Tag: public schools

Budget cuts are not helping this problem

August 21, 2012 at 8:28 amCategory:Uncategorized

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The folks at Public News Service highlighted an often underreported story this morning that confronts public school administrators at this time of year: the difficulty that schools have in attracting and retaining good teachers — especially in math and science.  The story focuses on the special challenges confronting poorer, rural districts, but as even the folks in bigger urban districts like Wake and Mecklenburg can readily attest, it is a statewide problem.

So, how could this be? Aren’t we in the midst of a prolonged period of high unemployment? Aren’t would-be teachers happy to have any job?

Well, it’s not quite that simple.  Several factors tend to work against stability in teacher employment. These include the following: Read More…

Conservative pols: NC’s “failing schools” are doing great

August 3, 2012 at 9:03 amCategory:Uncategorized

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It’s been fascinating this week to listen to the state’s conservative political leadership try to spin the new graduation data released by education officials. Observers had to be careful not to get a case of whiplash from the 180 degree change in tone.

Here’s State Senate leader Phil Berger just three months ago in a statement that accompanied the release of his big “education reform” package:

“In order to fix our state’s broken education system, we must stop constantly reaching for our checkbook and focus on reforming our playbook.”

Got that? North Carolina’s education system was/is “broken.”

Compare that to the following statement sent out this week in a fundraiser by North Carolina House Republicans in response to the news that North Carolina’s high school graduation rate had exceeded 80%: Read More…

Private equity, hedge fund vultures “circling public education”

August 2, 2012 at 2:41 pmCategory:Uncategorized

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Don’t expect the upbeat news from the state education world reported in Sarah Ovaska’s post below to slow down another powerful trend in public education: the attempt  by corprate pirates to steal our schools.

As Reuters reporter Stephanie Simon reports in this story via the HuffPost, the big money guys on Wall Street are hard at work figuring out ways to muscle in and claim a share of the half-trillion dollars the U.S. spends on public education.

“The investors gathered in a tony private club in Manhattan were eager to hear about the next big thing, and education consultant Rob Lytle was happy to oblige.

Think about the upcoming rollout of new national academic standards for public schools, he urged the crowd. If they’re as rigorous as advertised, a huge number of schools will suddenly look really bad, their students testing way behind in reading and math. They’ll want help, quick. And private, for-profit vendors selling lesson plans, educational software and student assessments will be right there to provide it.

‘You start to see entire ecosystems of investment opportunity lining up,’ said Lytle, a partner at The Parthenon Group, a Boston consulting firm. ‘It could get really, really big.’”

Simon’s story helps explain in part why a troubled company like K12, Inc. has hired a virtual swarm of lobbyists to lobby North Carolina state government.

You can read the entire sobering story by clicking here.

Hagan touts bill to restrain abuses by for-profit colleges

August 2, 2012 at 7:20 amCategory:Uncategorized

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This morning’s Greensboro News & Record includes an editorial by Senator Kay Hagan about a promising bill that she’s co-sponsoring to rein in some abuses in the for-profit college industry.

The bill (“the Protecting Financial Aid for Students and Taxpayers Act”), which has been endorsed by the watchdogs at Consumers Union, would require all colleges and universities to pay for advertising, marketing and recruiting with non-taxpayer dollars. As Hagan’s piece explains, some private schools have been using abusive tactics (sometimes paid for with federal dollars) to recruit and ensnare young people.

It sounds like a promising start in an area that’s rife with abuse — a phenomenon that is, sadly, sure to get worse in North Carolina if conservatives plow ahead with their plans to divert millions in public dollars into private, for-profit schools.

Greensboro N&R editorial decries last minute school year change

July 18, 2012 at 8:26 amCategory:Uncategorized

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This morning’s Greensboro News & Record editorial page contains an excellent piece on the General Assembly’s last minute “technical” change to the length of the K-12 school year.

The wrong word

North Carolina public schools must operate at least 185 days and offer 1,025 hours of instruction each year.

185 days or 1,025 hours.

That small change might make a big difference — and probably not for the benefit of the state’s K-12 students.

It was made as a “technical correction” to the state budget for the current fiscal year. It appeared almost without notice, let alone study or debate.

It is not a technical correction; it’s a policy shift. The legislative intent behind it, however, has not been explained.

But one hint was provided by Sen. Jerry Tillman, R-Randolph, a co-chairman of the Senate’s education committee..

Read the entire editorial by clicking here.