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National Council on Teacher Quality: Increasing teacher diversity requires a sustained commitment
In North Carolina, there’s a 30 percentage point gap between students of color and teachers of color, according to a new report by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ). Students of color are 55% of the state’s public school enrollment and teachers 25% of teachers identify as people of color. The teacher/student diversity numbers […]
State Board of Education denies charter school’s relocation request
The State Board of Education on Thursday denied Dogwood Classical Academy’s request to relocate to Iredell County on a 6-3 vote. The K-8 school is scheduled to open next year in Cabarrus County. School officials requested the move to Iredell County after having trouble finding an affordable school site in Cabarrus County. State board members […]
State Superintendent Catherine Truitt reports ‘incredible’ gains in K-3 reading
North Carolina’s K-3 students have made “incredible gains” in reading and fewer of them require intensive intervention, State Superintendent Catherine Truitt said Thursday. Truitt shared K-3 reading data with the State Board of Education on Wednesday that shows kindergartners making a 48% percentage jump from the beginning of the 2022-23 school year to the end […]
As the school year starts, districts prepare for onslaught of book challenges by conservatives
North Carolina has become what demographers and political pundits call a minority-majority system of public schools. That means nonwhite students outnumber their white counterparts. This new dynamic, says Michelle Burton, a veteran school library media specialist with Durham Public Schools, has fueled a backlash against what’s taught about America’s racist past, as well as reading […]
Charter school looking to relocate faces opposition in Mooresville
Dogwood Classical Academy, a K-8 charter school, is facing opposition to a request to relocate to Iredell County. The school is supposed to open in Cabarrus County but has had trouble finding a suitable location. Mooresville Graded School District Superintendent Jason Gardner said in an impact statement submitted to the Office of Charter Schools that […]
State Superintendent Catherine Truitt discusses learning loss before congressional committee
State Superintendent Truitt’s office reached out to NC Newsline on Thursday to say that Truitt misspoke in her congressional testimony about the amount of pandemic relief funds the state retains to aid in combating student learning loss. This story has been updated to reflect that the correct figure is $1.5 billion. State Superintendent of Public […]
Former state Senator Deanna Ballard joins list of lieutenant governor candidates
A former Republican state senator who takes credit for pushing North Carolina’s leaders to reopen schools during the pandemic, has announced her candidacy for lieutenant governor. Deanna Ballard, a Watauga County Republican, boasts in a press release announcing her candidacy that she went “toe-to-toe with Gov. Roy Cooper, former Dept. of Health and Human Services […]
Gov. Roy Cooper vetoes controversial charter school bill
A Republican-backed bill allowing counties to spend local tax dollars on charter school construction projects was vetoed by Gov. Roy Cooper on Friday. Cooper said in a statement that House Bill 219 puts taxpayers’ dollars at risk. “Diverting local resources to build charter schools without clear authority on who owns them risks financial loss to […]
State Board of Education leaders take issue with parts of ‘Parents’ Rights Bill’
State Board of Education (SBE) leaders are concerned that the Parents’ Bill of Rights legislation vetoed by Gov. Roy Cooper doesn’t give the state board authority to enforce the recommendations of a hearing officer in disputes between parents and public schools. SBE Chairman Eric Davis and SBE vice Chairman Alan Duncan penned a letter to […]
New federal law will help military personnel, spouses surmount NC teacher licensing hurdles
If the new school year starts like the last, it will begin with a teacher shortage numbering in the thousands. Last fall, the “State of the Teaching Profession” report showed 5,091 vacant teaching positions in North Carolina on the 40th day of school. That was a 58.4% increase over the 3,214 vacancies in the previous […]
Republican-backed Charter School Omnibus bill sent to Gov. Roy Cooper
A Charter School Omnibus bill that allows counties to spend tax dollars on charter school construction projects has been sent to Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk. House Bill 219 joins a growing list of Republican-backed education bills that Gov. Roy Cooper is expected to veto. The omnibus bill was approved 61-41 vote this week. Four Democrats […]
July surprise: GOP lawmakers unveil sweeping bill to remake public education in NC
In a sudden and extraordinary flex of political power, Republican legislators unveiled an expansive education bill Tuesday night that would dramatically overhaul and greatly disrupt the way public schools operate in North Carolina, and likely alter forever the state’s approach to K-12 education. The bill, a “committee substitute” to Senate Bill 90, contains many ideas […]