Education

WASHINGTON — A long-simmering feud between U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and congressional Democrats over student loan forgiveness is heating up as hundreds of thousands of borrowers continue to wait for help on loans they claim were fraudulent. DeVos narrowly avoided a congressional subpoena earlier this month after a lengthy fight with the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor.

Last week, education policymakers, researchers, foundations and corporate executives gathered for a national summit on adult literacy in Washington, D.C. The inaugural gathering hosted by the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy  was designed to look at evidence-based best practices for addressing the nation's literacy crisis.

Members of the UNC Board of Governors publicly condemned member Tom Fetzer’s secret, independent investigation of East Carolina University's former interim chancellor of ECU Thursday, with some, including the board’s chair, saying consequences for his actions should be discussed.

GREENSBORO – A Pender County graduate almost missed an opportunity to pursue his dream job because he got into a fight while in high school at age 15.   New Hanover County Chief District Court Judge J.H. Corpening told the State Board of Education (SBE) on Wednesday that the young man dreamed of joining the U.S. Air Force to pursue a career in military intelligence.

Lawmakers criticize probe as "threat to academic freedom" U.S. Rep. Andy Levin (D-Michigan) and U.S. Rep. Susan Davis (D-Calif.) sent a letter to U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos last week outlining concerns and requesting documentation regarding the department’s investigation into the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle Eastern Studies curriculum.

State lawmakers, UNC students and LGBTQ advocates are pushing back on the idea of N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) as the next president of the UNC System. Last week state lawmakers and members of the UNC Board of Governors began speaking openly about persistent rumors Moore will seek the position.

Acclaimed author draws parallels between slavery and sexual violence Ever the provocateur, award-winning author Ta-Nehisi Coates has a knack for asking tough, uncomfortable questions about race, a manufactured concept that has left an indelible stain on America hundreds of years after...

Rumors of N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore’s interest in becoming the next President of the UNC System went from whispers in the hallway of the General Assembly to speeches on the House floor Wednesday.

Recurring low-performing schools can get fresh starts under the state’s Restart school reform model, which grants them charter-like flexibility.  That means the schools are free of many of the mandates under which traditional public schools must operate. 

A troubled charter school in the Rowan County town of East Spencer has turned to a man with a checkered financial and criminal history to help it find its footing after a rocky first year that involved parting ways with its management company and finishing the academic year thousands of dollars in the red.

As the proud owner of a new restaurant, Leonardo Williams surely had other things to do this past Saturday.  But there he was, taking notes and listening closely to six state superintendent candidates who want to replace Mark Johnson in the November 2020 General election. 

The already chaotic political environment of the UNC System and its Board of Governors has been further roiled by a new series of shock waves over the last two weeks that includes:

Kate Walsh, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has a reputation for being outspoken and provocative. She lived up to that billing this month during a visit to North Carolina to discuss strategies state education leaders can use to improve college and university programs that prepare teachers for the classroom.

A few short years ago, Lakewood Elementary School in Durham was a low-performing school where only one in four students was proficient in reading. The school’s poor performance landed it on the list of schools for potential takeover by the state’s new Innovative School District (ISD) – a controversial initiative created by lawmakers in 2016 to allow consistently low-performing schools to be placed under the control of private operators.

In one-on-one interview, new Innovative School District principal admits shortcomings of Year One, expresses confidence going forward Southside-Ashpole Elementary School in the Robeson County town of Rowland opened last August as the state’s first and only school in the new Innovative School District (ISD).