“The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction provides leadership to 115 local public school districts and 160 charter schools serving over 1.5 million students in kindergarten through high school graduation. The agency is responsible for all aspects of the state's public school system and works under the direction of the North Carolina State Board of … Continue reading Six Months Into Office – An Open Letter to Supt. Mark Johnson
A Thank You to Attorney General Josh Stein and Alfred E. Neuman
This past week attorneys generals from 18 states and the District of Columbia filed suit against Betsy DeVos over the freezing of an Obama-era law that protected students from predatory for-profit colleges (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2017/07/06/attorneys-general-sue-devos-over-delay-of-rule-to-protect-students-from-predatory-colleges/?utm_term=.655b1c73bf41). One of those attorneys general was North Carolina’s Josh Stein. And he should be commended. With a recent budget proposal by a … Continue reading A Thank You to Attorney General Josh Stein and Alfred E. Neuman
Actually Mr. Hood, NC Should Re-institute Graduate Degree Pay For Teachers For Many Reasons
The GOP-led NC legislature’s 2013 decision to end graduate degree pay bumps for new teachers entering the teaching profession was not only misguided, but another wave in the assault on public education here in the Old North State. I confess there exist numerous studies that have shown that advanced degrees do not correlate with higher … Continue reading Actually Mr. Hood, NC Should Re-institute Graduate Degree Pay For Teachers For Many Reasons
The Best Editorial Concerning Mark Johnson’s Tenure In Recent Memory
From the Sunday July 2, 2017 News & Observer Editorial Board: North Carolina Republicans continue to meddle in education When Republican Mark Johnson, a 33-year-old former Forsyth County school board member, upset incumbent state Superintendent of Public Instruction June Atkinson, a Democrat, in the 2016 election, Republicans in the General Assembly were rubbing their hands … Continue reading The Best Editorial Concerning Mark Johnson’s Tenure In Recent Memory
99,999 And Counting
This morning I realized that this blog has been in existence for 16 months. And it hit a rather magical number in hits - 99,999. Look at the right hand side of the screen: Never thought it would get to that. So thanks for reading and agreeing and disagreeing and agreeing to disagree or giving … Continue reading 99,999 And Counting
The NCGA’s Plan to Make School Performance Grades Fuel Voucher Expansion
Public Schools First NC (PSFNC.org), an organization that supports advocacy of public education in North Carolina, regularly sends out very informative factoids through social media that give texture to the landscape of the politics associated with public education. With the current recess of the General Assembly after its disastrous budget proposal for public education, … Continue reading The NCGA’s Plan to Make School Performance Grades Fuel Voucher Expansion
North Carolina Should Get Back to the ROOTS of the Teaching Fellows Program, Not Just the STEM
It is rather odd that in the same session that produced the nebulous and de-professionalizing SB599 bill a sanitized and highly truncated version of the North Carolina Teaching Fellows program was reintroduced. As reported by Matthew Adams in the “Under The Dome” section of the News & Observer on July 1st, North Carolina will pay … Continue reading North Carolina Should Get Back to the ROOTS of the Teaching Fellows Program, Not Just the STEM
About the Civitas Institute Post on a Middle School Asking For Donations For Supplies
On June 29th, Bob Luebke shared on the Civitas Institute website in a missive entitled “Schools, Parents – and School Supplies” a rather caustic perspective on the plight of many a public school trying to help provide for students in need. He wrote, A friend recently forwarded the email listed below. It’s to parents from … Continue reading About the Civitas Institute Post on a Middle School Asking For Donations For Supplies
Trinity Christian School and Being GRANTed the OPPORTUNITY to Embezzle
Last week’s plea-bargain agreement of the teacher/coach at Trinity Christian School in Fayetteville, NC is yet another outward manifestation of a much deeper condition, a symptom of a bigger problem – fully-funded schools. And the slap on the hand that was received by Heath Curtis Vandevender for embezzling nearly $400,000 of tax-payer money seems to … Continue reading Trinity Christian School and Being GRANTed the OPPORTUNITY to Embezzle
Dear NCGA, We Have Great Teacher Programs in Our Colleges and Universities
Senate Bill 599, misnamed the “Excellent Teachers In Every Classroom” bill, recently passed through the last days of the recent legislative session of the NC General Assembly. A hack of a bill, it was sponsored primarily by Senator Chad Barefoot, as a means of addressing the teacher shortage in North Carolina’s public schools with teacher … Continue reading Dear NCGA, We Have Great Teacher Programs in Our Colleges and Universities
caffeinated rage 