Our #Red4EdNC blog features the voices of public school educators and advocates from around the state. If you have something to say about what’s happening in NC on the topic of public schools, please contact us at [email protected]. We want as many voices as possible to lift up all of the good things happening in public schools, highlight things that need to change, and advocate for ways to make things better!
Policy Brief: Teacher Agency and Reform
By Bill Kessler, NC Public School Principal
June 28, 2024
North Carolina’s plan to improve elementary schools is actually failing them. The state assigns every school a grade based on end of grade test scores and schools with a D or F score are considered “low-performing.” The state directs these schools to improve based on several strategies including the restart option which gives schools charter-like flexibilities. Since 2017, only 46 of 151 of these restart schools have exited “low-performing” status (Helms, 2023). The number of D or F schools in North Carolina has increased from 376 in 2019 to 864 in 2022 and is still over 800 in 2023 (Fofaria, 2022; North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2023).
The consequences of the lack of progress go beyond test scores. The continued failure reveals a stubborn overreliance on a policy that wastes state funds, contributes to teacher turnover, and stymies student learning. Furthermore, the state “low-performing” schools policy demoralizes teachers and discriminates against communities by punishing rather than supporting schools, micromanaging teachers, and allotting resources inefficiently.
In some of these “low performing” schools, there are high-performing teachers whose end of grade test scores are so high, or their students grow so much, that they receive bonuses from the state. I spoke with five such teachers at length and asked them why North Carolina’s school improvement plan was failing. These teachers were school leaders: high-performing teachers who succeeded in spite of the challenges of working in their “low-performing” schools.
The five teachers explained that the state and districts made out-of-touch decisions that did not seek their input and resulted in squandered efforts and funds that went towards programs that did not work. From the outset, the teachers identified how these programs would not work, but no one asked them their opinion. The teachers also explained that state and district policies were actually driving teachers out of their schools and contributing to the teacher shortage. Furthermore, the teachers shared that the misused resources and ungrounded decisions hurt student performance. Even worse, these policies hurt students psychologically and emotionally, and discriminated against families and communities by labeling schools with letter grades determined largely by student demographics not academic learning.
The graph below shows the strong correlation between socioeconomics and the label of “low-performing.” Nearly all of the D or F schools in 2022-23 were schools where 40% or more of their students were economically disadvantaged. Most of the A and B schools have few students from more challenging economic circumstances. The proficiency grades match up well with the wealth of the home, not the effectiveness of instruction or growth of the students. The “low-performing” label is mostly a diagnosis of family income, not academic performance.
The state and districts could make a difference immediately by taking several steps. First, revise the school grading system to move towards growth and learning, not neighborhood socioeconomics. Next, seek out the opinions of high-performing teachers when making decisions about school curriculum, instruction, finance, and personnel. Third, look for ways to support teachers and schools to reverse teacher turnover, attract teachers and students to challenging schools, and provide professional development to increase teacher leadership and collaboration.
The diagram below shows how it could work. The state and districts should start with teachers and their role as change agents and elevate their voice. These actions will promote creativity, innovation, efficiency, and provide direction. Combine this effort with a review of effective research and reform will occur. These efforts will also produce professional development, enhanced workplace environments, and results.
The state and districts should seek out top teachers. Ask them questions. Meet with them. Talk to them. Involve them in decision-making. Form teacher leadership teams to advise and participate in district and state decisions. This will yield school reform and student learning and reverse the tide of school failure.
The views and opinions expressed in guest blog posts are those of the guest bloggers and do not necessarily represent the views of Public Schools First NC, its affiliates, or staff.
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NCGA set to give what it owed to Class of 2024 to private school families making over $200k
By Kim Mackey, North Carolina teacher and author of educatEDpolicy (educatedpolicy.com)
May 18, 2024
What more would your child’s classroom have if the NC General Assembly had not deprived each NC classroom of nearly $100,000 since the Class of 2024 entered kindergarten?
School Districts and County Governments: Helping Each Other Protect the Economic Vitality of North Carolina Counties
Michael D. Priddy, EdD
School Operations Specialists (SOS)
May 11, 2024
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: North Carolina’s traditional public schools are represented by 115 county and city school districts.
Public Comments for House K-12 Education Committee
By Reverend Suzanne Parker Miller, Pastors for NC Children
May 4, 2024
Good afternoon. I am The Rev. Suzanne Parker Miller, and I am the Executive Director of Pastors for North Carolina Children.
Will the NC Supreme Court Deliver a Knockout Punch to NC’s Children?
By Dr. Jonathan Sher
March 30, 2024
In the immortal words of heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson: Everyone has a plan ‘til they get punched in the mouth!
Leandro? Nothing to see here, folks. Look away (please!)
By Dr. Jonathan Sher
March 22, 2024
On Feb. 22, the North Carolina Supreme Court allowed a “do-over” hearing in the already-decided — seemingly resolved — Leandro case.
Vote to End Poverty = Vote for Academic Success
By Christine Kushner, former member, Wake County Board of Education
March 9, 2024
"There need be no poor among you." Deuteronomy 15
School vouchers are un-American
By Graig Meyer
March 1, 2024
What’s our most important institution for bringing community together? Public School.
If court sinks Leandro, NC children will go down with it
By Dr. Jonathan Sher
February 10, 2024
Saturday Night Live’s” Weekend Update” joked recently that the menu on the Titanic — the infamous, ill-fated luxury ocean liner — included not only gourmet foods, but also “bottomless water.”
To Pubic Education...I Owe You
By Terrance Ruth, Professor at NCSU
February 2, 2024
I owe a lot to public education. I owe not only my present and future but also my ancestral past.
Y'all Have Enough Bus Drivers? Another Indication That NC Is Not Fully Funding Public Schools
By Stu Egan, NC educator
August 5, 2023
[First published at caffeinatedrage.com]
Many NCGA lawmakers use a preferred name. Why can’t students use theirs?
By Kim Mackey
July 8, 2023
[First published at educatedpolicy.com]
Wake County teacher, active member of NCAE, advisory board member for Red4EdNC, and author of the educatEDpolicy blog.
Former UNC System VP: School voucher bill egregiously undermines public ed and democracy
May 26, 2023
[Originally appeared in the News & Observer on May 24, 2023]
By Charles R. Coble
Coble is a retired UNC System vice president, former Dean of East Carolina University’s School of Education, and recent co-founder of the Friends of Public Education Steering Committee, seven of whom signed on to this op-ed.