About: Terry Stoops

If you watched The Master’s on Sunday, you may have seen an ExxonMobile commercial for the Common Core State Standards.  According to the ExxonMobile website, ExxonMobil supports the efforts of local educators in 45 states who, along with community and business leaders, have come together to develop voluntary, rigorous Common Core State Standards in mathContinue Reading

In her News & Observer op-ed, Dr. Helen Ladd, a professor of public policy at an elite private university, claims that North Carolina’s public schools are under attack by those with a “private vision” of schooling.  (Fun fact: Ladd used the word “private” nine times in the op-ed.  She did not use the word “parents”Continue Reading

North Carolina has adopted common standards for English language arts and mathematics.  Could science be next?  The Next Generation Science Standards propose common science standards.  Of course, science is much more controversial than English and math. Here are a few of the more controversial bits on climate change: [Disciplinary Core Idea] ESS3.D: Global Climate Change:Continue Reading

Today, Speaker Thom Tillis heard from educators, parents, and children about the need for private school choice in North Carolina.  Here is a scene from the meeting, which was held in the NC House chamber.

A must-see clip: By the way, the United States spends more on education (per child) than nearly any other nation on the planet.

Marc F. Bernstein of the Fordham University Graduate School of Education offers a sensible idea – allowing high school students and their families develop plans to graduate early.  Bernstein writes, I propose that during the first three months of a student’s 10th grade year the student, family and school counselor create three alternative educational plansContinue Reading

According to an editorial published in the News & Observer yesterday, When the charter school system was created by the General Assembly in 1996, the schools were to serve as laboratories of sorts, free to experiment with courses and teaching methods that might prove useful in conventional public schools… The intention was, in other words,Continue Reading

Results from the 2013 PEFNC Education Poll are in!  Bottom line: Voters want choice for families and flexibility for districts. Do you support or oppose giving local public school districts more flexibility in making decisions on how to fund and run their schools? Support           72% Oppose          13% Not sure         15% Should local school principals andContinue Reading