As a teacher, I cannot legally give a student an aspirin tablet. My high school has five counselors for over 2400 students. There is one part-time social worker. There is one school psychologist assigned to multiple schools at one time. A school nurse is on campus only one day a week. As a country we … Continue reading Remembering A Time When Lawmakers Wanted To Arm NC Public School Teachers

Interesting that BEST NC "brags" about how many teachers it has recruited into the profession with its efforts through outlets like TEACH NC. And yet BEST NC is not doing anything constructive to help RETAIN our teachers. From that very same TEACH NC website as of this post:

These two data exhibits in the WesrEd Leandro Report paint a vivid picture of what many in this state have been describing for years: the weakening of the teacher pipeline in North Carolina because of policies set by the NCGA. From 2009-10 to 2016-17, the percentage of new teachers who came from the UNC system … Continue reading Now Is The Time To Expand The North Carolina Teaching Fellows Program To Include All NC Public Colleges & Universities – Especially Our HBCU’s

Yes. The primaries are here. And it seems like every political sign that I see on the sides of roads and at interchanges is for one particular race: the local school board. Throw around terms like “CRT,” “learning loss,” “mask mandates,” “indoctrination,” and “transparency,” add to them some righteous anger, and you have some rather … Continue reading To The School Board Candidate Who Knows Nothing About How Schools Really Operate

...then please just drop out of the race. North Carolina has right under 100,000 statewide teaching positions, and according to this morning's count on the TeachNC web page for vacancies , nearly 20% of those positions are not currently filled for next year. So, what is your plan? Imagine those races in areas that are … Continue reading If You’re Running For School Board And Do Not Have A Plan To Address This …

In some school systems such as mine, all seats for the school board are up for grabs in this next election. Possibly nine new members could be leading the school system come next calendar year. The field for the WSFCS school board elections is 28 strong. And the mudslinging and gaslighting that has occurred so … Continue reading Righteous & Reactionary Anger Is Not The Best Qualification To Run For School Board

It took our NCGA three years to pass a new budget. Still there is no movement on honoring the LEANDRO decision. And we are still reeling from an unprecedented pandemic which has altered the landscape of education for a time. Plus there are school board candidates running on platforms that deny the veracity vaccines and … Continue reading It’s Teacher Appreciation Week – You Feeling Appreciated?

From an NPR / IPSOS poll reported last week: "By wide margins – and regardless of their political affiliation – parents express satisfaction with their children's schools and what is being taught in them." As a teacher, it is rather mind-boggling that in an age of heavy standardized testing, technological advancements that allow for remote … Continue reading Maybe Something To Consider Before You Vote For School Board Candidates

Think of these actions over the last ten years in North Carolina as far as public education is concerned: Teacher Pay Removal of due-process rights for new teachersGraduate Degree Pay Bumps Removed Push for Merit Pay “Average” RaisesHealth Insurance and Benefits ChangesAttacks on Teacher Advocacy Groups (NCAE) Revolving Door of Standardized Tests Less Money Spent per Pupil When Adjusted For … Continue reading North Carolina Has a Severe Teacher & Teacher Candidate Shortage – Raleigh Deliberately Created It

Many have asked me over the years if a teacher can be a school board member and still be in the classroom. At least in my LEA, one cannot. Many teachers over the years have run for positions on the school board, but each has had to stipulate that he/she would step away from the … Continue reading Every Local School Board Should Allow A Public School Teacher To Serve