RALEIGH, NC (October 7, 2019) – The Public School Forum’s NC Center for Afterschool Programs (NC CAP) is proud to announce that it will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the annual nationwide event, Lights On Afterschool, with North Carolina First Lady Kristin Cooper and Dr. Terry Peterson, Chairperson of the Board of Directors, After School […]
Education Matters – State Budget Veto Override
In a stunning move last week that sent shockwaves across the political landscape here in North Carolina and nationally, the Republican majority in the NC House overrode Governor Cooper’s veto of the state budget with nearly half of the 120 House members absent, mostly Democrats. With a called vote early on the morning of September […]
Education Matters – When “A” Means Affluent
Topic: When “A” Means Affluent Last week the NC Department of Public Instruction released its annual A-F School Performance Grades for the state’s public schools and they continue to reflect a clear relationship between poverty and student test scores. This week on the show we discuss the latest school grades and the grading system itself. […]
Yes, “A” Still Stands for Affluent in NC School Performance Grades
By Lindsay Wagner North Carolina released its annual A-F School Performance Grades this week and they continue to reflect the clear relationship between poverty and students’ test scores. Of the 21.7% of North Carolina schools that received either a D or F in 2018-19, 95% of those schools were serving high poverty populations. That’s a […]
Education Matters – Are NC Schools Prepared for the Next Hurricane?
Topic: Are NC Schools Prepared for the Next Hurricane? While the official Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, September historically has been the most active month for hurricanes affecting North Carolina, with 35 percent of all hurricanes striking the state in that month including Hurricane Florence last year. As a new school year […]
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Education Matters · Ep. 181 A Conversation with National Leaders
Color of Education Announces New Mapping Project to Highlight Racial Equity Efforts Across NC
RALEIGH, NC (August 23, 2019) –The Public School Forum of NC, in partnership with the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity and Duke Sanford Policy Bridge, is excited to announce a new joint initiative: Mapping the Movement for Racial Equity and Beyond. For years, there has been great work happening around racial equity in […]
Education Matters – Trauma-Informed Schools
Topic: Trauma-Informed Schools We know that Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACEs can lead to long-term health issues as adults, but we’re just beginning to understand the impact trauma has on a child’s ability to learn during the critical early years in school. The good news is researchers have identified strategies that help these students learn […]
Education Matters – Innovative Public Schools
Topic: Innovative Public Schools While school choice and education privatization efforts grab headlines and generate a great deal of activity at the NC General Assembly, a wide array of innovative and transformative efforts are quietly underway in public school systems all across North Carolina. This week we’re going to introduce you to the state’s first […]
Education Matters – One-on-One with Governor Roy Cooper
Governor Roy Cooper vetoed the budget passed by the NC General Assembly on June 28th and offered up a counter proposal a week later. Now more than a month has passed and the General Assembly has yet to bring a veto override vote to the floor and publicly there seems to be little movement on […]
Education Matters – State Health Plan Standoff
Topic: State Health Plan Standoff The North Carolina State Health Plan is managed by the State Treasurer of North Carolina Dale Folwell. His office has been engaged in a bitter battle with the state’s hospitals and healthcare networks over pricing and the contract dispute has more than 700,000 teachers, state employees, retirees and their dependents […]
Education Matters – Wake Students Chronicle Lynching History
Topic: Wake Students Chronicle Lynching History Last year, students from Wake County’s Middle Creek High School, along with students from two other local schools, worked with the Alabama-based Equal Justice Initiative to document the only confirmed lynching case in Wake County. Following this transformative work, students began working with the Wake County Truth and Reconciliation […]
Teachers, state employees caught in the middle as state treasurer, hospitals battle over State Health Plan
By Lindsay Wagner When Wilkes County middle school librarian Susan Ringo recently had a stroke, she came through the medical crisis only to learn she had other undiagnosed congenital health issues that will require a lifetime of medical care at no small cost. She had planned to rely on the State Health Plan to keep […]
Education Matters – State Budget Showdown
Topic: State Budget Showdown Just one day after the General Assembly passed a new state budget, Governor Roy Cooper announced he was vetoing it, citing lack of investment in public education and failure to expand Medicaid to provide health coverage for low income North Carolinians. So what happens next? We’re joined today by two top […]
Turnover, senior staff departures continue at the NC Department of Public Instruction
On the heels of several high level departures in recent months from the NC Department of Public Instruction, NC State Superintendent Mark Johnson is now losing two key members of his inner circle–his general counsel and legislative director. Kevin Wilkinson, who came to DPI with Johnson shortly after his 2016 election, will leave his position […]
A compromise budget that fails to ensure a sound basic education for every child
Statement by Keith Poston on the 2019-21 compromise state budget plan
Education Matters – Early College High Schools on the Chopping Block
Topic: Early College High Schools on the Chopping Block Some of North Carolina’s top rated high schools are what are commonly referred to as early college high schools. These schools allow students to earn college credits while working towards graduation and are typically paired with a local community college or university. The North Carolina Senate […]
NC Resilience and Learning Project Concludes Its Second Year: Lessons Learned
As the second year of the NC Resilience and Learning Project comes to a close, we are so fortunate to report the many successes we’ve nurtured as well as the improvements we’ve made, for both the project as well as the schools we were able to serve. To date, the NC Resilience and Learning Project […]
Education Matters – North Carolina Rock Star Teachers
Topic: North Carolina Rock Star Teachers The State of North Carolina is fortunate to be home to thousands of exceptional public school teachers. In fact North Carolina leads the nation in the percentage of Nationally Board Certified teachers, the gold standard for professional excellence in teaching. This week on the show you’re going to meet […]
Friday Report – June 14th, 2019
This week in #nced: As NC House and Senate Disagree Over Licensing Issue, Teacher Jobs Are in Limbo; With Growing Calls for More Mental Health Services, States Tackle School Counselor Caseloads
Friday Report – June 7th, 2019
This week in #nced: Virtual Pre-K Still on The Table at General Assembly as Early Childhood Experts Raise Red Flags, Caution Against More Screen Time; NC Surpasses 200 Charter Schools as State Board Approves 10 More
Virtual pre-K still on the table at General Assembly as early childhood experts raise red flags, caution against more screen time
By Lindsay Wagner Among the many education proposals that have surfaced during the 2019 legislative session, few have provoked as much heated debate as this idea: to enact a 3-year pilot program that would provide low-income and military families in ten districts across North Carolina with a virtual preschool platform known as UPSTART. Rep. D. […]
Friday Report – May 31st, 2019
The Friday Report May 31, 2019 Public School Forum Honors Jim and Barbara Goodmon with Annual Education Award Nearly 500 educators, business leaders, community stakeholders, government officials and supporters of public schools gathered at the Raleigh Convention Center last night to honor Jim and Barbara Goodmon for their vast contributions to public education. Jim Goodmon, […]
Education Matters – The E-Cigarette Epidemic and Students
Topic: The e-cigarette epidemic and students E-cigarettes, Vaping. Juuling. Whatever you know it by, their use is skyrocketing among students. Last week North Carolina became the first state in the country to file a lawsuit against popular e-cigarette maker Juul Labs alleging the company is downplaying the potency and danger of nicotine and illegally targeting […]