North Carolina is a Leader in Global Education In 2011, the North Carolina State Board of Education formed a Task Force on Global Education to assess the state’s effort to produce “globally competitive” graduates ready to live, work, and contribute in an interconnected world. Thanks to their work, the state signed a series of global […]
Current Cohort
2019 – 2020 Education Policy Fellows WEST COHORT Andrea Adams Andrea Adams currently teaches at Robbinsville High School in the Career and Technical Education Department. Andrea is a HOSA advisor and has a very active club at the high school, working in the healthcare realm in her community and assisting the students to […]
Education Matters – The Impacts of Afterschool Programs on North Carolina’s Youth
Every day, youth attend afterschool, before school and summer learning programs across North Carolina, engaging in activities like STEM, physical fitness, literacy, and civic education, to name a few. This week, we will take a look at the impact that afterschool programs have on the lives of youth, and we’ll be joined by the Forum’s […]
Keith Poston Resigns as President and Executive Director of Public School Forum of NC
The Public School Forum of NC announced today that President and Executive Director Keith Poston has resigned from his position to focus on personal family matters, effective October 31, 2019. “We appreciate Keith’s more than five years of service to the Forum and wish him well,” said the Public School Forum’s Board Chair, Dr. Tom […]
Public School Forum of North Carolina Announces Study Group XVII
Efforts Will Target the Unique Education Challenges Facing Rural North Carolina’s Students The Public School Forum of NC is excited to announce the launch of Study Group XVII, which will examine the unique education challenges facing students across rural North Carolina. Continuing the Forum’s practice of bringing together thought leaders from myriad industries to distill […]
The NC Center for Afterschool Programs Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of Lights On Afterschool at the Governor’s Executive Mansion
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 […]
Audio Example
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 […]