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Click the + above and share your thoughts!

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To give every child a chance in life through education.

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Celebrate our amazing Early Childhood Educators and ECE learning environments! 

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Celebrate our amazing Early Childhood Educators and ECE learning environments! 

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Resiliency of educators

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Continue to support all special needs children's IEPs

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The beautiful tapestry of diversity that exists in the state, and in our public schools (students, teachers, and families)

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Perseverence of teachers during and since COVID despite shortage.

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Perseverence of teachers during and since COVID despite shortage.

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Strong supports for education at the local and state level

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Strong supports for education at the local and state level

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The great stories of public school educators

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The great stories of public school educators

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Having ELS leaders in the school system to support the literacy initiative, helping support teachers on their understanding of reading.

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Loads of experienced NB Certified teachers!

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Loads of experienced NB Certified teachers!

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the great digital learning opportunities teachers created during COVID that can still serve our students

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the great digital learning opportunities teachers created during COVID that can still serve our students

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App State, NC State, Western and UNC all have inclusion programs. I would love to see this continue to grow and partner to help support those with disabilities.

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UNCW’s Inclusive Futures Program begins this fall!

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Commitment of teachers and other school-based staff

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Commitment of teachers and other school-based staff

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The growing community schools movement offers a proven strategy for practicing democracy in our schools and improving outcomes for students and families.

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The growing community schools movement offers a proven strategy for practicing democracy in our schools and improving outcomes for students and families.

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NC has been a long-time leader in research for K12. We should continue to support long-term partnerships between researchers-practitioners-policymaker.

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Really strong work in advanced coursetaking in high school-early college, dual enrollment and advanced placement. This should be continued and expanded where possible.

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The research that aligns teaching and practice conducted by faculty/staff in the state to support education.

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Innovation in applying technology solutions to improve education for ALL students

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Innovation in applying technology solutions to improve education for ALL students

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Continue to expand and invest in NC Teaching Fellows, support for educator's working towards and maintaining NBCT, and making sure that people know that our Public Schools serve and support EVERY child in our community. 

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Continue to expand and invest in NC Teaching Fellows, support for educator's working towards and maintaining NBCT, and making sure that people know that our Public Schools serve and support EVERY child in our community. 

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A focus on educator pipelines, including Teaching Fellows, Principal Fellows, and Advanced Teacher Roles.

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A focus on educator pipelines, including Teaching Fellows, Principal Fellows, and Advanced Teacher Roles.

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Great access to data and a strong community of researchers and evaluators who are committed to conducting work that is of service to policymakers and practitioners in NC.

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Great access to data and a strong community of researchers and evaluators who are committed to conducting work that is of service to policymakers and practitioners in NC.

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Ditto to Jeni Corn's post. Lots of great examples of using data to support state policies and of researchers/policymakers/practitioners working together to improve outcomes.

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Making meaningful connections between districts and researchers, ensuring that research meets the needs of policy and practice

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Facilitating inclusion of students with extensive support needs in general education classrooms!

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Facilitating inclusion of students with extensive support needs in general education classrooms!

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WCPSS bring back master teacher pay.  The state needs to increase teacher pay across the board.

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WCPSS bring back master teacher pay.  The state needs to increase teacher pay across the board.

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Master's pay for educators. Reduced pay/support of teachers. Working with Legislators and VOTE!

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The focus on educator diversity and bringing a wide swath of teachers into the professions.

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NC School Executive Standards have been in the "revision" process for many years. Unfortunately, the most recent draft do not have an Equity Standard for NC School Leaders. The national principal standards highlight equity. NC is falling behind the national standards by excluding equity explicitly. The principal standards need to include Equity and have support from DPI.

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Teacher pay. Restore the master's pay to help teachers earn a sufficient income. Also raise the salaries in general.

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Master's pay and base pay for teachers with an initial license. We just can't keep qualified teachers in the classroom without continuing to advocate for better pay.

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Master's pay and base pay for teachers with an initial license. We just can't keep qualified teachers in the classroom without continuing to advocate for better pay.

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An inter-institutional partnership between Winston-Salem State University, Wake Forest University, Salem College, and WS/FCS to prepare and retain diverse cohorts of exceptional teachers in Title I schools in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County.

