From John deVille, a fierce public school advocate and my friend:

“It’s summer after that year from hell. You’re worn out, I’m worn out — these precious weeks are sacred moments of relaxation and restoration. And it is a devilish thing indeed that NC public school teachers’ entire compensation and advancement model is being finalized as we try to rest. 

Public education advocates Justin Parmenter and Kim Mackey have done yeoman’s work unpacking the new licensure and pay model and are forcing the truth to the surface. Keeping up with their ongoing reporting while we’re on the move this summer can be tricky so what I’ve done are two interviews, first with Kim and then with Justin. 

Kim’s interview brings us up to speed on how high stakes standardized tests have been used in NC since 1996 thru the present and answers the basic questions about the proposal. Next week’s episode with Justin will cover the shadowy players and how they have operated in secret and conspired to quash dissent and sell NC teachers a flawed licensure and pay plan. 

You can stream and/or download the Mountain Philosopher episodes on all the usual podcast platforms as well as YouTube.”

Here are the show notes.

And here is the link to the podcast.