Terry Stoops

In honor of Sunshine Week, WRAL outlines a few of the problems that journalists face when they try to obtain minutes from closed sessions of school board and State Board of Education meetings.  Carolina Journal’s Kari Travis gets a well-deserved mention in the article. One thing boards sometimes refuse…

The latest High Point University Poll concludes that “NC Republicans and Democrats agree on education issues.”  That’s news to me. After an examination of the poll, I suspect the supposed agreement is a consequence of the pollsters’ decision to focus on benefits and not costs.  For example, Q: The…

After nine days on the picket line, teachers in West Virginia are headed back to the classroom.  Gov. James Justice signed a bill passed by the Republican-controlled legislature that gives teachers the pay increase they demanded. Chad Alderman at the Teacher Pensions Blog points out that in West…

I received a thought-provoking response to Lindsay Marchello’s Carolina Journal article on the N.C. Teacher Working Conditions Survey. Administrators usually make a big deal over teachers completing this survey. The K[indergarten] teacher I referenced is a gifted teacher and well-respected by her staff. I often sought her advice and input…

Last week, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction released Highlights of the North Carolina Public School Budget 2018.  I have already noted that the average base teacher salary is now $51,214, an increase of $1,245 over the year before. Here is a summary of state education appropriations since…

This week, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction released Highlights of the North Carolina Public School Budget 2018.  The report indicates that the average base salary is now $51,214, an increase of $1,245 or 2 percent over the year before. It is important to recognize that the average salary…

U.S. News published the 2018 Best States Rankings this week.  McKinsey & Company used over 75 metrics and thousands of data points to create the annual ranking of states.  Congratulations to Iowa for hitting the top spot.  North Carolina was ranked 23rd overall. The education ranking metrics included higher…

Paul Rosu is a 11-year-old sixth-grader at Smith Middle School in Chapel Hill who earned the highest score possible on the Advanced Placement Calculus AB exam last year.  He is auditing a Differential Equation Lab math course at UNC-Chapel Hill.  And, yet, he’s apparently still required to take Math…