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 Using Systemic Poverty to Privatize Public Education

When a student takes a standardized test in North Carolina, it is always good to realize that there is a certain psychology that goes into the making of a test: "distractors," almost correct answers, the "throwaway," etc. Imagine taking a reading comprehension test on what exactly the six constitutional amendments are on the November 6th … Continue reading Nix All Six – A Reading Comprehension Test for NC’s Six Constitutional Amendments

Call it for what it is: Phil Berger fears Jen Mangrum. She's met every ill-conceived obstacle he has thrown at her head on and she has overcome. And now as the final month of the campaign season, Berger has resorted to an old method of electioneering: hyperbole mixed with appeals to unfounded fears. "Destroy." "Abortion." … Continue reading The Fear-Slinging Hyperbole of Phil Berger And Why The “MOB” Should Vote for Jen Mangrum

We have a state superintendent with an eye for charters and school choice. We have a General Assembly that wants to grow the voucher system exponentially. We have a DPI that is slowly being overtaken by charter school champions. We have enacted every sort of "reform" known. We are still spending less per pupil when … Continue reading Could This Happen to North Carolina? Because The Ingredients Are There

October 15th is rapidly approaching and I am busy rereading drafts of recommendations for those students who have deadlines for early decision applications and scholarship awards. This year, most early decision recs are being sent to UNC-Chapel Hill, my wife’s alma mater. Some to App State’s Honors College. A couple to USC in Columbia. One … Continue reading Why Service Work Matters For High Schoolers And the Rest of Us

What was reported in a recent edition of the Independent Tribune out of Cabarrus County is the epitome of a politician trying to buy the teacher vote under the guise of truly being pro-public education. From October 9th, On Monday afternoon, teachers at Royal Oaks Elementary and Northwest Cabarrus Middle School were asked to stay … Continue reading Buying Teachers’ Votes

State Superintendent Mark Johnson sent out the following tweet today. Yes, it is a good thing that there will be monies available to these school systems, but this tweet begs other questions. Is this the same General Assembly that purposefully denied the voters in this state to decide whether or not to put a $1.9 … Continue reading We Needed That School Bond on the Ballot – An Intentionally Lost Opportunity to Help Public Schools

“We believe that out of the public school grows the greatness of a nation.” – Mark Twain The above quote by Mark Twain was delivered on November 23, 1900 in a speech to the Public Education Association at a meeting of the Berkley Lyceum, New York. It is sometimes called his “Boxer Speech” as Twain … Continue reading Mark Twain and the Fight Against “Eduperialism” in North Carolina

When you become a public school teacher there are sets of rules and dictates you must abide by. There are laws. There are procedures. There are decrees. There are edicts. There is protocol. And there are expectations. When parents, students, voters, taxpayers, government officials, post-secondary institutions, and employers all have some sort of stake in … Continue reading Vote to Help Keep Great Teachers In NC’s Classrooms

The following is from an essay that Mark Johnson wrote in September of 2016 toward the end of the political campaign that brought about his election and the subsequent takeover of DPI. It is from "Our American dream" published in EdNC.org. "We face this challenge here in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools. Despite the hard work of … Continue reading The Innovative School District Is Not a Cure, But A Symptom of NC’s Attempt to Privatize Public Education