The North Carolina General Assembly met for a special session in October to address what could immediately be done for the most affected counties in NC from the damage of Hurricane Florence. Actually, it was about half of the state. Some of the most damaged counties asked that their school systems be allowed to have … Continue reading Dear North Carolina, Give Local School Systems Calendar Flexibility

Bedford Falls, NY could be almost any small town if you didn’t qualify weather and the appearance of book-carrying angels as criteria. The setting for the movie It’s a Wonderful Life supposedly is fashioned in a striking fashion after Seneca Falls, NY and plays host to one of the best stories of the holiday season to grace … Continue reading Bedford Falls High School – A Foundation For “It’s A Wonderful Life” And How It Shows That Public Schools Are Pillars of the Community

I’M on a blog and I’m blogging. I’M ON A BLOG, AND I’M BLOGGING! Leave it to Buddy the Elf to best explain this current special session of the North Carolina General Assembly when the angry elves of the GOP still continue to plot a power grab in the last minute to quash the Christmas … Continue reading The Cotton-Headed Ninny-Mugginses of West Jones Street

Today, The New York Times reported the following: "This week, the United States Department of Agriculture announced its final plans to lower nutrition standards for grains, flavored milks and sodium in school cafeterias that were part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 and that Michelle Obama, the former first lady, had advocated - "Trump Administration Rolls Back … Continue reading Thinking of School Lunches and Federal Guidelines

In an April 12, 2016 report from the Lumberton NC paper The Robesonian (“McCrory: Former teacher inspired pay proposal”), Sarah Willets quoted Gov. McCrory as being inspired by a former teacher to suggest a pay hike for teachers in that election year. He said: “Ruth Revels was one of those teachers who had a lasting impact and … Continue reading If North Carolina Wants to Attract and Retain Great Teachers, Then It Needs to RESPECT Teachers, Not Simply “Reward” Them

“The average wage nationally for people who hold at least a four-year college degree, as teachers must, is $66,872, according to the U.S. Department of Labor”(https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2018/05/16/comparing-your-salary-teacher-pay-north-carolina/617441002/). Below is the latest salary schedule for teachers in North Carolina. Now that a new teacher in North Carolina cannot get a pay bump for a graduate degree, the … Continue reading Look at Teacher Pay in This Way

If one thing is for certain, North Carolina’s school performance grades are a confirmation that student poverty levels have so much to do with how schools perform. Those performance grades also help to fuel “reform” efforts. EdNC.org released a new version of its Data Dashboard that allows users to filter for different variables when viewing … Continue reading Vouchers, Privately-Run Charters, And an ISD – Using Systemic Poverty to Privatize Public Education in North Carolina

Sometimes you can get a glimpse of the culture of a school by the amount of garb students, faculty, and community members wear that dons the name, mascot, or colors of the local high school. At my school, they call it “West Wear.” And I  have a closet full of it much to my wife’s … Continue reading The Best Spirit Wear You Can Own Comes From Your Local High School – And It Makes Great Presents for the Holidays

Let us praise great high school coaches. If you teach long enough in the public schools, you will be fortunate enough to come across some great individuals who coach sports teams all the while teaching these very players lessons of life and success even in the wake of defeat. And I want to praise great … Continue reading Let Us Praise Great High School Coaches

From our State Treasurer: "Did You Know? During 2017, the state spent $3.3 billion on medical and pharmacy benefits. At the same time, costs have increased 5 to 10 percent while funding for the Plan only saw a 4 percent increase. In addition, the state has a $34 billion unfunded liability for retiree health care. … Continue reading About That Letter From the State Treasurer to Teachers With the State Insurance Plan