Tamika Walker Kelly
Public school advocates rally against vouchers, demand adequate funding
Democratic state lawmakers and members of Every Child NC on Tuesday demanded that the Republican-led General Assembly fully fund Years Four and Five of the Leandro Comprehensive Remedial Plan and stop a proposal to allow North Carolina’s wealthiest families access to the state’s controversial school voucher program. In a news conference, Sen. Rachel Hunt, a […]
N.C. Association of Educators responds to report exposing a widening teacher pay gap
The N. C. Association of Educators (NCAE) responded Tuesday to a new report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) that attribute a nationwide teacher retention crisis to a growing “pay penalty” between teachers and similarly qualified professionals. EPI, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that focuses on economic policies impacting low-and middle-income workers, reports a “pay […]
Education leaders urge lawmakers to continue free meals for K-12 students
Hungry children can’t learn, NC Association of Educators President Tamika Walker Kelly said Wednesday. Kelly’s comment came during a noon press conference held to urge state lawmakers to pass two bills to provide the state’s 1.5 million K-12 students with free breakfast and lunch. State funding is needed because a federal pandemic-era program that has […]
To get better pay NC teachers may need to march in the streets locally
Since the beginning of this school year and through the final four months of state budget negotiations, we at the North Carolina Association of Educators advocated for meaningful salary increases, increased classroom funding and a fulfillment of the Leandro mandate. But above all, we fought for recognition of what’s happening in our public schools across […]
N.C. Association of Educators wants teachers vaccinated before schools reopen
North Carolina must vaccinate teachers before asking them to return to classrooms for in-person instruction, the N.C. Association of Educators said Monday. “Educators are the epitome of essential, front line workers, and getting them vaccinated is the most critical step to restarting in-person instruction statewide,” said Tamika Walker Kelly, president of the teacher advocacy organization. […]
The push to reopen schools has taken a mean-spirited turn on Twitter
The school reopening push in Wake County has turned mean-spirited. On Twitter, an anonymous person operating under the username ChitterChatterWake has begun to attack teachers, the N.C. Association of Educators (NCAE) and others who are resisting efforts to reopen schools to in-person instruction before the coronavirus is under control. A tweet posted Thursday directs educators […]
NC Association of Educators wants Gov. Roy Cooper to tighten restrictions to slow spread of COVID-19
With cases of COVID-19 infections surging and nearly 4,000 people in North Carolina hospitalized with the deadly virus, the N.C. Association of Educators (NCAE) has called on Gov. Roy Cooper to take stronger “executive action” to control the disease. NCAE President Tamika Walker Kelly said in a letter to the governor that educators are concerned about the spike in infections. She asked Cooper to “make a difficult” decision to tighten COVID-19 […]
Senate leader Phil Berger attacks education leaders over their support for Black Lives Matter at School
Senate leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham), continued his attacks on state educators Monday, this time targeting the N.C. Association of Educators’ (NCAE) leadership for its support of Black Lives Matter at School, a national coalition of teachers that promotes racial justice in education. Berger’s criticism of the “far-left” NCAE came days after its president, Tamika Kelly Walker, posted a tweet urging educators to sign a petition pledging to participate in the coalition’s “Black Lives Matter at […]