There are no “silver bullets” or “magic pills” when it comes to changing a school. There is no one thing that can be done, no standard blueprint, no Harry Potter spell that can be executed that will make a struggling school turn its fortune around overnight. Rather, transforming schools is a process – one that … Continue reading There Are No “Silver Bullets” or “Magic Pills” in Changing Schools – It’s About School Culture

If only we could amend this bill and have current state lawmakers take the course and the standardized test that would come with it to measure their own civic responsibility. Of course that standardized test score would go through a secret algorithm and then be translated to a data point to create an EVAAS score … Continue reading About That “Civic Responsibility Class” in Public Schools Bill – HB 73

In 2016, then Rep. Rob Bryan and the House Committee on Education, pushed through a bill that would establish an ASD (Achievement School District) in North Carolina allowing the control of some of the state’s low-performing schools to be outsourced to out-of-state entities. That ASD was renamed the Innovative School District (ISD) in 2017 in … Continue reading Did You Know This About The Innovative School District?

... there is money left to be spent. When Duke University’s Children’s Law Center’s released its March 2017 report called SCHOOL VOUCHERS IN NORTH CAROLINA : THE FIRST THREE YEARS one of the most glaring aspects of the program was how many vouchers were being used at religiously affiliated schools. Some of the observations of that study included: … Continue reading Berger Wants to Loosen Rules on the Least Transparent Voucher System in the Country Because…

No, I was not invited to the "Dinner." I was at a school function with some incredibly talented students trying to raise money for the Drama Department to keep the arts vibrant in our school. But many people shared quotes and there was a live stream and, of course, Johnson likes to send emails. It … Continue reading Mark Johnson is “Urgently” Stuck in #NC2030. We Are In 2019. Can’t Wait Until 2020.

What follows is not gospel, but not necessarily speculation. There are three currently viable possibilities of what might be announced on February 19th at Mark Johnson's private dinner about public education. Maybe they all get announced; maybe none get announced. Maybe in a moment of clarity, Mark Johnson announces something that is actually received well … Continue reading Three Possible “Major Announcements” at Mark Johnson’s Private Dinner for Innovation & Leadership

The link above and the tweet belong to Kim Mackey, a brilliant teacher activist here in North Carolina. Kim wrote a letter to Mark Johnson concerning the revocation of her invitation that she requested through the EventBrite link for the Feb. 19th Innovation & Leadership Dinner where major announcements about public education will be made … Continue reading To Be a Public School Teacher Uninvited to Mark Johnson’s Dinner – A Must Read Response to the State Super

Tweet: #NotInvited #PublicEdNotPrivateBread #AllVoices #InThisTogether Tag: @VoteMarkJohnson   From Save Our Schools NC: "Background: Many advocates, teachers and community members saw a public Eventbrite page to the Innovation and Leadership Dinner from Mark Johnson. The dinner advertised major announcements for our education system. Teachers and advocates alike flocked to sign up to see what one … Continue reading Save Our Schools NC Forecasts A Twitter Storm For Mark Johnson’s February 19th Innovation & Leadership Dinner

Recently the public school teachers of Denver went on strike. Within a week, they received what they had been asking for: a chance at a living wage for teachers so they could live in the very city where they taught. CNN.com did a recent report on how Denver's teachers are having a difficult time just … Continue reading North Carolina, It’s Alright to Learn From Other States: What Denver Teaches Us About Performance Pay in Schools