There are still thousands of vacancies in our public schools to serve our students. School buildings around the state are not equipped with working updated HVAC systems. Poverty levels more than doubled over the previous year, especially hitting children hardest. Thousands upon thousands of people are in limbo over Medicaid expansion being tied to a … Continue reading When NC’s Lawmakers Are Addicted To Gambling, Our Kids Pay The Price

So, the new budget in NC will include what Rep. Tim Moore lauds as an average 4.5% raise for teachers. Remember that most state employees also receive longevity pay on a yearly basis – not teachers though. And that raise is also over the biennium which means that it is an “average” of 2.25% a year, … Continue reading “Average” Vs. “Actual” When It Comes To Teacher Salary Raises

I believe Rodney Ellis would be proud of us. While it has almost been seven years to the day that we lost this leader, father, and tireless public school advocate, there is still his unmistakable presence among us here in North Carolina. Think of all that has occurred in these last few years with the … Continue reading Remembering Rodney Ellis – He Would Tell Us to Keep Fighting For Public Schools

Today school performance grades for the 2022-2023 school year were released. The only positive about those school performance grades in relation to the last couple of times they were issued (last year and four years ago) is that the NCGA kept the scale at a 15-point scale instead of what was planned originally for the … Continue reading School Performance Grades Came Out Today – The Gerrymandered NCGA’s Continued Use Of Poverty To Drive “School Choice”

Here is the salary schedule that was in place for the 2022-2023 school year. Here is the salary schedule that is now in place for the 2023-2024 school year. It is the exact same. Furthermore, if a budget is not passed, then the state automatically reverts to the previous budget’s recurring spending levels. The budget … Continue reading What Teachers Are Making This School Year Compared To Last Year

Seems that this state has a lot of classroom vacancies. And if you want to be one of the lucky candidates for any of these positions, remember that there are some "unwritten" but very apparent qualifications that need to be met before our lawmakers want you teaching our kids. 1. Have A Fear Of Calling … Continue reading Timothy and Philip’s Ideal Job Description Of The North Carolina Teacher

It has been a rather trying few years for teachers and other educators in public schools. It is all a continuing reminder of what all goes into this job that most of us do not actually call a job, but maybe a calling. And it makes me again ask that question: so what is the … Continue reading Exactly What Is The Job Description Of A Public School Teacher Here In North Carolina?

Think of all of the factors that affect how well public schools can operate. Now take all of those factors and divide them up by who is responsible for them: elected officials and teachers. Here is the distribution: Actually there is one under the teachers column. If you want to blame teachers for the current … Continue reading Want To Know Who Is To Blame For What Ails Public Education? IT’S NOT TEACHERS OR ADMINISTRATORS.

Sen. Phil Berger and his cronies including people like Tricia Cotham have had 12 years to “improve” our public education system. 12. The number of grades in a standard progression through a public school. Here are a few of the actions taken in those 12 years. 1. Teacher Pay Kept Well Below National Average 2. Removal of … Continue reading You Can’t Put “Kids First” If You Put Teachers Last