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So many teachers have lost jobs in the past money. Mostly support- intervention specialists, reading specialists, coaches, etc. Teachers need the support to help all students learn. We need more funding so teachers have more than the bare bones to help them meet the needs of all students.

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There is a continuing rise in residency teachers. They need support beyond the "complete a program." They need to know how to use what they are learning in their programs to be effective in the classroom.

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We continue to see changes in our students' outcomes since the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly around student engagement with school. We need to continue to work to understand the ongoing impact of pandemic related changes and stressors on the success of our schools.

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Teacher retention.  We MUST increase teacher pay.

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Teacher retention.  We MUST increase teacher pay.

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Working "across the aisle" to ensure funding and resources -- to forward equitable and inclusive learning environments for all our students across NC

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Working "across the aisle" to ensure funding and resources -- to forward equitable and inclusive learning environments for all our students across NC

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We need to make sure we are not lowering the bar for the credentials needed to teach, every student deserves a certified, licensed teacher in their classroom. We also need to make sure we are investing in all school staff financially with incentives such as longevity pay, Master's pay, which will require strong lobbying efforts with the NCGA. Additionally, the pay freeze that begins in year 15 for certified educators has driven many educators out of the classroom. 

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We need to make sure we are not lowering the bar for the credentials needed to teach, every student deserves a certified, licensed teacher in their classroom. We also need to make sure we are investing in all school staff financially with incentives such as longevity pay, Master's pay, which will require strong lobbying efforts with the NCGA. Additionally, the pay freeze that begins in year 15 for certified educators has driven many educators out of the classroom. 

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Teacher pay impacts quality, attraction, and retention of teachers. Increased pay and restoring master's pay could support this.

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Student engagement in learning of value to themselves and others

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Student engagement in learning of value to themselves and others

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Challenge: It is critical that whatever pathway students are on, they have rich and engaging learning opportunities--currently not all students do.

Solutions: place-based inquiry activities that develop core content knowledge and skills, supplemented by explicit instruction in skills. Strong curriculum pathways that lead to credentials.

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NC continues to make notable academic gains on national benchmarks--a reflection of the work NCDPI and local LEAs continue to do and the commitment to students

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NC continues to make notable academic gains on national benchmarks--a reflection of the work NCDPI and local LEAs continue to do and the commitment to students

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Disengaged students often drop/stop out; their (data) can help us see and support them!

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Disengaged students often drop/stop out; their (data) can help us see and support them!

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I work at the Center for Learning Analytics at UNC Chapel Hill School of Education. We know how to observe Canvas LMS data (and any other learning platform), and we use it to understand, predict and support student learning.

We can predict student outcomes months before they drop out or fail a course, using only the data patterns students produce when (and if) they log in and learn.

We've built a system that can deliver prediction and support in higher ed, and built it to serve K-12 too. We just need to connect with K-12 district partners who have need and interest.

https://tarheels.live/learninganalytics/

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Welcome to the Center for Learning Analytics!

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Students and families are showing up to school with a broad set of holistic needs that have nothing to do with curriculum, pedagogy, and/or instruction.  Activating the school building (i.e. community schools) as a geographic hub to respond to these needs feels like a strategic place to start.

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Students and families are showing up to school with a broad set of holistic needs that have nothing to do with curriculum, pedagogy, and/or instruction.  Activating the school building (i.e. community schools) as a geographic hub to respond to these needs feels like a strategic place to start.

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Helping students with disabilities access content and maintain the least restrictive environment. Having teachers who possess the necessary knowledge and support for their students. This probably goes back to teacher pay and support for them.

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The current policy caps resources that the state sends to a district to support the needs of certain student groups (e.g., ML learners). This leaves districts that serve high percentages of students from those groups to fill the gaps with local funding. A potential solution is allocating resources to districts in proportion to each district's student population.

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Our schools often bring together people of all walks of life. It is very difficult to find those authentic spaces. Also, our schools are resource hubs for so many aspects of child development. Recognizing (and celebrating) how schools contribute to meeting our community's needs is essential in communicating the value of our public schools.

