By Leslie Boney GREENSBORO (July 31, 2024) – It will be hard for any community to match the private investment that has gone into creating Guilford County’s “Ready for School, Ready for Life” initiative. But observers and participants in the program and across the nation are looking closely at the program’s principles, design and products.... READ MORE The post READY READY: Lessons appeared first on Public Ed Works ..read more

By Leslie Boney  GREENSBORO (July 24, 2024) – A surprisingly large experiment is ramping up surprisingly quietly in Guilford County. If it’s successful, it could change the way we think about public investment in early childhood education, and the implications of that investment for our future workforce and social structure. Over 12 years from 2017-2029,... READ MORE The post READY, READY: Very big ideas for early childhood appeared first on Public Ed Works ..read more

By Leslie Boney GREENSBORO (July 24, 2024) – It’s two weeks after the birth of her son, Jacob, and Emily Clemmer is worried. Jacob hasn’t taken to breastfeeding and she doesn’t know why. She also has a list of other questions about being a new mom that nobody’s been able to answer. Today she’ll get... READ MORE The post Ready, Ready: Listening to parents appeared first on Public Ed Works ..read more

By Andrea Poole RALEIGH (July 24, 2024) – Most students in North Carolina rely on financial aid to make paying for college more manageable, and financial aid works best when families know about it early and can apply for it easily. At the state level, we’ve taken important steps to make it easier for families... READ MORE The post North Carolina: Don’t miss out on funding your future appeared first on Public Ed Works ..read more

By Leslie Boney GREENSBORO (July 31, 2024) – The Ready for School, Ready for Life initiative in Guilford County has brought together private foundations, nonprofits, the health department, educators, physicians, parents, and more than 100 community groups in a remarkable commitment to improve early childhood services in the county. But employers also play a critical... READ MORE The post READY, READY: Will employers support families? appeared first on Public Ed Works ..read more

RALEIGH (July 11, 2024) – Amid an intense discussion of education options in North Carolina, the NC School Boards Association launched a campaign this week with a simple message: Public education does the public good. It’s a clever play on words – public schools do thousands of good things in their communities. And in a... READ MORE The post Public education does the public good appeared first on Public Ed Works ..read more

GREENSBORO (July 3, 2024) – It took three years, but we’re finally seeing progress to produce more nurses in North Carolina. Our Nursing Education series in 2021 pointed out that the primary bottleneck in North Carolina’s nursing shortage is a shortage of instructors – due to the simple financial arithmetic that they can make more... READ MORE The post UNCG: 50% more nurses appeared first on Public Ed Works ..read more

By Mary Ann Wolf Executive Director Public School Forum of NC RALEIGH (July 3, 2024) – This year, my youngest child, Andrew, graduated from high school. And, yes, I am feeling all of the pride and all of the empty-nest fears that go with that. However, the part of the graduation celebrations that struck me... READ MORE The post Mary Ann Wolf: Strengthen the educator pipeline appeared first on Public Ed Works ..read more

By Eric Johnson HARKERS ISLAND (July 3, 2024) – North Carolina is one of the fastest-growing states in the country, and that’s been true for a while now. Since 2020, we’ve attracted newcomers at the rate of about 99,000 a year — the equivalent of adding an Asheville every year, according to the number crunchers... READ MORE The post Teaching a love of North Carolina appeared first on Public Ed Works ..read more

RALEIGH (June 27, 2024) – “Budget deal eludes GOP,” said a headline this week in the News & Observer.1 So let’s get this straight: Republicans have a supermajority in both houses of the General Assembly – they have enough votes to override the governor’s veto even if he doesn’t like their version of a state... READ MORE The post A dysfunctional legislature appeared first on Public Ed Works ..read more