American Graduate

Proposed Board Splits Charter Advocates

Dave DeWitt — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:26:00 +0000

Charter schools have been around in North Carolina for about a decade and a half, and for most of that time, the relationship between charters and traditional public schools has alternated between frosty and hostile.

Education Power Grab In Wake County

Nicole Campbell and Frank Stasio — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:52:31 +0000

County School Boards have long since been in charge of school construction. However, the Senate recently passed a bill that would hand over school construction to county commissioners in 10 North Carolina counties. Many people who oppose the bill argue that county commissioners may have experience building prisons but not schools. This is one bill out of many that have been progressing through the Senate recently.

Legislators Take Aim At Local School Boards

Dave DeWitt — Tue, 07 May 2013 08:40:00 +0000

Being on a school board is a little like being the head chef at the local Applebee’s. You don’t get to choose the ingredients and it’s not your recipe, but if someone doesn’t like the Bourbon Street Steak, you’re going to hear about it.

In other words, school boards in North Carolina have relatively little power but plenty of responsibility. And it’s been that way for a long time.

Charter Board Debate Intensifies

Dave DeWitt — Mon, 06 May 2013 08:15:00 +0000

The State Senate is scheduled to debate a bill tomorrow that creates a separate board to oversee the growing number of charter schools in North Carolina.

Senate Bill 337 has gone through several revisions since it was introduced by Republican lawmakers two months ago. One of the provisions in an earlier bill, for example, removed the requirement that charter school teachers be college graduates. That requirement has since been re-instated.

Guilford County Students To Get Tablets

Jeff Tiberii — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 20:49:33 +0000

This fall about 13,000 middle school students in the Guilford County Schools district will receive tablets. It’s part of a $30 million Race to the Top grant that Guilford won last year. Administrators and teachers will receive training from a company called Amplify in the coming months.

State Senate Passes Bill To Revamp Wake County School Board

Jessica Jones — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:37:51 +0000

State lawmakers in the Senate have approved a bill that would change how leaders of the Wake County school board are elected.

Senate Bill 325 would scrap the current boundaries for board seats. It would also move board elections from odd to even-numbered years, when voters choose their representatives in Congress and the General Assembly.

Bill Would Limit School Board Options

Dave DeWitt — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 20:13:42 +0000

A change may be coming to how local school boards and boards of county commissioners negotiate over school funding.

Local county commissioners control the purse strings in all 115 of the state’s school districts. Often, the school boards and county commissioners disagree over the amount of money allocated to schools.

Winning Ethics: National Competition Comes To Chapel Hill

Dave DeWitt — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 08:33:00 +0000

Sandhya Mahadevan doesn’t come off as someone who is likely to back down from anyone. She’s whip-smart, looks you dead in the eye when she’s talking to you, and can’t wait to engage on the events of the day.

But after a few years on her high school debate team, even she was looking for something a little less combative. That’s when she heard about the Ethics Bowl.

NC Connects STEM Education To STEM Economy

Leoneda Inge — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 11:52:38 +0000

Leaders in Science and Math have created a scorecard to gauge how North Carolina moves forward in connecting a STEM education to new economy jobs. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Sam Houston is president and CEO of the North Carolina Science, Math and Technology Education Center. He says the scorecard measures the state against itself and how to better link education to the jobs of the future.

McCrory Budget Targets UNC System For Cuts

Dave DeWitt — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 09:00:00 +0000

As he unveiled his proposed $20.6 billion dollar budget yesterday, the banner behind Governor Pat McCrory trumpeted the three initiatives he wanted to emphasize. It read: “Economy. Education. Efficiency.” In reality, though, education should have been number one, because it’s by far the largest expenditure and the area where the biggest fights are likely.