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In regards to NC Teaching Fellows, it needs to be expanded to include all licensure areas as it once did, and to be able to be used for expenses beyond simply tuition and fees. 

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In regards to NC Teaching Fellows, it needs to be expanded to include all licensure areas as it once did, and to be able to be used for expenses beyond simply tuition and fees. 

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To piggy back on Teaching Fellows - expand to all campuses with teacher prep programs the way it used to be. Some campuses that used to have the program no longer do.

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We can leverage new technologies and ways of approaching learning to disrupt the traditional ways that instruction is being delivered in K-12. That could lead to smaller class sizes, the ability to support student needs in different ways, and ultimately happier teachers who want to stay.

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Access for ALL students to technology and digital literacy skills that they need to succeed in our digital world. For example, access to paid artificial intelligence tools is not available to all students. Students without this access are at a disadvantage to understanding AI and applying it effectively.

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Inclusion for students with disabilities continues to be hit or miss in districts and schools. We have incredible expertise in higher education to support schools and districts with these efforts so maybe a solution is to create a list serve or some way to better connect schools and districts with higher ed faculty so when schools and districts need support or want a partnership, they would know better who to connect with. This isn't just for inclusive ed, but sharing contact information and expertise areas of faculty to building partnerships on topics for change/development/improvements would be a small lift for potential big impact.

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Institutions across the state have had federal grants supporting teacher recruitment, preparation, and retention in high-need schools cancelled. There is a need for state-level support to account for these federal funding cancellations.

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It's clear that we believe schools are essential to communities. How might we support better student support personnel ratios at the school level to better clarify and align resource availability that contribute to but are not directly about teaching and learning?

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Increasingly mobile student populations in schools

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Increasingly mobile student populations in schools

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Schools are increasingly serving mobile student populations who come and go throughout the school year, and the students who are most mobile often have the greatest academic and social-emotional needs. Some potential solutions to discuss include options like newcomer academies, allocating more support staff to schools/districts that serve more mobile student populations.

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EC teacher retention-Support at the building-level

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EC teacher retention-Support at the building-level

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EC teacher retention is a major challenge. Building-level administrators, in my research, experience barriers and challenges when attempting to lead the special education programs at their schools. Attention is needed at the building-level to support principals and APs in their efforts to build their special education leadership capacity in a more relational way to support and retain their EC teachers with a focus on human capital.

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There are still a significant number of people who want to be teachers.

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A challenge is a rising number of individuals entering the teaching profession without completing high-quality preparation experiences. These teachers are more likely to be in low-income schools/communities. This impacts student learning, school communities, and teacher retention. As a state, we need a comprehensive view of (and set of policies around) the educator pipeline and how to recruit, support, develop, and retain/incentivize educators.

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A challenge is a rising number of individuals entering the teaching profession without completing high-quality preparation experiences. These teachers are more likely to be in low-income schools/communities. This impacts student learning, school communities, and teacher retention. As a state, we need a comprehensive view of (and set of policies around) the educator pipeline and how to recruit, support, develop, and retain/incentivize educators.

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Retention of Beginning Teachers is crucial in mitigating the ongoing teacher shortage. There is currently a patchwork of programs involved in coaching/mentoring of early career teachers (e.g. Advanced Teaching Roles, NC NTSP, etc.). Some type of greater coordination across these programs may be helpful in the absence of a single, statewide program.

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Growing beginning teacher population on emergency licenses

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Growing beginning teacher population on emergency licenses

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I think DPI has released numbers showing that ~half of BTs are in the classroom on emergency licenses with no educator preparation. Some potential solutions include increasing district capacity to support BTs on emergency licenses in terms of navigating the licensure process and being aware of options and deadlines, as well as targeting PD/mentoring support for this BT population. I think school leaders in buildings with lots of BTs also need additional support to know what those teachers need to become effective and confident professionals and stay in the classroom.

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Special Education Teacher Working Conditions 

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Special Education Teacher Working Conditions 

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We have been doing research on special education teacher working conditions. We have found some specific concerns related to lack of planning time, lack of support at the administrative level, lack of mentorship specific to special education especially those going through residency programs, training for their paraprofessionals, and lack of pay or compensation for all of the time and workload they have. These are all reasons it can be hard to retain high quality special education teachers in our state. A potential solution, we have a grant with the Department of Labor at App State and we are working with three school districts to implement a model that may be something to look at for replication in other areas of the state. It includes 6 different programs targeting these specific issues. We will be doing research on this model and would be happy to share the results on a broader scale.

