We conclude that teacher assistants are a cost-effective means of raising student achievement, especially in reading. North Carolina has over 7400 fewer teacher assistants than it did ten years ago. Let me repeat: North Carolina has over 7400 fewer teacher assistants than it did ten years ago. When study after study published by leading education scholars … Continue reading This New Year Is An Opportune Time To Talk About Investing In More Teacher Assistants

Long before Mark Johnson and Catherine Truitt were elected state superintendent, people like Phil Berger and those he controlled began to institute “reforms” into public education without fear of reprisal. Those reforms turned a once progressive state system of public education into one of regression. Eliminating longevity pay, taking away graduate degree pay and career … Continue reading New Year’s Resolution: Clean The “Privatization Petri Dish” That North Carolina Has Become

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 that continues here in the Old North State. And the very person who has influenced more policy on public education since 2013, Sen. … Continue reading Here’s A Way To Recruit & Retain Great Teachers In NC – Restore Graduate Degree Pay

From the May 6th, 2021 N&O: “This bill creates an avenue for teachers to be able to utilize their personal leave benefit without being docked $50 a day from their pay,” Rep. Jeffrey Elmore, a Wilkes County Republican and the bill’s primary sponsor, said Thursday.But if House Bill 362 becomes law, teachers who don’t provide a reason would … Continue reading You Want Me To Give A Reason For Taking A Personal Day? Actually, That’s Personal

It launched in August of 2019. A superfluous program that even the idea of would have never been needed if North Carolina had not done so much damage to the teaching profession in the last ten years. It’s called Teach North Carolina. Remember back in May of 2019 when then State Superintendent Mark Johnson printed … Continue reading What TeachNC Really Does Is Show How Badly NC Has Treated Its Teachers

Dear Santa, With gerrymandered districts and continued emphasis on using public taxpayer money to finance unproven reform efforts that do more to privatize and divide our student bodies, I thought it might be worth adding a few items to my holiday wish list. Sure, I want efforts to clean our environment and hold entities accountable … Continue reading This North Carolina Teacher’s Letter to Santa

I’m on a blog and I’m blogging. I’M ON A BLOG, AND I’M BLOGGING! Leave it to Buddy the Elf to best explain the ignorance by the state to honor the LEANDRO decision to constitutionally and adequately fund the public school system. Actually, Buddy explains a lot about how North Carolina badly treats its schools. … Continue reading The Cotton-Headed Ninny-Mugginses Of West Jones Street

Forget the apples. Forget the Starbucks Gift Cards. Forget homemade cookies. This holiday season give teachers gifts that they can not only truly enjoy, but truly use to make them better at what they do. Time Machine – specifically one that looks cool. Maybe something akin to the DeLorean in the iconic movie Back to the Future. … Continue reading Top 15 Holiday Gifts For Teachers (If You Really Love Them)

NASA’s Global Climate Change website is dedicated to educating people about human influence on the environment. Under the “Scientific Consensus” tab it states, “Multiple studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals1 show that 97 percent or more of actively publishing climate scientists agree: Climate-warming trends over the past century are extremely likely due to human activities” (http://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/). … Continue reading North Carolina’s Man-Made Educational Climate Change

Did you know that North Carolina has more Nationally Board Certified Teachers than any state in the country? Simply go to this site and compare – https://www.nbpts.org/support/in-your-state/. This past week score reports for those who were seeking/renewing certification were released. If you succeeded, I congratulate you. It’s not easy to become certified. Less than five percent … Continue reading National Board Certification Score Release Day – An Argument to Invest More in Teachers