About: Terry Stoops

On the website promoting Heritage Calendar 2014, AT&T posted nearly 70 lesson plans, developed by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, that celebrate the “lives and experiences of African Americans in the State.” The lesson plans span most major subjects and grades.  Several of the lessons are excellent.  Teachers and students would be well servedContinue Reading

You may have heard about a study written by UNC-Charlotte professors Paul Fitchett and Tina Heafner, “Maybe not such a blue moon: The substantial phenomenon of teacher moonlighting in North Carolina” (PDF).  The three-page report is available on the Public Schools First NC website and has been promoted by their comrades at NC Policy Watch.Continue Reading

Earlier to this week, Scholastic and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation released Primary Sources: America’s Teachers on Teaching in an Era of Change, a report that details teacher attitudes about a number of issues relevant to the profession. Similar to their colleagues in other states, North Carolina teachers identified four main challenges, including ChangingContinue Reading

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released “Projections of Education Statistics to 2022″ today. NCES researchers predict that student enrollment in North Carolina will increase 11.3 percent between 2011 and 2022, the fourth largest gain in the South.  They foresee plateauing or declining student populations among states in New England and along the RustContinue Reading

The following is a letter published by the Asheville Citizen-Times on February 26, 2014: When searching public schools in Asheville we were fortunate to find Francine Delany New School for Children, a public charter school. With an emphasis on community and social justice, students are immersed in experientially rich, hands-on programs of study that encourageContinue Reading

Dr. Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) vs. the EPA

This weekend, the Herald-Sun examined the local costs of Governor McCrory’s teacher pay plan.  Local costs?  Yup. You see, most North Carolina school districts use local funds to support permanent teaching positions.  For example, around one-quarter of the teaching positions in Durham are supported through local funding sources.  So, when the state mandates a teacherContinue Reading

According to WRAL, A Superior Court judge has issued an injunction halting North Carolina from issuing vouchers allowing people to use taxpayer money to help defray the cost of attending a private or religious school. It should read, “Judge blocks poor families from using taxpayer money to choose the school that best meets their needs.”Continue Reading