Liz Schlemmer
Education ReporterLiz Schlemmer is WUNC's K-12 Education Reporter. She has previously served as the Fletcher Fellow for Education Policy Reporting at WUNC and as the education reporter at Louisville Public Media.
She holds a M.A. from the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at UNC-Chapel Hill and a B.A. in history from Indiana University. Liz is originally from rural Indiana, where she grew up with a large extended family of educators.
Twitter: LSchlemmer_WUNC
Email: lschlemmer@wunc.org
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Public schools across North Carolina are facing a range of financial challenges this spring. Growing charter school and private school enrollment threaten traditional public schools' state and local funding. Meanwhile federal COVID relief money is set to expire. Managing all of this are school district's chief financial officers.
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About 11.5% of North Carolina teachers left the profession last school year, including retirements. There were just over 6,000 teaching vacancies reported statewide, including classes without a fully licensed teacher.
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The Carolinas are the only two states that ban all government employees from unionizing.
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A state-funded pilot program is bringing high tech learning experiences to high school students in 17 school districts. School districts participating in the SparkNC program have set up labs where students can choose from a menu of short courses in topics like robotics, cybersecurity and software development.
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If their federal application is accepted, Durham Public Schools would provide free breakfast and lunch for all students, regardless of their family income or school, beginning next school year.Federal guidelines now allow more districts to apply for universal free meals, but it comes with trade-offs.
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Any level of lead in drinking water can be a health risk to young children. But more than half of North Carolina public school buildings were built before the federal government began regulating lead. With federal funding this year, all public schools across the state will be required to test for lead and asbestos.
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In Bertie County, a newly built housing complex intended for teachers will open this summer.
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Gov. Roy Cooper attended the state board of education meeting Thursday to share his thoughts on public school funding, alongside Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and State Superintendent Catherine Truitt.
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In a surprise, incumbent State Superintendent Catherine Truitt was defeated by challenger Michele Morrow in the Republican primary. Morrow cast herself as more conservative than Truitt.
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A report by Carolina Demography found that North Carolina school districts with high proportions of Black students are more likely to hold students back a grade.