Ed Sieber wants to open a charter school that would serve grades K-8 in Matthews, a suburb of Charlotte. The school would be called Matthews-Mint Hill Charter Academy. In creating the plan for his charter, Sieber decided he wanted to replicate the success of another nearby charter school, Queen’s Grant Community School. That [Continue Reading...]

Two hundred million dollars for raises for North Carolina’s beginning teachers — a proposal put forth by Governor Pat McCrory. Ten million dollars for the top performing 25 percent of North Carolina’s teachers – a plan put into law by the state legislature last summer. Beginning this fall, that’s $210 million dollars for [Continue Reading...]

Strange bedfellows – two words that may come to mind when considering the growing opposition movement to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) that is taking place not only in North Carolina, but also across the nation. “This issue is not Republican or Democrat or independent, it crosses all lines of politics and [Continue Reading...]

It’s Friday, and Carla Tavares, a third grade teacher at Millbrook Elementary School in Wake County, is tired of testing her students. And Tavares’ students are tired of taking tests. “Which test is this?” a sullen third grader asked Tavares, holding a packet in his hand that contained a four-page reading passage and [Continue Reading...]

Buncombe County explores how it can protect career status for all of its eligible teachers, in spite of a state mandate requiring that 25 percent of teachers give up tenure rights this fall. Last week, Buncombe County joined a growing list of local school districts that have rejected the state’s new plan [Continue Reading...]

At a hearing last week that put a temporary halt to the new Opportunity Scholarships program, Judge Robert Hobgood learned some new facts about the most popular private schools that school voucher applicants were hoping to use taxpayer funds to attend. Two of the top three private schools identified by voucher applicants [Continue Reading...]

This week, two lawsuits challenging the state’s new school voucher law were green-lighted to move forward by Superior Court Judge Robert H. Hobgood, who denied the state’s motions to dismiss the cases on the basis that they lacked merit. Also green-lighted by Judge Hobgood? An intervenor in the case who is seeking [Continue Reading...]

“Watching what has happened to public education in North Carolina is like watching a tragedy unfold, act by act.” Hard hitting words from historian and public education advocate Diane Ravitch, who addressed hundreds of educators, policy makers and advocates today at the 2014 Emerging Issues Forum in Raleigh. “Teachers and the Great Economic Debate” was [Continue Reading...]

Members of the State Board of Education approved today multiple alternative assessment methods for determining third grade reading proficiency, which were put forth by local school districts in an effort to reduce the burdensome testing methods that have fallen upon third graders across the state thanks to a new law passed in 2012. [Continue Reading...]

Peggy Weil doesn’t usually answer dinnertime phone calls. But one evening last month, she glanced at the caller ID and noticed a call was coming in from a 919 area code instead of the usual 800 number she associates with telemarketers. Figuring it could be a friend or colleague calling from Raleigh, she [Continue Reading...]

Faye Alston spent eight years studying for the General Educational Development exam, better known as the GED. “I knew it was gonna be a struggle because I quit school 40 years ago, at age 17,” said Alston. “But I wanted an education.” First developed in 1942 for soldiers returning home who had enlisted [Continue Reading...]

Few teachers able to express their concerns and objections over new contract system that replaces tenure A grand total of three teachers and two public education advocates attended the NC Department of Public Instruction’s public hearing on the proposed model teacher contract, which local school districts will use to award the top 25 [Continue Reading...]

South Brunswick Charter approved amid questions surrounding charter operator’s financial conduct and conflicts of interest After very little discussion, members of the State Board of Education gave final approval today to 26 charter schools that intend to open in the fall of 2014. Among those approved today is South Brunswick Charter School, [Continue Reading...]

Blurred lines between home schools and private schools open the door for possible fraud and abuse Standing in the doorway of her home, Carol Miller remembers when Paramount Christian Academy was a larger operation. Housed by Westchester Baptist Church in High Point more than ten years ago, the private Christian school then had three teachers, [Continue Reading...]