Education

Before the State Board of Education approved its new five-year strategic plan, SBE member James E. Ford was asked to clarify the meaning of the word "equity," which is a reoccurring theme throughout the document. That proved easy work for Ford, who co-chaired the SBE Strategic Planning Committee. He’s also a professional consultant on issues of equity in education who just released a major report on the subject.

GIBSONVILLE -- The tobacco fields near East Guilford High School are reminders of times bygone when getting into trouble at school meant a trip to the principal’s office, and maybe a phone call to a child’s parents. A paddling by the principal, now banned in most places, and a severe scolding at home were about the worst outcomes for a student who misbehaved.

Essie Mae Kiser Foxx Charter School in the Rowan County town of East Spencer recently notified the Charter School Advisory Board that it will part ways with its management firm – Raleigh-based Torchlight Academy Services (TAS) – after only one year due to poor fiscal and operational management.

Senate leader slams proposed budget compromise, appears to reject further negotiation North Carolina teachers would see an average 8.5 percent pay raise by the second year of the biennium under a compromise budget proposal...

Priscilla Ross works to improve financial literacy among her students in Durham. Priscilla Ross was surprised to learn students in her accounting class at Hillside High School in Durham didn’t know how to create a budget or manage a check book. And when Ross, who oversees the school’s Banking and Finance Academy, asked, students couldn’t tell her that APR stands for annual percentage rate.

Tamia Sanders’ voice trembled as she looked out on a large rally crowd from the steps of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Wilson Library in April. She was there to talk about the ongoing opposition to the return of the “Silent Sam” Confederate monument and the mistreatment of student activists by the campus police.

The state Charter School Advisory Board (CSAB) on Monday unanimously stood by its approval of two charters schools Wake County school officials deem are not needed. CSAB members agreed Wake officials’ concerns about Wake County Preparatory Academy and North Raleigh Charter Academy appear to reflect “philosophical” differences about the value of charters rather than fear of school re-segregation or charter saturation.

Teachers would get an average 3.5 percent pay raise over the next two years under a biennium spending plan released Tuesday by state Republican leaders. The plan calls for spending $23.9 billion during the 2019-20 fiscal year, and it increases spending on public education by $1.3 billion over the next two years.

The chuckles usually come before a question about the viability of an online preschool can be completed. There’s just something about the concept that makes people want to giggle.

Restoring the "Silent Sam" Confederate monument to its original place at UNC-Chapel Hill is "not the right path," UNC Board of Governors Chairman Harry Smith said Wednesday. His thinking has undergone an evolution, Smith said at a press conference following a full meeting of the board of governors.

At its meeting next week, the UNC Board of Governors was scheduled to unveil a new plan for the future of the Confederate monument known as “Silent Sam.” But late Tuesday afternoon, board Chairman Harry Smith released a statement saying the board has decided to again postpone it.

You can hear the anger rising in Yevonne Brannon’s voice as she talks about the state’s controversial school voucher program. Brannon, a spokeswoman for Public Schools First N.C., a K-12 advocacy organization, thinks it’s outrageous that a family with an annual income of more than $71,000 could receive state tax dollars to help pay for private school tuition.

At their May 21-22 meeting, the UNC Board of Governors is scheduled to hear a long-delayed plan for the future of the “Silent Sam” Confederate monument, which was toppled by protesters last August. As students, staff and faculty continue to oppose the statue’s return to campus of UNC-Chapel Hill and rally for changes in on-campus policing, we take a by-the-numbers look back at the “after action report” on the toppling commissioned by UNC and released early this year.

Downtown Raleigh came alive Wednesday with thousands of North Carolina educators filling the streets to demand lawmakers increase funding for public schools.

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.