Dear Mrs. Truitt, It is not a secret that I didn't vote for you. In fact, I actively campaigned for the other candidate. You were the senior education advisor to a governor who championed policies that I believe did more harm in NC than good. You stood on stage with candidates for other offices who … Continue reading An Open Letter To The New NC State Superintendent

If you are an educator in the public schools of North Carolina, you might have received this missive from the state superintendent yesterday: Educators,Today, I had the pleasure of dropping my daughter off at school for the first time since the pandemic closed all classrooms. Her excitement, and the joy of other students, to be … Continue reading Mark Johnson’s Version of the “American Dream” Always Neglected the American Reality For Many of Our Students

Simply put, it’s hard to build bridges in this state with those who are making the very divides that separate us. Before the 2008 Great Recession took hold of the country, North Carolina had what was considered one of the more progressive public school systems in the Southeast. That is no longer the case. While … Continue reading This Teacher Does Not Want To “Build Bridges” Or “Have A Seat At The Table” With Berger & Moore; I Want Them Out Of Power

Today doors will start opening in WSFCS schools for selected students for in-person instruction. One of those students is my younger child. Below is the latest NC DHHS Covid dashboard. Below is the latest info on Forsyth County from that same site. The following headline appeared in the Winston-Salem Journal last week detailing a reporting … Continue reading About This School System’s COVID Dashboard

“Of the two of us, I’m the only one who actually has direct experience working with the governor’s office and the State Board of Education and local superintendents.”-CATHERINE TRUITT, SEPTEMBER 10TH AT THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT CANDIDATE FORUM On September 10th in a socially distanced manner, both Catherine Truitt and Jen Mangrum participated in an open … Continue reading Catherine Truitt and Jen Mangrum “Debated” & One Cited Her “Direct Experience.” Might Want To Look At That.

It was disturbing to read a recent column in my hometown newspaper, the Winston-Salem Journal, about a teacher who alerted the school board of her positive test that neither issued a statement to other teachers in the school or asked for any contact tracing. She alerted them herself on her own volition. In fact, the … Continue reading Local School Boards Should Alert All Teachers In Schools Where Positive Cases Occur

We need strong leadership in our public school systems especially when it pertains to local school boards. When it is not there, things suffer: schools, students, teachers, communities, parents, etc. Even when people are not in total agreement and people have rather strong debates on heavy issues, strong leadership from a group of elected officials … Continue reading That Was Absolutely The Most Dysfunctional School Board Meeting Ever Witnessed

Remember that press confernece in Raleigh where Phil Berger, Dan Forest, and Catherine Truitt all made a baseless overture for opening schools? The News & Observer opened its report with this: North Carolina Republican leaders, joined by a group of parents, demanded Wednesday that families be given an option for full-time, in-person instruction at schools. Few, if … Continue reading Sen. Berger, Isn’t This Your District?

On my way to and from the public school where I teach, I see collections of campaign signs grouped together at certain interchanges that cleverly repeat a line made famous by the Oscar Award winning film Forrest Gump – “Run, Forrest! Run!” Take away an “r” and you have a clever campaign slogan. But it is not … Continue reading Run, Forest! Run… Far Away. Why Forrest Gump Would Never Vote For Dan Forest

It’s hard to look at how this state could have sat on a large manufactured state surplus and extended more corporate tax cuts while conditions in the public schools exist to the level explained clearly in the Leandro Report. Again, it is important to look at the entire report – Sound Basic Education for All – … Continue reading Remember These 12 Glaring Data Exhibits From The Leandro Report This Election