Showing Our Public Schools LOVE
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The conclusion of Love Week is a great time to highlight efforts by public officials to truly support our public schools and foster excellence for ALL students.
This week Mo Green, NC Superintendent of Public Instruction, released the department's funding priorities. They include a focus on supporting ALL students and educators. If our legislators follow Green’s lead, our public schools will start to get back on track to being tops in the nation!
- $377 million for free breakfast and lunch for all K-12 public school students
- $229.8 million for a weighted school funding formula to better support students with disabilities
- $253 million to replenish student laptops purchased with federal COVID-19 relief funds
- $120 million for school resource officers in middle and elementary schools
- $100 million to repair school facilities damaged by Hurricane Helene
- $65.5 million to hire more school counselors, nurses, social workers, and psychologists
- $635,000 to help start three new innovative high schools
- Additional funds to raise teacher pay so that North Carolina has the highest teacher salaries in the Southeast.
This $1 billion price tag (before teacher raises are included) is no small ask. However, when put in context with the $1.4 billion the NCGA has already appropriated for private school voucher spending over the budget biennium (FY 2025-26 & 2026-27), Green’s budget request seems modest.
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Add the fact that public schools currently serve more than 1.4 million students in North Carolina and ALL private schools, including those that don’t enroll voucher students, served just 131,230 students in 2023-24, the funding for vouchers seems far outside a reasonable range.
Two bills introduced this session further highlight the value of our public schools and shortcomings of private/home schools. House Bill 7 “NC REACH (Reclaiming College Education on America's Constitutional Heritage) Act” requires all graduates of UNC universities and NC community colleges to take an American History or American Government course. Required readings are included in the bill. American History is already a requirement of NC public schools, but it is not a requirement for private/home schools. This bill simply address shortcomings in the private/home school sector. A cheaper remedy would be to require private/home schools to teach American History.
Another bill, Senate Bill 48 “Access to Sports and Extracurriculars for All” permits students who attend private or home schools to participate in sports and other extracurricular programs at their local public school. In other words, private schools that often refuse to admit students who are hard to teach, adhere to the “wrong” religion, or are simply not the “right fit” would be able to save money by trimming extracurricular activities and sending their students to the local public school that accepts ALL students. This bill highlights the fact that public schools usually offer more and better programs than private schools.
Our communities should support our public schools and stop sending much-needed public funds to private schools. We LOVE Green’s focus on our children, schools, and communities, and we encourage everyone to contact ALL legislators to urge them make Green’s priorities their own.
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A Look at the North Carlina Teacher Pipeline |
North Carolina’s teachers are dedicated and hardworking, and their professionalism made our public school system a jewel in the United States in the early 2000s. Even today, North Carolina continues to lead the nation in the number of teachers who have earned certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. However, North Carolina currently trails the nation in education funding level and funding effort, and is well below average in teacher salaries.
Although salary is just one of many elements contributing to the desirability of becoming a teacher, it is one that can’t be ignored when evaluating the factors affecting why people enter and remain in the teaching profession. (See The Facts on Teacher Pay)
The teacher pipeline is an interconnected system that extends from recruiting individuals into the profession, developing them as teaching professionals, and retaining them through retirement. The pipeline begins with attracting new teachers to enter the field. Once inside the profession, teachers are developed, and retained over time through administrative support, local policy support, classroom support, peer support, and community involvement
The teacher pipeline in North Carolina has been shrinking for years. The 16 universities that make up the UNC school system are the largest supplier of public school teachers in North Carolina. There has been a sharp decline over the years in the number of students enrolled in a bachelor’s program in education, a critical pathway for the teacher pipeline.
Data collected from the UNC System Interactive Data Dashboard show that between 2012 and 2024, enrollment in bachelor’s programs dropped 45% (from 12,434 to 6,793).
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However, enrollment in alternative pathways has surged, helping to offset the decline in traditional pathways. The NCDPI Educator Pathway Pathway (EPP) dashboard shows that there are currently more teacher candidates enrolled in alternative pathways than traditional pathways. The residency license (RL) accounts for much of the surge. This pathway allows individuals to teach while they obtain their professional educators’ license.
READ MORE: The Facts on the NC Teacher Pipeline
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Legislative and SBE Updates |
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The House and Senate both convene again on Monday, February 17. The House is scheduled to meet at 11:00 a.m. (livestream) and the Senate at 4:00 p.m. (audio).
Check the legislative calendar for updates as meeting dates and times change frequently.
Check our Week in Review for highlights of legislative actions and the status of bills. Below are a few highlights.
House Bill 121 ” SchCalFlex/Statewide/Open Cal.” and its companion Senate Bill 103 “Make School Calendars Great Again,” would return control of school calendars to local school districts statewide. As in previous years, this effort has bipartisan support and is likely to sail through the House but be met with resistance in the Senate, where a few senators, especially Senator Lee of New Hanover County, are staunch supporters of the current calendar law.
House Bill 82 "Study Commission for LEA size" establishes a commission to study whether there are negative consequences for students of large districts due to their size. The commission would recommend remedies. The sponsors, Reps. Lambeth and Zenger, both represent Forsyth County.
