No. Not everything that public school advocates would have wanted from last night's elections came to fruition. But it was a very good night for public schools. 1.Super majorities were broken.  Simply put, the governor now has veto power. Yes, Gov. Cooper could always veto a bill, but now it cannot be simply overridden automatically. … Continue reading Nine Reasons Why The 2018 Election Results Were Great For Public Education in North Carolina

November 5th is “National Love Your Red Hair Day”. I don’t have red hair, but I live in a house where everyone else has red hair. Maybe that qualifies me to talk about living with red heads and the boundless recessive genes they either display or carry. Simply put, I have a Ginger Brigade in my … Continue reading National Red Head Day With My Ginger Brigade

When Phil Berger and Tim Moore held a press conference last May in which they feigned surprise and indignation at the thought that teachers would even consider rallying on May 16th, it was rather apparent that it was a scripted endeavor. From WFMY.com: During the conference, the two said, “Republicans in the General Assembly made … Continue reading Our Six-Year Pre-Existing Condition: The Long, Deliberate, Slow Attack on North Carolina’s Public Education System

“Get Up” and vote. It's Election Day. Just “Get Up” and vote. Immigration “policies,” Supreme Court appointees, exiting from multi-lateral agreements and treaties, Muslim bans, tariffs, mass shootings on schools and media outlets, partisan politics before principles, etc. – these are all part of isolationist nightmares, bad dreams that have become reality and more than … Continue reading “Get Up” – And Vote! Playing R.E.M. At The Ballot Box

One would hope that the current General Assembly is a little scared of us public school teachers and our supporters. Remember what happened May 16th. And they should be very concerned; aside from the Women’s March of 2017, this might have been the largest demonstration on the NCGA in history. What had originally looked like … Continue reading November 6th Is Another Day To March And Rally For Our Schools – At The Ballot Box.

The current General Assembly majority is very scared of public school teachers and those who support them. Without their support in this next election cycle, many candidates for office simply cannot win. That’s why the NCGA majority has touted so many “band-aid” style electioneering schemes to make them appear pro-public education. Nothing could be further … Continue reading Open Letter to the Registered Voter Who Believes in Public Schools

If you want to look at the reason why a school performs well, then look to the relationships that surround the people: student, teachers, parents, community, staff, and what might be one of the most underappreciated roles in public education – the principal. The responsibility of a principal is hard to even describe, much less … Continue reading Principals Need More Respect Than This

“Local leaders know what we need.” – Mark Johnson, Sept. 29th, 2016 in debate with Dr. June Atkinson. Apparently, claiming to trust local leaders to know best was only a political maneuver because right now Carver Heights Elementary is slated to be taken over by the ISD (Achievement School District). It is marked to be … Continue reading Dear NC State Board of Education – Vote No on ISD Takeover of Carver Heights Elementary

This past summer the North Carolina General Assembly emphatically snubbed the state’s public school system when it refused to send a statewide infrastructure bond to the ballot in November to let voters decide on a 1.9 billion dollar package to help rebuild crumbling public schools around the state. It is also issuing a ballot choice … Continue reading Almost Two Years Since He Was Elected And What Has State Supt. Mark Johnson Done? When the Leader of the Public Schools Refuses to be Part of the Public

And to think of what happened at Butler High School today. This expose of survivors is gut-wrenching. And needs to be read by every lawmaker.