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I agree with this post about special education teachers.

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Finding various pathways for teachers to be paid more for their education or duties.

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The NC New Teacher Support Program is a valuable partner for supporting Beginning Teachers, with statistically significant impacts on teacher retention, that can be utilized in coordination with and in addition to Advanced Teacher Roles.

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The current accountability system heavily weights proficiency, which is HIGHLY correlated with student SES and access to resources outside the building. This has implications for how the public views schools, especially schools that may be doing an amazing job but are serving student populations with greater needs and, therefore, have lower grades. Potential solutions include better aligning school accountability with what schools are doing to support kids and providing better data to the public and parents to understand what happens in schools.

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Teacher Pipeline: 15.1% attrition among beginning teachers in their first three years; 1 in 4 first-year teachers left after just one year regardless of licensure entry point--deepening our collective understanding of where and why teachers leave the profession and developing strategies and invest in supports that address the pipeline challenges and retention considering current programs and their success (Teaching Fellows, NCNTSP, UNC FIE, UNCG PCRP, and more) 

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Teacher Pipeline: 15.1% attrition among beginning teachers in their first three years; 1 in 4 first-year teachers left after just one year regardless of licensure entry point--deepening our collective understanding of where and why teachers leave the profession and developing strategies and invest in supports that address the pipeline challenges and retention considering current programs and their success (Teaching Fellows, NCNTSP, UNC FIE, UNCG PCRP, and more) 

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NC has amazing state-wide datasets that help EPPs to continually inform their practice and support practice-based research.

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Let's set them up for success. I work with teachers gaining licensure, and they have too much on their plate. Along with learning curriculum, developing relationships with families, ALL the challenges of their first years, new teachers have school-based responsibilities, LETRS training, their licensure program courses, and many work additional jobs to help pay for those courses. They can't do this all effectively or meaningfully. We need to look comprehensively at the demands placed on them in order to support, retain, and coach them towards their potential.

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The extreme lack of readiness for artificial intelligence to be integrated into education. 

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The extreme lack of readiness for artificial intelligence to be integrated into education. 

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The extreme lack of technological support and updated technology in schools. 

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The extreme lack of technological support and updated technology in schools. 

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NC has a strong New Teacher Support Program - could we have a New Principal Support Program?

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Dr. Green asked for resources that he should be aware of. www.nc2ml.org - an organic group of hundreds of math educators across NC committed to creating resources, professional learning experiences, and infrastructures free for all teachers/leaders to teach with a shared vision of high quality math instruciton. It is an imporant NC-grown network that supports NC math educators.

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Dr. Green asked for resources that he should be aware of. www.nc2ml.org - an organic group of hundreds of math educators across NC committed to creating resources, professional learning experiences, and infrastructures free for all teachers/leaders to teach with a shared vision of high quality math instruciton. It is an imporant NC-grown network that supports NC math educators.

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The lack of advocacy for the extreme importance of education beyond technocratic skills in K12 education given the ramping up of ai. We need students who are evaluative thinkers and are able to interact with sophisticated technology in a practically wise way. 

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The lack of advocacy for the extreme importance of education beyond technocratic skills in K12 education given the ramping up of ai. We need students who are evaluative thinkers and are able to interact with sophisticated technology in a practically wise way. 

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The need for students to see the value of education beyond box checking. 

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The need for students to see the value of education beyond box checking. 

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The capacity of electeds and district leaders varies widely across the state. We need to ensure that they have the right skills and tools to develop strategic plans, make budget allocation decisions, broker partnerships with researchers and nonprofits, and evaluate program impacts. Potential solutions include ensuring that there is high-quality training for school boards and central office leadership, as well as support in recruiting strong leaders.

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I would like to see greater emphasis on demonstrating proof of efficacy before new programs are scaled up across the state. Given the current system of local control, new programs that provide interventions for students and/or teachers often take different forms depending on the local context & needs of a participating LEA/PSU. This can result in low implementation fidelity and make evaluation of such programs difficult. As a parent, my child's time is of greater value than my tax dollars and time spent on ineffective interventions carries an opportunity cost.

