In short, many of the people who set policy in Raleigh are banking on the premise that educators in NC are not truly knowledgeable of all the facets of pubic education to really see how matters can be manipulated for special interests. Educators wear many hats, have various undefined expectations, are constantly bombarded with tasks, and that is on top of being curriculum experts and the actual instruction of students. Days are still 24 hours. Families and personal lives are still important. Mental health is paramount. Policy makers know that and keeping up with all of the issues surrounding p ..read more

Still there is no movement on honoring the LEANDRO decision. They are throwing even more money to vouchers. There are accusations of indoctrination and grooming as well as attacks on books taught in schools. And we are still reeling from an unprecedented pandemic which has altered the landscape of education for a time. Plus there were school board candidates recently running on platforms that deny the veracity vaccines and science. For over two years, educators have adapted, invented, created, and constructed ways and means of helping students in unprecedented time that could never have been e ..read more

North Carolina is one of 6 states that prohibits by law collective bargaining for K-12 public school educators. This is the overall report for North Carolina teacher salaries: Compare that to the national averages. Here are screenshots for all of the states ..read more

“If you’ve been a school teacher for years, you have the immune system of steel because just like healthcare workers, you are around children all day long who aren’t the best at covering their mouth or nose when they sneeze or cough,” Morrow said. “They’re not good at washing their hands after they go to the bathroom.” That quote above came from a Sept. 16th, 2020 press conference in which NC GOP leaders and our State Superintendent-Elect made statements concerning the need to open up schools in the midst of a pandemic. Never mind the fact that fatalities from COVID-19 on a national ..read more

Not surprising if you have been a teacher in North Carolina these last few years. “It said North Carolina’s average teacher salary is $56,559, which is almost $13,000 below the national average. According to the report, teacher salaries nationwide rose an average of 4.1% over the year while North Carolina’s average increased 3.1%.“ wnct.com $13,000 below the national average is terrible to begin with and average increases are lower than the nation as well. And that $56,559 figure is still a grossly manufactured statistic. One operative word here is “average”. What GOP stalwarts who have in t ..read more

Hui said 1 in 9 teachers left. That’s over 10,000 teachers. What Hui refers to in the tweet above and the report he posted for the News & Observer is a sharp increase in teacher attrition given in the DPI’s recent report. That report can be found here. And that report focuses on March of 2022 to March of 2023. We are in April of 2024 and this teacher would not bet that trend has changed in North Carolina. One of the most glaringly ironic statements made in the report came under the “Key Findings”: “Generally, North Carolina teachers are remaining in the classroom”  ..read more

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 that continues here in the Old North State. And the very person who has influenced more policy on public education since 2013, Sen. Phil Berger, continues to shout that graduate degrees for teachers do not have a positive effect in the classroom. In an April, 2019 interview with WFMY, Berger stated, “Having an advanced degree does not make you a better teacher. We took the money we would ha ..read more

This woman ran for office on a platform of being pro-public schools. For someone who was as accomplished an educator as she was, her move to a party that is embracing the dismantling of public education is rather sadistically ironic.  When Tricia Cotham switched parties, she gave the GOP in the NC General Assembly a veto-proof majority. And just yesterday: That does not happen unless Cotham changes parties midterm. Oh, by the way, the income limits being eliminated for vouchers? Cotham did that. Tricia Cotham literally just cost public schools a half of a billion dollars in one da ..read more

They want to pass this: House Bill HB1032. Look at that a little more closely. They want all of it to be posted. any materials textbooks readings videos digital materials websites online applications all lesson plans It’s rather insulting to think that my preparation and my continued development in my profession, my expertise in my field of study, and my years of experience have brought this continued attack on my being a professional educator. And are these lawmakers willing to post their “lesson plans?” Are they willing to show where they got their “resources?” Are they willing to divulg ..read more

From last June: 19 superintendents from 17 rural counties. 1/6 of the public school superintendents in the entire state of North Carolina. Those 19 school systems reside on 17 counties. 13 of those counties have a republican representative in the NCGA House. 16 of them have a republican representative in the NCGA Senate. All of those republican representatives signed on to be a sponsor for expanding vouchers in the state and ultimately their represented districts that include most all of these LEA’s. Hell of a statement ..read more