There is a high school less than one half of a mile from my home where the majority of high school students in my neighborhood attend. In fact, there are parents in my neighborhood who graduated from this same school. They are now sending and will send their kids there. On Friday nights in the … Continue reading Two School Shootings & “Our” Kids

Apparently it only takes a few thousand people to make Phil Berger move to protect our young people. But there is a caveat: those thousands of people have to show up at school board meetings. Concerning House Bill 324, the senator commented, “Try to convince the thousands of parents who are showing up at school … Continue reading Sen. Berger & The Cruel Irony Of Using Contemptuous School Board Meetings To “Ensure Dignity”

Senate Bill 654 was just signed by Governor Cooper and it waives the use of school performance grades for the 2020-2021 school year. The data on testing and other measures used to "compile" those grades will still be reported, but no "grades" will be issued for the second year in a row. Remember that NC's … Continue reading Go Ahead And Permanently Eliminate School Performance Grades; They Only Map Poverty, Health Care Access, And Food Deserts – Not School Effectiveness

Public school advocate Derek Scott (@twslart) has been a valuable source of information concerning public school funding and often shares his talent for putting terms and numbers in easily accessible ways. He shared the following just this month: It puts the LEANDRO decision in more perspective. And some people may point to the state lottery … Continue reading Again, They Are Intentionally Not Fully Funding Public Education

Tripp Jeffers is a veteran teacher in the Winston-Salem / Forsyth County Schools system and had taught social studies for almost three decades. He is also one of the hardest working public school advocates in this state. His op-ed. "Critical race theory bill is a fabricated crisis", in today's Winston-Salem Journal is a must-read. CRT … Continue reading “Omission is the real indoctrination” – A Must-Read

This is a comparison of the three budgets put forth by the governor, the NC Senate, and the NC House as far as public education is concerned. (courtesy of Kris Nordstrom). Only the governor's proposed budget actually considers the court ordered LEANDRO decision to fully fund public schools. The Senate and the House have majorities … Continue reading Yes, They Are Intentionally Not Fully Funding Public Education

...and how late have the buses been? Teach long enough in NC public schools and you understand more how the terms "allotment" and "teacher points" drive a school's ability to have enough teachers. One common thread I have heard from many teachers throughout my district is that classes (number of students in each classroom) are … Continue reading So, How Big Are Your Classes This Year?

What do all of these images have in common? The Spanish Inquisition: The Salem Witch Trials: Joseph McCarthy’s Committee on Un-American Activities: The Ministry of Magic with Dolores Umbrage: This group of politicians: They all are on a witch hunt based on spectral and biased "evidence" using political weight to try and weaken a vital … Continue reading What Do NC’s State Superintendent, Monty Python’s Spanish Inquisition, Judge Danforth, Joseph McCarthy, & Dolores Umbrage Have In Common?

“You expect at least eight weeks paid vacation per year because that is what the taxpayers of North Carolina gave you back when you were a poorly compensated teacher.” – Sen, David Curtis in May of 2014 in response to a teacher letter. “I suspect that most people, if told they could work 10 months a year … Continue reading For Those Who Say That Teachers Had A Two-Month Vacation

Every time I walk into my classroom and unpack my bags for the day, I tend to have those few moments of reflection and meditation. Then I go to my lectern with my materials for the first class, look at the whiteboard, and see a pair of eyes looking back at me. It's a picture … Continue reading A Prayer For Coach Snow