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The NC Public School Forum's Education Policy Fellowship aligns closely with this section. Fellows commit to a year long work that does exactly this---considering challenges, solutions, and deepening knowledge of current issues. At the end of the fellowship a policy project is completed that considers acute challenges and potential solutions. Engaging with this group each year particularly at the end of their fellowship year would be an exciting opportunity to understand a variety of perspectives of challenges and solutions annually.

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Guidance and support from the state level to facilitate consistency in EC programs from district to district. Caseloads, access to district level specialists, and resources look vastly different across the state, which translates into students with disabilities experiencing vastly different education based on their zip code.

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disconnect between research and policy communities

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disconnect between research and policy communities

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build better communication channels to help legislators and policymakers and practitioners make research-based decisions about programs and policies for the K12 system

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Intentional and ongoing connections and support for new principals. Potentially informal meetings, problem of practice, discussion networks etc.

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We need to incentivize educators to pursue and complete high-quality preparation experiences before they enter teaching.

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We need to incentivize educators to pursue and complete high-quality preparation experiences before they enter teaching.

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Support for principals. Principals carry a great responsibility, but often have the least amount of support. New principals need access to mentors, just as what is afforded to new teachers.

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Faculty/staff have expertise to advocate for public schools. Give us the skills to use our research and expertise to influence legislation and policies that are harmful to education.

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There are also sizable differences in the credentials and effectiveness of teachers based on the students they teach--i.e. students of color, low-income students, and lower-performing students do not have equitable access to highly effective teachers. State and local officials need to use financial incentives and focus on working conditions to address this.

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There are also sizable differences in the credentials and effectiveness of teachers based on the students they teach--i.e. students of color, low-income students, and lower-performing students do not have equitable access to highly effective teachers. State and local officials need to use financial incentives and focus on working conditions to address this.

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Make sure every student has the opportunity to earn a postsecondary credential with personal and workforce value while they are in high school.

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Make social studies a priority. It is increasingly apparent that several decades of severe marginalization (especially on the K-5 level) has led to an alarming lack of civic knowledge. In order for democracy to survive, civic literacy is essential - knowing how government works and how to be an educated voter. In addition, Tyner and Kabourek (2021) found that “literacy gains are more apt to materialize when students spend more time in social studies [instruction]” due to increased content knowledge.

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Every child in every community has the valuable learning experiences they are worthy of 

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Every child in every community has the valuable learning experiences they are worthy of 

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Allow public schools to be models of innovation, defined multiple ways

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Allow public schools to be models of innovation, defined multiple ways

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Support music, art and drama in our schools. Don't make it an afterthought. Help them to be fully funded for students. Research shows how arts helps students to read, and we can help support that.

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We need to make teaching a revered/high-status profession. Other professions are just as difficult (mentally, time-wise, etc), but students flock to those majors/professions. We also need to rework the school calendar. A modified year-round schedule that moves staff to 12 month positions to provide time for PLCs, planning, research, collaboration, professional development, could allow for better outcomes for students and staff alike. 

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We need to make teaching a revered/high-status profession. Other professions are just as difficult (mentally, time-wise, etc), but students flock to those majors/professions. We also need to rework the school calendar. A modified year-round schedule that moves staff to 12 month positions to provide time for PLCs, planning, research, collaboration, professional development, could allow for better outcomes for students and staff alike. 

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We also need to invest more in Social Studies education, especially civic literacy and critical thinking at the K-5 level. 

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We also need to invest more in Social Studies education, especially civic literacy and critical thinking at the K-5 level. 

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Pay student teachers so they are not accruing debt.

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Pay for all student teachers.

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NC has growing numbers of under-certified teachers. Making limited licenses renewable means that many under-certified teachers will be in classrooms for up to 6 years without formal preparation. Students may struggle recover from the impact of one less effective teacher, much less for multiple years in a row. NC students deserve better. A possible solution is teacher apprenticeships. Many EPPs are poised to engage more fully in teacher apprenticeships but need policy flexibility to pilot and implement programs.