Schools will more than likely be shut down. Students and teachers who normally do not use a digital platform as the main avenue for class time will face a rather steep learning curve to accommodate online formats. Add to that the need for families and individuals to remain as safe and healthy as possible in … Continue reading If We Close Schools For Coronavirus, Then Eliminate Spring State Testing – Student Health Is The Most Important

Depending on which math and science track a student has in high school, it is conceivable that a student who matriculates in NC’s public schools will take around 40 state tests. That list does not include any local benchmark assessments, the PSAT, the ACT, the Pre-ACT, or any of the AP exams that may come … Continue reading The Cruel Irony Coronavirus Is Teaching Us About Testing

21 states currently have a minimum wage that matches the federally mandated minimum wage of $7.25/hour. North Carolina is one of them. 7 seven states currently outlaw collective bargaining for public employees. North Carolina is one of them. 13 states did not adopt Medicaid expansion. North Carolina is one of them. 18 states have vouchers. … Continue reading And You Want To Blame NC’s State Public School System?

When 500,000+ people in the state of North Carolina could have health insurance if North Carolina simply expanded Medicaid as so many other states already have, then you are dealing with a legislative body that is not interested in helping many stay healthy. And when we as a state are at a budget impasse while … Continue reading Dear NCGA, You’ve Made Financial Literacy A HS Requirement – So Practice What You Preach & Expand Medicaid

From June of 2016 concerning the Achievement School District, now the Innovative School District (ISD): With just days remaining in the N.C. General Assembly’s short session, leaders on the Senate Education Committee have given their approval to achievement school districts, a GOP-backed model of school reform that may clear for-profit charter takeovers of low-performing schools. Committee Chair Jerry Tillman, a … Continue reading Sen. Jerry Tillman, How’s That Innovative School District Working For You?

When Pat McCrory was governor, the GOP super majority changed budget protocol and made the state budget a biennial process. In an odd-numbered year, a budget is set forth to encompass the next two fiscal years. Amendments to the budget can be made in even-numbered years. Furthermore, if a budget is not passed, then the … Continue reading Please Remember That NC’s State Budget Is BIENNIAL – It Covers TWO Years

... ask the right questions. Funny that Mark Johnson asked us how to make North Carolina's schools better. We answered by making sure that he would not have an office next term in Raleigh that directly impact public education. But here he is referring to that biannual tradition known as the North Carolina Teacher Working … Continue reading “ASQNC” – We Have A New Teacher Working Conditions Survey That Still Does Not…

When starting to filter through the data-rich and incredibly detailed Leandro Report (released toward the end of 2019) many of the very issues that public school advocates have been calling attention to for years were not only echoed, but were also explained in context of other issues that affect our public education system. These 12 … Continue reading Would Like For Lt. Gov. Dan Forest To Explain These 12 Glaring Data Exhibits From The Leandro Report

Over 50% of the state budget for NC is spent on public education. Currently it stands around 56-57%. And yes that is above the national average. And there is a reason for that. Before we had a Republican-controlled legislature, the state spent an even higher percentage on public education because THAT IS WHAT THE STATE … Continue reading Just Remember, A Vote For Dan Forest Is A Vote For Betsy DeVos And The Privatization Of Public Education In NC

These are two incredibly worthwhile articles for two groups of people: those who teach in our public schools and those who do not. Both are from The Bitter Southerner, a publication out of Atlanta described as: "If you are a person who buys the states’ rights argument … or you fly the rebel flag in … Continue reading About “Failing Government Schools” and “Teacher Burnout”