Within the last ten years, the number of teacher candidates in this state’s education schools have decreased by approximately one-third, the North Carolina Teacher Fellows was dismantled and then brought back as a shadow of its former self, graduate degree pay bumps were removed for new hires in 2014, and longevity pay for teachers was … Continue reading Dear Winston-Salem / Forsyth County, Recruit & Retain Great Teachers And Pass The Sales Tax Referendum

Last August Mark Johnson wanted you to know that he’s a lawyer in an email that has probably the best first line ever from a high ranking official in the past few years Look at all of the different “excuses” as to why State Superintendent Mark Johnson has not fully come clean about a unilateral … Continue reading “I’m Also A Lawyer” – Then Our State Superintendent Should “Honestly Demean” Himself

Hi Mr. Wilson. We've met. In 2016, I wrote a post about what the state of North Carolina had done to the public school system over the last few years and Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post published it as part of The Answer Sheet education blog. You were the spokesperson for then Governor Pat … Continue reading An Open Letter To Graham Wilson, Mark Johnson’s Spokesperson, Concerning His Pathetic Words About A Teacher

An "Opportunity Grant" in North Carolina is worth up to $4200 a year to cover (or help cover) tuition at a non-public participating school. According to the Private School Review, there are 35 private schools in North Carolina for which an Opportunity Grant could cover the entire tuition ($4200 or less). All 35 are religiously … Continue reading Financing An Academic Theocracy With Public Money – North Carolina’s Voucher System

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

This is just a personal opinion, but it must simply suck to be the spokesperson for State Superintendent Mark Johnson and have to "explain" some of the electioneering antics he has used to "promote" himself. Johnson makes a personal webpage to steer people away from the official DPI site and Graham Wilson has to explain … Continue reading So We Can “Opt Out?” Interesting.

Another disingenuous "explanation" of the overall success of charter schools here in North Carolina appeared on EdNC.org this week. And it invoked Mark Twain. This one was penned by Lindalyn Kakadelis, the Executive Director of the North Carolina Coalition for Charter Schools. In an effort to "rebut" the criticism of the latest Charter School Advisory … Continue reading Yes. Facts Do Matter When Talking About North Carolina’s Charter Schools.

For years the official state motto for North Carolina has been “Esse quam videri” which is Latin for “To be, rather than to seem.”  This motto (along with “In God We Trust”) was part of a 2018 bill that would have had all public schools in North Carolina display such words for all to see. … Continue reading “To Seem, Rather Than to Be” – The Motto of the State Superintendent

Rep. Jeffrey Elmore talked in an op-ed this past July about how great teacher pay has become in North Carolina over the last few years. Besides never referring to the fact that furloughs and freezes were due to the Great Recession, Elmore clearly argues a fallacious talking point that seems to constantly need debunking. He said, When … Continue reading In This Election Year, Lawmakers Are Going to Brag That The Average NC Teacher Salary is $53,975. That Is Grossly Misleading.