Yes, public education is political. But it does not have to be partisan. Yet, in the last few years, more and more local school board elections are becoming partisan races steering school systems by a GPS system based on political dogma and controlled in Raleigh rather than what is best for the local school system. … Continue reading Principles Before Personalities – Crossing Party Lines to Help Our Schools

This week the North Carolina General Assembly delivered a provision in a technical corrections bill that in all intents and purposes ruled against its own educational reform effort called the Innovative School District. As many public school advocates know, Wayne County’s Carver Heights Elementary School was the second school selected by the Innovative School District … Continue reading The NCGA’s Vote of No-Confidence in the Innovative School District – What Happened in Wayne County

Yesterday, during the endless "special session" that the NC General Assembly has been conducting, Rep. Tim Moore brought up his intentions to put a state-wide school bond on the ballot to help with school infrastructure. From Billy Ball of NC Policy Watch yesterday: State House Speaker Tim Moore announced that he would file a bill to put … Continue reading Rep. Moore, Now You Want to Put a School Bond on the Ballot?

I have made the assertion that there are people that I have plagiarized in my life. There’s my uncle Mike, who was a teacher like I am now. There was Ed whose life will always be a living example of what I try and do. Both men have/had something I wanted and wore life the … Continue reading The Valuable Lesson That Robin Thicke Taught Students About Plagiarism

When Rep. Bill Brawley of Mecklenberg County first championed HB 514, he promoted a bill that allows for cities to use property tax money to fund local schools. It also allows for some select cities and towns to establish their own charter schools with enrollment preference for their citizens using taxpayer money. And because it was … Continue reading With a Statewide Municipal Charter School Bill, The North Carolina General Assembly Is Setting Our State Back Decades

Of the many incredibly clever, spot-on, and ingenious signs from the May 16th march and rally in Raleigh, this one has remained my favorite. “Can Anyone Here Proctor?” This gentleman was everywhere. That’s what made this sign so powerful – there is always a test to be administered and there is always a need for  proctor. … Continue reading Every North Carolina Lawmaker Should Be a Proctor for a State Exam and Administer the ACT

Below is a list of the standardized tests administered by the state of North Carolina in our public schools. North Carolina End of Grade Exam Math - Grade 3 North Carolina End of Grade Exam English / Language Arts- Grade 3 North Carolina End of Grade Exam Science - Grade 3 North Carolina End of … Continue reading Too Many Standardized Tests For Non-Standardized Students

Contradiction versus paradox. They are not that different, but in actuality they are. Merriam Webster defines a “contradiction” as, : the act of saying something that is opposite or very different in meaning to something else : a difference or disagreement between two things which means that both cannot be true Here are some examples: “Do what … Continue reading Great Teachers & Educational Reform: A Case of Contradiction Versus Paradox

If anyone ever needed to see the dedication that North Carolina’s public school teachers have to their students and their craft, then consider how these two statistics: North Carolina’s Number of Nationally Certified Teachers North Carolina’s Rank for Best & Worst States for Teachers For the first statistic, North Carolina ranks #1 in the nation. … Continue reading Despite the General Assembly, North Carolina Teachers Still Set A “Gold Standard” – First in Nation in NBCT’s