With all of the talk about the rather misnamed “Parents’ Bill of Rights” legislation just passed in the NC General Assembly, it seems obvious that the aim of those in Raleigh is to weaken public education even further. To have a bill when introduced that literally said “to enumerate the rights of parents to DIRECT … Continue reading Actually, NC Needs A Students’ Bill Of Rights.

When Pat McCrory was governor, the GOP super majority then changed budget protocol and made the state budget a biennial process. In an odd-numbered year, a budget is set forth to encompass the next two fiscal years. Amendments to the budget can be made in even-numbered years. Furthermore, if a budget is not passed, then … Continue reading Please Understand What Not Passing A State Budget Does To Public Schools In NC

By 2017, North Carolina was one of only one of 14 states that had state laws that governed school calendars. The graphic below is from the Feb. 2017 Final Report to the Joint Legislative Program Evaluation Oversight Committee on school calendars. What is also shows is that North Carolina was at the time was one of the … Continue reading Our School Systems Need Calendar Flexibility

It is not surprising to see a headline such as this one with the current environment. It is not my job to cast blame on all of the people whose students have not been attending school for significant amounts of time. Teach long enough and you begin to understand that there's a lot that you … Continue reading Attendance Matters

From the Tampa Bay Times: Three years later, some Florida school districts are shying away from Shakespeare, along with other classic and popular materials. They say they’re attempting to comply with new state law restricting books with and instruction about sexual content. 400 years since he died. Four centuries. Multiple generations. New countries discovered. And … Continue reading The Canker-Blossoms In Florida Are Censoring Shakespeare When They Could Learn So Much From Him

What a veteran teacher received ten years ago compared to what a veteran teacher who would start a career in NC today is quite startling. Not only is there a significant loss in projected income but ramifications on being able to get health care after retirement and not having to fear reprisal in standing up … Continue reading No Matter What Budget Is Passed, This NCGA Does Not Want Veteran Public School Teachers

Apparently in Florida, it is fine to teach that slavery is "no big deal." Check out this video. https://twitter.com/i/status/1688599029419020294 PragerU is a conservative "online" university that offers video instruction of topics that can be manipulated to suit a political bent. That snippet from above can be found here: Florida is allowing this to be used … Continue reading Teaching That Slavery Was “No big deal” But Using A Deviation Of A Name Is?

Look at the average teacher salary in North Carolina. Then look at the average pay increase that Raleigh may be giving to teachers in a certain budget cycle. Those two values are not looking at the same set of numbers. When politicians and policy makers in Raleigh talk about average salary they are counting in … Continue reading How Local Supplements For Teachers Are Propagandized By Raleigh (Average Teacher Salary Vs. Percentage Raise)

Here is the salary schedule that was in place for the 2022-2023 school year and will still be in place if a new budget is not passed that changes it. For those who are not teachers, make sure to pay attention to years 15-24. Frozen. 10 years of the same. There is no longevity pay … Continue reading 10 Frozen Years: The NCGA’s Plan To Eliminate Career Teachers

As of this post, there are thousands of vacancies in the state of North Carolina. According to a recent study, NC ranks 11th in teacher shortage rates. That report is based on this study of the number of teachers as measured against the population. One quick and effective action the state could take is to allow retired … Continue reading Time For This State To Allow Teachers To “Double-Dip”