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Chapel Hill High School’s Kimberly S. Jones is North Carolina’s 2023 Teacher of the Year
Kimberly S. Jones, an English teacher at Chapel Hill High School who champions equitable access to advanced courses, was named the 2023 North Carolina Teacher of the Year on Friday. Jones, who grew up in tiny, rural town of Erwin in Harnett County, thanked her mother, Gwendolyn Jones, who instilled in her a love for […]
Rep. Tricia Cotham seals GOP move with bill giving lawmakers more control over charter schools
Former Democratic lawmaker Tricia Cotham sealed her move to the Republican Party this week by co-sponsoring a bill that would remove the State Board of Education from the charter school approval process. Under House Bill 618, that approval would be handed over to a new Charter School Review Board, whose members must be “charter school advocates […]
Commission weighing pay and licensure must point out advantages of teacher diversity
Education leaders remaking North Carolina’s teacher pay and licensure systems must be explicit in pointing out the need to recruit, retain and support educators of color as it goes about its work, says a task force created by Gov. Roy Cooper to increase teacher diversity. The Developing a Representative and Inclusive Vision for Education (DRIVE) […]
Charter School Advisory Board is concerned that a Pitt County school is not prepared to open
A Pitt County charter school scheduled to open in July is without a school leader and hasn’t hired any teachers, the Charter School Advisory Board learned Tuesday. The charter board also discovered that Greenville Preparatory Academy has 244 applicants, which is 61% of the first-year enrollment of 400 students. Greenville Prep needs 360 students to […]
State Board of Education member suggests surrounding schools with security fences
The state should build fences around schools to protect students and educators from gun violence, State Board of Education member Amy White said Thursday. White noted during the state board’s monthly meeting that there haven’t been any mass shootings at state prisons because they are heavily protected by fencing. “We should provide that same sense […]
Charter School Advisory Board would be replaced by review panel under House budget provision
A provision in the House budget would replace the Charter School Advisory Board with a review panel to oversee North Carolina’s more than 200 charter schools. The new North Carolina Charter School Review Board (CSRB) as it is called in the House budget document would become the “initial authorizer” of charter schools. The State Board […]
Bill to allow low-performing virtual charters to continue gets favorable hearing
Senate Democrats on Tuesday opposed a bill that would allow the state’s two virtual charter schools to continue to operate despite a record of poor academic performance dating to 2015, the year both schools opened. The North Carolina Virtual Academy and the North Carolina Cyber Academy have earned “D” state performance grades each year of operation. […]
State Board of Education vice chairman wants ‘constructive solutions’ for gun violence plague
The time has come for “constructive solutions” to protect students and teachers from gun violence, Alan Duncan, the vice chairman of the State Board of Education said Wednesday. Duncan’s comments were made during the state board’s work session Wednesday. They come in the wake of the recent school shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville […]
Bill requires lawmakers to approve state community college system president
Senate Republicans approved an amendment to a charter school bill Tuesday that would require presidents of the state’s community college system to be approved by the General Assembly. The amendment was added to House Bill 149 that would extend the state’s virtual charter school pilot program and allow charter schools to establish remote academies. Sen. […]
Senate Bill 483 would increase school workers’ minimum pay to $17 an hour
Classified school workers — teacher’s assistants, bus drivers, custodians and cafeteria workers — would be paid a minimum of $17 an hour under a bill filed Monday by a trio of Senate Democrats. The workers’ current minimum pay is at least $15 an hour. Senate Bill 483 would appropriate $144.7 million in recurring funds to pay […]
Former deputy state superintendent rejected for Mississippi’s top K-12 education post
A funny thing happened to former N.C. Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) administrator Robert Taylor en route to becoming Mississippi’s second black state superintendent of education. His nomination was roundly rejected by that state’s Republican-led Senate this week in a largely partisan vote that angered many Black lawmakers. Old fashioned Southern racism coupled with comments […]
House Republicans revive ‘academic transparency’ legislation in budget proposal
The North Carolina House budget proposal calls for a 10% pay increase for teachers over the next two years, but would have to work harder for the extra money under a substantive provision that would require “Academic Transparency.” The House budget bill would require teachers to prominently post, course materials, lessons plans and supplemental materials […]