From June of 2016 concerning the Achievement School District, now the Innovative School District (ISD): With just days remaining in the N.C. General Assembly’s short session, leaders on the Senate Education Committee have given their approval to achievement school districts, a GOP-backed model of school reform that may clear for-profit charter takeovers of low-performing schools.Committee Chair Jerry Tillman, a Republican … Continue reading The Innovative School District: Another NC “Reform” That Never Worked

Peter Greene, a teacher/writer who writes both a highly regarded blog Curmudgucation and regular column for Forbes.com, had a very good post this past week. It was not long ago that we had a state superintendent who used that kind of boogeyman to help his political career. Remember this? Mark Johnson ran on a platform … Continue reading From Common Core To CRT: 18 Months Of Educational Reform Straw Men

This past April it was reported that NC had fallen to 33rd in the country for teacher pay. The process that NEA uses to figure teacher pay in this report is not as fluid as one might think. Too many states provide differing data and then it has to be normalized against other data when it … Continue reading About That “But You Vetoed The Last Teacher Raise Proposal” Argument

Finally, the North Carolina General Assembly released its new budget proposal. Well, Sen. Phil Berger released his new budget proposal. Details of that budget can be seen here. Proposed teacher salary schedules are explained on pages 56, 57 and 58. Two tables appear that show the "raises" Sen. Berger and his party are offering in … Continue reading Sen. Berger’s Meager Teacher Raise Explained In Chic-Fil-A Terms

The public report from WestEd on the Leandro court case is approaching a two year anniversary and since that time the North Carolina General Assembly has not even passed a new state budget. This month two specific things occurred. First is a ruling by the courts. A state judge is warning that he may force … Continue reading Billions In Surplus & A Judge’s Decree – Here’s Why The NCGA Doesn’t Want To Invest In Public Schools

These past few days a lot has happened. There was continued "discourse" on the topic of Critical Race Theory. State Superintendent Catherine Truitt recently offered some insights to political cohorts on her definition of CRT. “It’s the idea that every aspect of American society is racist. That racism permeates every aspect of our society, even … Continue reading June 19th Is Juneteenth. How Would Our State Supt. Discuss This In A Classroom?

“Let me say also: You know the bills that have been filed about teachers, requiring teachers to post their materials online? When I taught in Johnston County … I used a virtual learning environment called Moodle … I posted everything in Moodle and any parent could access it at anytime. So, you know, get over the … Continue reading A Note To State Supt. Truitt From a “Bellyached” Teacher

I am almost three times as old as the average age of my students this year. I remember rotary phones, VHS, Walkmans, leaded gasoline, and the release of the first Star Wars movie. I remember the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of the Soviet Union, Columbine, and 9/11. … Continue reading This Teacher Has So Much Faith In The Class Of 2021

This week a judge told the NCGA to start funding the NC public school system as directed by the results of the Leandro case. But of course, GOP lawmakers balked at it. Sen. Deanna Ballard's words seemed rather straightforward. Now is the time for the state superintendent to make a public decision. Will she keep … Continue reading Pick A Side, State Superintendent. Either Rubber Stamp Policy Or Fight For Funding.

When I see a bill such as this which quickly brings people into public schools as classroom teachers, then it makes me think why this state needs to do this. Yes. There is a shortage of people to fill positions in schools. There is a shortage of teacher candidates. No secret here. But the pandemic … Continue reading North Carolina Can Recruit And Retain More Career Teachers When It Starts RESPECTING The Profession