Terry Stoops

The OECD administers the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests to 15-year-old students from around the world, and results from the 2018 tests were released today.  The United States is stuck in a rut. Students in the United States performed above the OECD average in reading (505…

WFMY reports, Guilford County Schools’ (GCS) bus drivers say they’ve been fighting for pay raises for too long. Joshua Graham has been a GCS bus driver for six years. “Besides pay I enjoy my job and I love coming here every day I love the students.” Graham says at…

Today, the N.C. Association of Educators and Red4Ed urged teachers to picket before school today.  They want the General Assembly to agree to, among other things, Medicaid expansion, a 5 percent across-the-board salary increase for all district employees, and a $15 minimum wage for hourly workers. Below is a photo…

As I mentioned in two previous blog posts, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction just released figures for the 2018-19 school year. Note that city school systems follow the county in which they operate, e.g., Asheville City Schools follows Buncombe County Schools. Ranks: 1 = highest (Hyde County Schools) and 116…

As I mentioned in another blog post, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction just released figures for the 2018-19 school year. In terms of operating expenditures, the per-student average for districts was $9,865.04, while the per-student average for charters was $9,398.42.  The district figure does not include capital spending or…

On average, how much did district schools spend on each student last year?  The N.C. Department of Public Instruction just released figures for the 2018-19 school year. State funds: $6,479.36 ($6,153.92 in 2017-18) Federal funds: $975.38 ($1,018.14 in 2017-18) Local funds: $2,410.30 ($2,306.31 in 2017-18) Total funds: $9,865.04 ($9,478.37…

In “I’m a Teacher and a Waste of Money,” Daniel Buck reflects on his experiences as a support teacher, wasteful spending in public schools, and the state of the profession generally.  Buck writes, I don’t mean to attack teaching as a discipline, or public education as a system. I…

Republican elected officials and campaign staff must be ecstatic right now.  Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed a bill that would have granted raises to public school teachers and staff. The ads will write themselves.    …