CHAPEL HILL (June 22, 2023) – When he lists his heroes – other than his mother – Hall of Fame Coach Roy Williams lists his teachers. “The most important people to me in my entire life were my high school and elementary school teachers. No one ever was as important to me as those people… READ MORE
Teachers: You can grow your own
DENVER, NC – North Carolina has a severe teacher shortage – the state started the school year more than 5,000 teachers short.1 But some places have learned you can grow your own. In a webinar hosted by Higher Ed Works on May 16, Rachel Frye, the Southwest NC Teacher of the Year at East Lincoln… READ MORE
NC teacher pay: ‘Simply not competitive’
CLICK HERE to view the full webinar on Fair Pay for NC K-12 Teachers RALEIGH (June 8, 2023) – When she won a North Carolina Teaching Fellows scholarship to become a teacher in 1998, Rachel Frye felt valued by the state of North Carolina. But after 21 years in teaching, Frye says in webinar on… READ MORE
Lawmakers show what they mean by school choice
RALEIGH (June 1, 2023) – State legislators are moving to dramatically expand vouchers to attend private schools this year, lifting income limits on who qualifies and raising state spending on vouchers to more than half a billion dollars a year by 2032-33.1 Make no mistake – budgets are about choices. And state legislators are choosing… READ MORE
Senate budget: Simply not enough
RALEIGH (May 18, 2023) – It’s simply not enough. The budget proposal released this week by the state Senate is simply not enough to improve public education in North Carolina. There’s an undeniable link between education and a skilled workforce. Yet state legislators don’t seem to get that. At a time when average teacher pay… READ MORE
Vouchers: The privatization of NC public schools
By Don Martin and David Rice RALEIGH (May 5, 2023) – News Item: Average teacher pay in North Carolina public schools ranks 34th in the nation this school year, up from 36th last year. And North Carolina ranks 46th in starting teacher pay.1 How’s that for North Carolina pride? Let’s hear it for 34th! And… READ MORE
Playing catch-up on starting teacher pay – with Alabama?
RALEIGH (April 26, 2023) – School started in North Carolina this year with more than 5,000 teacher vacancies in K-12 public schools. So North Carolina is allegedly worried about recruiting more teachers to the profession. But is it serious? As legislators pat themselves on the back over a budget proposal passed this month by the… READ MORE
CEOs: Solve NC teacher shortage to build better readers
RALEIGH (April 11, 2023) – Business leaders delivered a twofold message to state politicians Tuesday: North Carolina must expand its Pre-K program to build reading skills by 3rd grade. But we can’t do that unless we first solve the state’s teacher shortage. “It’s essential to the children of North Carolina, to North Carolina businesses and… READ MORE
House budget: Raises for teachers, but we can do better
RALEIGH (March 30, 2023) – The 2023-25 state budget rolled out this week by Republicans in the state House makes steps in the right direction on a number of fronts, but chiefly teacher pay. But this state can do better. It’s only the beginning in the budget process – the state Senate still needs to… READ MORE
Don Martin: Test Pathways, but give teachers raises
WINSTON-SALEM (March 8, 2023) – While there are always differing opinions about how much teachers should be paid, I believe most North Carolinians agree that having quality teachers in every classroom is important, our students need to perform better, and teachers should be paid more. I wrote a short piece for Higher Ed Works last… READ MORE