School is canceled in North Carolina. Now, the state must decide how to handle nutrition, child care, and distance learning. The spread of coronavirus — which stands at 23 cases across the state — is enough for Gov. Roy Cooper to shut down K-12 public schools Monday, March 16. Closings will last at least two...
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional news and comment A court has rejected an attempt by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction and Istation for it to intervene in a dispute over a K-3 reading tool contract. On Tuesday, Jan. 7, Wake County Superior Court Judge Mary Ann Tally said the court...
In 2020, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction will complete a review and revision of academic standards for the state’s K-12 social studies courses. DPI standards and curriculum staff have asked for feedback on the first draft of proposed revisions released in December. They anticipate a minimum of three drafts would be subject to a...
Reforms to the Innovative School District are here to stay after Gov. Roy Cooper allowed Senate Bill 522 to become law without his signature. S.B. 522 made several changes to the Innovative School District, a school turnaround program which gives an outside group authority for five years over low-performing schools to boost their performance. So...
During the first few weeks of every new school year, the mainstream media and public–school advocacy organizations proclaim North Carolina has a severe teacher shortage. Throughout August, they raise alarms about the thousands of administrative, teaching, and staff vacancies listed on the N. C. Schools Job Board and human resources pages for Wake, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Guilford, and other...
The Governor’s Commission on Access to a Sound Basic Education is getting closer to putting forth recommendations to meet the Leandro mandate. Leandro refers to a two-decade-old court ruling requiring that every child in North Carolina have the opportunity to access a sound, basic education. The commission, which includes 19 people, met Tuesday, June 25,...
While the media will be focusing on union activists at today’s teacher march, I’ll be thinking about a young man named Junior. In 2016, a sobering documentary titled “Raising Bertie” highlighted the educational and economic challenges of young people growing up in Bertie County. The film followed the lives of three young African-American boys over...
The N.C. Department of Public Instruction classifies about one in five teachers as chronically absent. The absenteeism costs North Carolina schools about $17 million a year to pay substitute teachers, DPI says. Thomas Tomberlin, director of educator recruitment and support at DPI, presented a report on chronic teacher absenteeism to the State Board of Education...
I don’t write much about what happens inside of the classroom simply because there is so little information about it. Content standards adopted by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction outline the sequence, topics, and learning goals for each grade and subject. Curricula and instructional decisions are made on the district, school, and departmental levels....
Hurricane Florence severely damaged schools across North Carolina and left hundreds of thousands of children without homes or classrooms. State education officials are working to return the communities back to normal with help from charitable giving and the legislature. Education officials outlined the devastation wrought by Hurricane Florence at the Oct. 3 State Board of...
School safety, charter schools, and teacher pay headline K-12 issues for Republican and Democratic lawmakers during the N.C. General Assembly’s 2018 short session. The legislature will consider 14 recommendations from the newly formed House Select Committee on School Safety, including funding for school resource officers, efficient licensing for school psychologists, and peer-to-peer counseling programs in...
