innovation school district
NC Rep. Tricia Cotham, then and now
About two weeks before her Democratic primary last spring, Rep. Tricia Cotham declared her unequivocal support for abortion rights. “Now, more than ever we need leaders who will be unwavering and unapologetic in their support of abortion rights,” she wrote on Twitter on May 3, 2022. At a news conference last week where Cotham announced […]
Veteran educator James Ellerbe appointed superintendent of state’s Innovative Schools District
Superintendent Mark Johnson didn’t waste much time naming a new superintendent for the state’s Innovative School District (ISD). On Thursday, Johnson announced that James Ellerbe will replace LaTeesa Allen as superintendent of the school district created to help turnaround low-performing schools. Allen’s last day on the job was June 28. N.C. Department of Public Instruction […]
House Education Committee backs bill to transform Innovation School District’s selection process
The state’s Innovative School District (ISD) would not get a new school this year under a bill backed by the House Education Committee on Wednesday. But the school district created to turnaround low-performing schools would get a new school each of the next three years afterward, and more could be selected by the State Board […]
State’s Innovative School District is operating without a superintendent, and its one school doesn’t have a principal
The state’s Innovative School District (ISD) is without a superintendent. LaTeesa Allen, who was appointed to the post by Superintendent Mark Johnson in September 2018, is no longer employed by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, Policy Watch has learned. The details surrounding Allen’s departure were not immediately available Monday. Policy Watch will update this […]
State Board of Education okays Carver Heights “restart” without controversial private takeover
Without comment, the State Board of Education on Thursday approved a “restart application” that allows Carver Heights Elementary School to avoid a state takeover. Under the “restart” school reform model, the struggling Wayne County school will be given “charter-like” flexibility to operate, meaning it will be free of some of the rules and regulations that […]
Education professor explains emptiness of for-profit charter takeover law
There’s a fine op-ed in this morning’s edition of Raleigh’s News & Observer by Brian Gibbs, who is an associate professor in the Department of Education at UNC Chapel Hill. In it, Gibbs explains what North Carolina lawmakers should be doing if they’re serious about bringing “innovation” to struggling schools. Spoiler alert: It’s not turning […]