This past week Mark Johnson released his budget recommendations for the next two-year cycle for the North Carolina General Assembly to use in their shaky investment in NC's public schools. He published those recommendations on his website. And here is an interesting segment: There is a $750K request for TeachNC which was described by Kelly … Continue reading Give That Money to Expand The North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program to Its Original State

In January of 2017 it was all about "urgency". In the first six months of 2017 it was all about a "listening tour." In all of 2017 into 2018, it was about a legal fight with a state board of education under control of the same political party about who had the most control over … Continue reading So Is Mark Johnson Running for Reelection?

You can have all of the talent in the world. You can have every resource at your disposal. You can have every appearance of being a winner. But you may never be a champion. Why? Because it's an “inside job.” Today's victory in the Western Regional Championship game by the Titans Girls Basketball team will be … Continue reading The Cardiac Kids From Clemmons, NC

BEST NC is a non-profit, non-partisan coalition of business leaders committed to improving North Carolina’s education system through policy and advocacy – from http://best-nc.org/. As business leaders, we understand how critical talent management is to the success of any organization. Currently, North Carolina lacks a talent plan that will successfully recruit and retain excellent educators from … Continue reading Dear BEST NC, You Want to Expand The FIT Initiative, But Where Do You Stand on These Vital Issues?

North Carolina made national news again with another bill that involves teachers and guns. On March 8, CNN posted a piece on its website entitled "North Carolina teachers who carry guns to school could get a pay raise under a new bill." Filed on Wednesday, the School Security Act of 2019 would give a 5% salary boost … Continue reading Would Like to Know Where Mark Johnson Stands On SB192

Yep. He's right. Graduation rates in NC have gone up. In his response to Gov. Roy Cooper's "State of the State" address, Berger did selectively say this: “Since 2011, the gap in high school graduation rates between African-American students and all students has been cut in half, from 6.4 percent to 3.1 percent.”  And the … Continue reading Sen. Berger’s Comments on Graduation Rates, One of the Most Manipulated Statistics in Public Education

From today's News & Observer about the new average teacher pay in North Carolina: The average salary for a North Carolina public school teacher has risen 5 percent to nearly $54,000 this year. New figures released Wednesday by the state Department of Public Instruction estimate the average salary for teachers to be $53,975 — $2,741 more than the … Continue reading The Average NC Teacher Salary is $53,975. Here’s Why That is Misleading.

It is not surprising that with talk of possibly restoring graduate degree pay for teachers in North Carolina those who are emphatically opposed to it would speak out. Take for example John Hood of the John Pope Foundation. Over three years ago, he penned an op-ed that was posted on EdNC.org entitled "Not a matter … Continue reading Advanced Degrees Matter – Did Then, Did in 2015. Do Now.

Remember when Mark Johnson announced that reading teachers in k-3 would receive a brand new Apple iPad to use in classrooms this year? On the surface, this seemed like a positive notion. But… From Travis Fain at WRAL last August: Reading teachers across the state, from kindergarten to third grade, will get computer tablets from … Continue reading So Mark Johnson, How Have Those iPads Worked Out?

What happened last night was not magic. It was not luck. It was the reward for hard work and tireless practice. It was the product of endless  hours of just getting better, growing together, and paying attention to the very details that no score sheet will ever show. Diving for loose balls. Playing hard-nosed defense. … Continue reading What Happened In Simpson Gym Last Night – Final Four Bound