Another disingenuous "explanation" of the overall success of charter schools here in North Carolina appeared on EdNC.org this week. And it invoked Mark Twain. This one was penned by Lindalyn Kakadelis, the Executive Director of the North Carolina Coalition for Charter Schools. In an effort to "rebut" the criticism of the latest Charter School Advisory … Continue reading Yes. Facts Do Matter When Talking About North Carolina’s Charter Schools.

For years the official state motto for North Carolina has been “Esse quam videri” which is Latin for “To be, rather than to seem.”  This motto (along with “In God We Trust”) was part of a 2018 bill that would have had all public schools in North Carolina display such words for all to see. … Continue reading “To Seem, Rather Than to Be” – The Motto of the State Superintendent

Rep. Jeffrey Elmore talked in an op-ed this past July about how great teacher pay has become in North Carolina over the last few years. Besides never referring to the fact that furloughs and freezes were due to the Great Recession, Elmore clearly argues a fallacious talking point that seems to constantly need debunking. He said, When … Continue reading In This Election Year, Lawmakers Are Going to Brag That The Average NC Teacher Salary is $53,975. That Is Grossly Misleading.

The last couple of years have proven that the Read to Achieve initiative championed by Phil Berger has failed to do what it was promoted to do. The recent iStation procurement scandals and the iPad purchasing debacle by Berger's puppet Mark Johnson are just extensions of that still failing piece of "reform." Kris Nordstrom summed … Continue reading Dammit, North Carolina! Stop Looking At Florida As A Model For Public Education.

At the beginning of each school year, I am required to fully disclose my syllabus to all perspective students and parents. On the first day of class, I give each student a set of rubrics that I use to gauge written work throughout the year. Any student can ask how any assessment was graded and … Continue reading When .gov Allows .edu To Be Governed By .com – Mark Johnson’s Allegiance to SAS and EVAAS

Last November, Lt. Gov. Dan Forest released his plan for expanded school choice as part of his platform in running for governor. Actually, Forest has been running for governor for years as most of his actions as the state’s “second in command” has been focused on campaigning against the current governor, Roy Cooper. While Forest’s … Continue reading Dan Forest’s Education Platform: Puritanically Privatizing NC’s Public School System With Vouchers

North Carolina currently has a minimum wage of $7.25 which is the federal minimum. North Carolina is one of seven states to make collective bargaining illegal. This is a map of the economic well-being of each NC county as reported be the North Carolina Department of Commerce. The LIGHTER the shade of blue, the more … Continue reading How North Carolina Became A Fertile Ground For “Educational Reform”

There's really something blatantly wrong with the substance of that tweet above. It really doesn't tell the whole story. The data table below supplied by analyst Kris Nordstrom does. Say in 2008, a school district had 1000 students in its school system and spent 10 million dollars in its budget to educate them. That’s a … Continue reading When A North Carolina Lawmaker Like Phil Berger Says, “Well, We Are Spending More on Education Than Ever Before,” Then Tell Him This

Just yesterday, Greg Childress of NC Policy Watch posted the weekly "Monday's Numbers" segment highlighting teacher attrition rates reported in the "Annual Report on the State of the Teaching Profession." Childress states, "The report shows a teacher turnover rate of 7.5 percent for the 2018-19 school year. The rate was 8.09 percent the previous year and 8.70 … Continue reading There’s More To Those Teacher Attrition Rates – Look At Recurring Vacancies And Fewer Teacher Candidates

The above is a graphic proudly shown on the Sen. Phil Berger-enabled propaganda website www.ncteacherraise.com. There are a lot of “spun” numbers and claims on this website that are easily debunked with more context and clarity. That figure as it stands actually is correct, but it includes all of the advanced degree pay still given to veteran … Continue reading Local Supplements For Teachers Mean More Than You May Think