From Jennifer Hanft at the State Library of North Carolina: Dear North Carolina Educators, The State Library of North Carolina, in its mission to preserve and facilitate public access to state government information and advance the study, understanding, and appreciation of North Carolina's cultural heritage, is gathering information to better understand how we can support North Carolina K-12 educators. Please help us by completing the following survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NCEducators . The survey should take 5-10 minutes to complete, and will be open  through   Monday, September 9 th .  Once we have processed the survey feedback, we will compile a report and publish it to the State Library website. You can learn more about the resources and services available to you at the library through the following ways:  Sign up for our email list:  http://eepurl.com/dGt16X Connect with us on social media:  https://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/social Get a library...

The Senate Education Committee will consider Monday night a bill that school districts say is needed to prevent thousands of potential teacher layoffs and cuts in art, music and physical education classes in North Carolina elementary schools. Source: NC Senate panel to hear K-3 class size flexibility bill Monday | News & Observer

I mentioned a few posts ago that Thom Tillis and Pat McCrory were featured in a ridiculous ad about a brighter future for our children . This is the beginning of the election season's rewriting of educational history - especially those who are in office and would like to be seen in a favorable light. Claims will be made that they teachers one of the largest raises in NC history. I wrote about those raises earlier.     To get this raise, they had to take the money from other places.  NC budget pays for teacher raises from reserves, lottery, cuts to programs Critics say pay claims in NC budget not accurate And the budget is a mess. Oops! McCrory Racing To Fix Budget He Just Signed The NCGA has treated teachers poorly. I could list all the ways again, but I've already done that . As wonderful as the start to this year has been in the school house, apart from the job itself, this has been a demoralizing year for educators.  The NCGA needs some fresh faces. Faces that support publi...

Sometimes you just have to wonder if these folks are on the same planet with the rest of us? Can they not even do their own math? Carolina Rising Releases Statewide, “A Little Brighter,” Back to School Advertising Campaign

http://www.repmoore.com Or you might be called an idiot teacher. Here's a screen shot of the post. What does it cost our elected officials and staff to be nice to their constituents? Well, we know what happens when they aren't.

I was going to add this little tidbit to yesterday's post about the pay of NC teachers, but I didn't save it and couldn't find it! Thanks to my friend Johnny for posting it today! Why Teacher Pay Matters Guess who the largest employer is in most counties in NC? The school system. It is the largest employer in 64 counties. It is the second largest employer in 12 other counties. There is only one  (yes one) county in the state in which the school system is not in the top three employers. If you think of a raise as an economic stimulus, more money in the pay checks of 95,000 teachers (spread out from Manteo to Murphy) will mean more middle-class people buying groceries, going on vacations, etc. And that will have a real, immediate economic impact on the state as a whole.

We keep getting news of an "Average" 7% pay raise for teachers. Not knowing how many teachers are at each step, I can't do that math easily to know if that statement is true. What I do know is that when you look at the word "Average" over 36 steps, a ton of room is left for maneuvering and posturing. Everyone has access to our state pay scales which is why little images like this one can be made. Not sure that really shows what I want to highlight, so I'm using information taken from  2013-14 salary schedule  and the 2008-09 salary schedule . AND of course the now famous 2014-14 proposed schedule  (begins near bottom of page 50). I used year 17 for my compairson. It's right in the middle of the NEW 4th step.    The "raise" looks much better than last year's salaries, but look at the numbers compared to 2008-09. Not a lot of progress, but a little. Oh, and Masters National Boards will no longer be figured off of Master's pay, but off of ...

Charter schools are in NC, and I'm assuming they are here to stay. I've seen good ones and some far from good. What I do not understand is why the legislature thinks that Charter Schools should not have to disclose salaries.  Cotham: New NC Senate bill shields salaries of for-profit charter school staff   That version says that “charter school personnel records for those employees directly employed by the board of directors for the charter school” are subject to the same disclosure requirements and privacy protections as employees of school districts and other public bodies. Doesn't sound too bad to me. Looks like we should know, but notice that phrase "directly employed by the board of directors." BAM! There is is. Anyone hired by the charter company doesn't fall under the those guidelines. With the magnifying glass on education these days, why would the legislature want to do this? OR is our intense focus saved for public education? Is this legislature so bl...

I won't even try to summarize. This Teacher Librarian does an excellent job on Erica Speaks' blog . Open Letter to Senator Tillman

Vol.#37: The NC News Target | Teaching Speaks Volumes . So does Erica. I didn't start reading Erica for her NC political updates but I'm glad she writes it so I can read it. Wear red on Wednesdays for solidarity please.  

Woodlands needed a firetruck. Wake Forest had one to sell.What a deal! Tiny NC fire department buys $1 engine