Below is the salary schedule for a teacher in North Carolina for the 2018-2019 school year. Any teacher new to the profession in the last four years would never be on the second schedule because newer teachers are not allowed a pay bump for graduate degrees. Notice how the salaries also plateau after year 15. … Continue reading Comparing NC Teacher Salaries Now to 2008-2009 – What New Teachers Won’t Get If They Become Veteran Teachers

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 No, Sen. Berger, Graduate Degrees Do Matter & NC Should Restore Graduate Degree Pay.

John Cole has been contributing to NC Policy Watch as a political cartoonist for years. I can not remember a time where one of his cartoons has not been on target. This is no exception. It is in response to Berger's recent released partisan statement. The following are two more of Cole's cartoons that have … Continue reading John Cole’s Latest Political Cartoon Totally Sums Up The May 1st Rally

If there was ever a doubt that what resulted from May 16th's march and rally in Raleigh on behalf of public education was nothing more than a moral victory, then please consider the following list of direct results of what happened in the months after the march that helped public education. And still are helping … Continue reading 12 Significant Results of Last May 16th’s March and Rally – May 1st Will Build on These and More

Our public schools are better than you may think. Probably a lot better. With the constant dialogue that “we must improve schools” and the “need to implement reforms,” it is imperative that we as a taxpaying public seek to understand all of the variables in which schools are and can be measured, and not all … Continue reading Our Public Schools Are Better Than the NCGA Would Want You to Believe

"Provide $15 minimum wage for all school personnel, 5% raise for all ESPs (non-certified staff), teachers, admin, and a 5% cost of living adjustment for retirees." The above is one of the five priorities of the All Out for May 1st March and Rally in Raleigh. A $15 minimum wage for people who work for … Continue reading A $15 Minimum Wage for All School Personnel is Just a Start When Looking at Living Wages

On April 12th, Sen. Phil Berger released another statement in response to the All Out For May 1st march and rally in Raleigh. Notice that there is not a single mention of many of the five specific issues that the march is centered around - issues that have been widely shared and discussed and which … Continue reading Sen. Berger Is Simply Scared of Us Teachers (and Some Facts For Him)

Remember when Mark Johnson said the following? “Every day we don’t take bold actions for our students is a day our students lose." - Mark Johnson, January 5th, 2017. “Complacency is the antithesis of urgency. So I ask that we not be complacent, and act with urgency in anything that we do.” - Mark Johnson, … Continue reading “Urgently” Taking “Bold Actions” – Mark Johnson’s Own Words Validate Marching May 1st

North Carolina's minimum wage is currently at $7.25 an hour. Over 20% of NC public school students live at or below the poverty level. Most schools that received "D" or "F" as a school performance grade had a 50% or more poverty rate. North Carolina did not expand Medicaid to hundreds of thousands of people. … Continue reading If the NCGA Wants to “Improve” Public Education, It Must Start to Actively Combat Poverty in NC

I believe Rodney Ellis would be proud of us. While it has been over two years since we lost this leader, father, and tireless public school advocate, there is still his unmistakable presence among us here in North Carolina. Think of all that has occurred in past few years with the continued assault on traditional … Continue reading Remembering Rodney Ellis – He Would Be Fighting For Public Schools in Raleigh on May 1st And Every Other Day