Senate Bill 92 "Released Time Education Act" allows public school student to be released during the instructional day to attend courses in religious, moral instruction. The students may receive course credit for the courses, but failure to earn credit will not be marked as a failing grade on a student's transcript. Bill sponsors Senators Hanig, Alexander, and Ford may face tough questions about their bill to allow less academic time in school when many students are still working to regain pre-pandemic achievement levels.
Many bills introduced early in the legislative session don't move forward. Hopefully HB 82 and SB 92 stay stuck in place and HB 121 sails forward.
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The Teacher Shortage isn't an Accident - It's a Policy Choice |
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Across North Carolina and the nation, schools are struggling to fill teaching positions. Headlines warn of a worsening teacher shortage, leaving districts scrambling to hire educators and keep classrooms staffed (Walton & Pollock, 2022). But this teacher shortage isn’t an unpredictable accident; it’s the result of deliberate policy choices that have fueled the fire of the crisis and left schools burning.
How We Got Here: A Manufactured Crisis
For years, certain lawmakers in North Carolina have pursued policies that have steadily eroded the teaching profession and public education. For example, according to the National Education Association (2024), North Carolina’s teacher salaries rank well below the national average, making it difficult to recruit and retain qualified educators. Meanwhile, 35% of North Carolina teachers reported increased feelings of anxiety and depression in the wake of post-pandemic stress, stemming from underfunding and inadequate resources (Na’Cole et al. 2024, p. 18). In other words, policy choices that have resulted in low teacher pay and escalating job stress have been left to smolder, with lawmakers failing to address the underlying causes.
Rather than extinguishing the flames of the teacher shortage, a faction of policymakers stoked the fire by expanding the state’s school voucher program despite Governor Cooper’s warning that it posed “a serious threat to education” (Bonner, 2024).
READ MORE
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Check Out Our Updated Voucher Video |
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We updated our voucher video to include House Bill 10 (passed in November) funding increases. Check it out! |
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Virtual Office Hours with NCPTA and PSFNC |
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Join NC PTA and Public Schools First NC monthly during the legislative session for updates on bills, policy or budget changes, etc. that impact public education. Bring your questions and suggestions; participate in the conversation to support our public schools.
Office hours will be held via Zoom on Thursdays from 5:00 - 6:00 p.m. on the following dates:
February 20, March 20, April 17, May 15, & June 19
JOIN HERE
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February 27, 7:00 p.m. A Conversation with Mo Green, NC Superintendent of Public Instruction
Join NC PTA and Public Schools First NC for the first in our series of interviews with new public education leaders. Green was elected in November, 2024 to serve as NC Superintendent of Public Instruction.
We will talk to Superintendent Green about his vision for the Department of Public Instruction and public schooling in North Carolina. Q & A with the audience if time allows.
REGISTER HERE
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Book Signing and Event on March 13 |
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You won't want to miss meeting Derek Black and hearing him talk about his newest book, Dangerous Learning: The South's Long War on Black Literacy.
Join Public Schools First at Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill (752 MLK Jr. Blvd.) for a book signing and talk.
Book signing begins at 5:30 and the talk begins at 6:00
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Network for Public Education National Conference |
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PUBLIC SCHOOLS: WHERE ALL STUDENTS ARE WELCOME
April 5-6, Columbus Ohio
Registration is open now for the 2025 NPE/NPE Action national conference. They already have an amazing lineup of keynote speakers and panel presentations. Below is a partial list.
- Diane Ravitch, NPE President
- Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota
- Kurt Russell, 2022 National Teacher of the Year
- Gina Hinojosa, TX State Representative
- John H. Jackson, President and CEO, Schott Foundation
- Jess Piper, Rural Communities and Public School Advocate
- Josh Cowen, Professor, Michigan State University
- Derek Black, Professor of Law, Univ. of South Carolina
- Yohuru Williams, Professor of History, Univ. of St. Thomas
FIND OUT MORE AND REGISTER HERE
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Multiple Dates, 7:00-8:30 pm: Resilience and ACES. Learn about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) and resilience. Join us for this award-winning, 60-minute film, Resilience: The Biology of Stress & The Science of Hope. This documentary examines how abuse, neglect, and other adverse childhood experiences affect children’s development & health outcomes in adulthood. This powerful movie is a conversation starter and a perspective changer.
REGISTER HERE
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All screenings are on Thursday and include time for discussion. Invite a friend and contact us about setting up a private screening for your school staff, PTA, civic group, church, or synagogue.
- February 26
- March 27
- April 24
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Words to Remember
“Full and equitable funding of public schools is critical to provide our nation’s students with the instruction, opportunities, and support they need to succeed academically and in life.”
— Robert Kim, Executive Director, Education Law Center
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Help us support public schools!
Public Schools First NC is a statewide nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused solely
on pre-K to 12 public education issues. We collaborate with parents, teachers, business and civic leaders, and communities across North Carolina to advocate for one unified system of public education that prepares each child for productive citizenship.
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