The year 2020 is all but guaranteed to reside in the mind and memories of public school educators well after their careers in teaching are over. At least parts of two school years will involve a virtual component or a highly stressful in-person situation within a pandemic that is not anywhere under control in an … Continue reading Heroes in March Then Cowards in November. Actually, I Am Neither.

Mark Johnson has well over a month still in his term and while we could spend entire days discussing the magnitude of how poorly he did his elected duty, he can end his tumultuous term by doing one good thing for our schools and students: act to negate the use of federal and state mandated … Continue reading Dear Mark Johnson: Do At Least One Good Thing Before You Go

I am no medical expert. I am no scientist. I do not know the responsibility, stress, and burden that medical professionals are really carrying with them right now as the country begins to experience this recent surge of a new virus. I can't even imagine what the past 8 months have been like for hospitals. … Continue reading About The Doctor’s Opinion: Using Science Without Leadership Is Our Biggest Concern

Forget that there is a pandemic going on and that an even bigger surge of infection is occurring right now. Forget that this state has not funded adequately for safe reopenings. Forget that it is a virus and a horrible national response that is the cause of all of this. Forget that it seems that … Continue reading When A School Board Member Wants To Pit Parents Versus Teachers

This was in today's Winston-Salem Journal: That particular elementary school within my district literally draws from the highest tax base in the entire county. If the resources that can be compiled by the community attached to this school were not enough to keep it from having to shut down for two weeks after only kindergarten … Continue reading My School System Needs A Plan. Actually, They All Do.

The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School System opened its school buildings to younger elementary and EC students in the past couple of weeks. Data more than proves that the virus is being spread at school. From the Winston-Salem Journal just today: Here in Forsyth County, the return of students and staff has resulted in multiple positive cases, … Continue reading Opening Schools Spreads The Virus (Especially Considering What School Bus Drivers Are Saying)

No two schools in the state are the same. We have large schools and small schools. Many in between. We have schools that are all housed in one building. Some in many buildings. Many in between. We have old school buildings. Some have fairly new buildings. Many have a mix. We have schools in the … Continue reading NC Can’t Place All Burdens On Our School Principals. But We Just Might Be Doing That In This Pandemic.

When I look at the COVID-19 Dashboard for my local school system, I honestly do not know how to interpret it or how I am supposed to apply the information to my own situation as a teacher and a parent of a public school child. I have already received notification that someone at my school … Continue reading SlowCOVIDNC – An App That May Help With All Public School Stakeholders

First there was The Office. Jim Halpert: [imitating Dwight] “Fact: bears eat beets. Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica.” (From “Product Recall episode" in 2007). Then there was Sarah Palin. “This mama grizzly … has more reason than ever to protect our young” – Sarah Palin, 2008. There’s always been the references to Russia as a bear. “Don’t poke bear.” … Continue reading Bear This In Mind, Grizzlies Were Not Preying on Public Schools – Remembering Betsy DeVos’s “Grizzly” Defense Of Guns In Schools

That "slide" above is from a 2019 presentation about the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System (TSERS) Retirement Planning. 2019 was before the current pandemic. It would be interesting and predictably disheartening to question LEA HR directors about how many calls they are fielding from veteran teachers concerning retirement and early retirement requirements and possibilities. … Continue reading After This School Year, NC Won’t Have To Just Worry About Recruiting Teacher Candidates. It Will Need To Worry About Retaining Current Teachers.