination in our schools. He even set up a website for people to issue a complaint on his Lt. Gov.’s official website. Here are the criteria for submission: What to submit: Examples of discrimination or harassment related to a student’s faith, … Continue reading Dear Lt. Gov., Have You Found Any Witches Yet?

This week marks the one-year anniversary of the death of George Floyd while in police custody. Next week will be the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre. Last week UNC trustees denied tenure to Nikole Hannah-Jones, a Pulitzer Prize and MacArthur Foundation genius grant winner (and UNC-CH alumna) in what is obviously a political … Continue reading We Have To Teach Real History In Our Schools

Interesting that in a year where lawmakers in Raleigh are trying to create more "transparency" in the public school classroom, they are trying to extend the voucher system to include more families so they may send more students to private schools where there is hardly any transparency at all. It's by design. It's intentional. It's … Continue reading Financing A Contradiction: The Lack Of Transparency In NC’s Voucher System

What Mariah Morris said in her perspective that appears on EdNC.org was both needed and welcome. As a recent winner of the NC TOY award, she has been an incredible voice for classroom teachers during her tenure on the State Board of Education and has used her platform as a positive space for public education … Continue reading Please Read What This NC TOY Said About Trusting Teachers & Indoctrination

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 pandemic and out current General Assembly's … Continue reading We Need The Arts And Humanities In Our Public Schools More Than Ever

Actually, there might be a couple of differences. There is not a school inbox full of platitudinous emails that ask teachers to take rigged questionnaires. No glossy flyers. No iPads to store in warehouses that were bought surreptitiously with funds that could have been used elsewhere. But the similarities between Mark Johnson's tenure as state … Continue reading Mark Johnson Is No Longer State Superintendent, But Not Much Has Changed

Today is the last full week for class at my school before the onslaught of final exams. It's been a rather a trying year for teachers and other educators in public schools. The adjustments, the outreach, the conversion of lesson plans to another format, the communication, the… you name it. It is all a continuing … Continue reading Dear North Carolina Policy Maker, Exactly What Is The Job Description Of A Public School Teacher?

One of the first items that the GOP controlled General Assembly attempted to pass in the early part of the last decade was the removal of due-process right for all teachers. Commonly called “tenure,” due process rights are erroneously linked to the practice that colleges use to award “tenure” to professors. Actually, they really are not the … Continue reading Due-Process Rights and Career Status for Teachers Are That Important – Especially Now