Education

On Wednesday more than two dozen North Carolina school systems will be closed for the day as thousands of teachers and other education supporters from across the state descend on Raleigh for the NCAE’s Day of Action. This week's Monday numbers column examines some of the factors that have helped to spur on this year's rally.

Republican teacher marches to a different drummer on matters of public education Angela Coffman is a registered Republican and Southern Baptist. But on matters of public education, the Durham elementary school teacher who supports the May 1 teacher protest, falls squarely into the camp one state GOP leader critically described as “far-left teacher strike organizers.”

On Wednesday afternoon students at UNC-Chapel Hill will leave their classes for a day of protest action at the foot of the campus’ Wilson Library. The move comes after what students say has been months of antagonism and brutality from police toward anti-racist protesters while white supremacist and neo-Confederate groups have been shown deference – even when carrying guns on campus.

Kenneth Dodge, one of the nation’s preeminent scholars on early childhood education, says North Carolina’s four-year-olds would be better served by more preschool seats than an online school.

Greear Webb and Myles Cyrus would have made great student advisers to the State Board of Education (SBE). The high school seniors have impeccable academic credentials, are well spoken and can command a room like seasoned trial lawyers.

A hearing to decide whether to allow one of the state’s two virtual charter schools, N.C. Connections Academy, to sever ties with its management firm turned ugly this week during a Charter School Advisory Board meeting.

Superintendent Mark Johnson can’t seem to win for losing. Johnson was part of big press conference Wednesday at the state Legislative Building during which he and State Sen. Andy Wells, (R-Catawba) partnered to announce their proposal of a new program to give the state’s 94,000 licensed teachers $400 a year each to buy classrooms supplies.

When Cecil Staton announced his resignation as chancellor of East Carolina University this week, it had an air of inevitability. Not because of Staton’s performance since his hiring in 2016.

Citing a pattern of low performance, the State Board of Education on Thursday voted to close Charlotte Learning Academy, one of 32 schools across the state whose charters were up for renewal this month.

Two new bills filed by state lawmakers take the heated debate over gun rights and safety to one of its most controversial battlegrounds: the classroom. House Bill 216 - The School Self-Defense Act - would make it legal for teachers and staff members to carry concealed handguns on school grounds “to respond to acts of violence or imminent threats of violence.”

The divide between leadership of the state House and Senate over how to pay for billions in school construction needs widened significantly Thursday when House Republicans filed a bill calling for a $1.9 billion education bond. Under House Bill 241, $1.5 billion in bond money, pending voter approval, would be earmarked for K-12 construction and renovation projects.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Mark Johnson on Tuesday released a lengthy list of education priorities he contends will ensure North Carolina’s public schools are the best for teachers and students by 2030. The list of priorities includes...

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UNC-Chapel Hill’s new interim chancellor wants the “Silent Sam” Confederate monument moved off campus – a position the interim UNC system President said Thursday he also shares.

The State Board of Education holds its monthly meeting this Wednesday and Thursday. Members will discuss the findings of a new statewide report on the State of the Teaching Profession in North Carolina. The following numbers examines teacher turnover across our Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and charter schools.