EdNC reports on how reps of several education organizations spoke to the House Ed Appropriations Committee meeting on Thursday. While all organizations stressed the importance of enhanced teacher salaries, some also noted that Principal and Asst. Principal salaries also need to be addressed. Read full article here.
Blog
Student Cellphone Addiction is No Joke
Addiction is a strong word, but it accurately describes the dysfunctional behavior exhibited by teens with cellphones. Read entire article here.
Where Does Lottery Money Go??
With sales approaching $2 billion last year, the North Carolina Education Lottery is big business. But has it made a big impact on local school budgets?
How Career and Technical Education in High School Improves Student Outcomes
Ask any group of high school teachers, and they will report that the most frequently heard question in their classrooms is, “When are we ever gonna use this?”
Achievement School District Moves Forward
The House Select Committee on Achievement School Districts met for a final time yesterday to approve the Committee report, which includes Rep. Rob Bryan’s Achievement School District (ASD) draft legislation.
CMS pushes for bond vote in 2016
Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools leaders will begin to build a case for a bond referendum this fall—but the issue may be dead on arrival with Mecklenburg County commissioners.
Contrary research on Achievement School Districts
The House Select Committee on Achievement School Districts heard yesterday from experts who presented a less-than rosy view of Achievement School District (ASD) success in Tennessee.
Funding K-12 breakdown
As I mentioned in my last column, the leadership of the General Assembly likes to tout that they have increased funding for K-12 public schools even though the categorical funding available to meet the needs of the state’s 1,449,515 students (as of last school year) is really decreasing. Let’s examine just how much the funding for various categories has decreased since 2008-09.
Op-Ed; Stop, not expand school voucher program
Thanks to the N.C. General Assembly, Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh is due to receive $583,800 of your tax dollars this academic year. That money was supposed to be used for public schools. Greensboro Islamic Academy is also due to receive $546,000 that was intended for public schools.
NC schools facing teacher recruitment and retention challenge
Higher education and K-12 educators said Wednesday that more needs to be done to recruit and retain North Carolina teachers at a time when fewer students want to enter the profession and those who are in the classroom are less experienced.
Enrollment at the 15 UNC schools of education has dropped 30 percent since 2010, according to Alisa Chapman, UNC system vice president for academic and university programs. The UNC system provides 37 percent of the state’s teachers, so any decline in the education programs makes it more difficult for districts to recruit teachers.