Education Matters

The Public School Forum's annual Eggs and Issues event included a live taping of the Forum’s weekly television show, Education Matters. We were joined by four panelists who discussed this year’s Top Education Issue, which focused on the school funding case known as Leandro and the need for our state to take immediate and intentional actions to ensure all NC children receive a sound basic education. Our panelists: Ann McColl, an education attorney, constitutional scholar, and Co-Founder and President of The Innovation Project (TIP); Dr. Anthony Jackson, North Carolina Superintendent of the Year, Vance County Schools; Thomas B. Oxholm, Vice President of Finance & Administration, Wake Stone Corporation; and Alan Duncan, Vice Chairman, NC State Board of Education. Public School Forum Board Chairman and Host of Education Matters, Dr. Thomas J. Williams, moderated the panel.

Today we will dive into digital citizenship and what schools are doing to promote safe and responsible use of the internet with the Assistant Superintendent of Edgecombe County, Abbey Futrell. But first, we close our series of interviewing those who have decided to run for state superintendent with Catherine Truitt, Chancellor of Western Governors University and a Republican Candidate for State Superintendent.

This year, North Carolinians will elect a new State Superintendent of Public Instruction, as the current State Superintendent, Mark Johnson, has announced he will run for Lieutenant Governor. Today we continue our series of interviewing those who have decided to run for state superintendent, and we will talk with Representative Craig Horn, a Republican from Union County who has chaired the Education Committee in the North Carolina General Assembly and recently announced his candidacy for the office of State Superintendent.. We’ll also talk with Constance Lav Johnson, a former educator and consultant who is running as a Democrat. Guests: • Representative D. Craig Horn, Candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction • Constance Lav Johnson, Candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Research tells us our schools can be safer places when we cultivate healthy environments in which our students feel they are able to address bullying and the potential for violence before they result in serious consequences. Today we’ll hear from a nationally known expert on bullying prevention and school safety, Dr. Dorothy Espelage, a professor at UNC-Chapel Hill. We’ll also talk with a student and assistant principal at Knightdale High School in Wake County, where they’ve implemented a “Link Crew” that enables juniors and seniors to support incoming freshmen and create a healthy school climate that deters incidences of bullying. Guests: • Dr. Dorothy Espelage, William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of Education, UNC-Chapel Hill • Ms. Tonya Hannah, Assistant Principal, Knightdale High School • Nadine Jallal, Student and Link Crew Leader, Knightdale High School

From the controversy around reading assessment tools to the release of a court-ordered report on school funding, 2019 has been quite the busy year for education in North Carolina. Today we’ll hear from defendant and plaintiff representatives of the long-running school funding court case known as Leandro, who will give us their insights into the just-released WestEd report. We’ll also hear from two reporters who will talk with us about the biggest K-12 education stories of 2019. Guests: • JB Buxton, Member At-Large, NC State Board of Education • Melanie Dubis, Partner, Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP • Alex Granados, Senior Reporter, EducationNC • Jeff Tiberii, Capitol Bureau Chief, WUNC

Research says students experience significant academic and emotional benefits from having teachers of color, yet in North Carolina the educator workforce comprises a disproportionately low percentage of teachers of color. At a summit hosted this week by the Office of Governor Roy Cooper and partnering organizations, educators and policymakers tackled this issue by brainstorming a new landscape for recruiting and supporting a more diverse teaching workforce. Today we will hear from leaders in the field who participated in that summit and who are directly working to improve educator diversity, support future educators of color and ensure that all new educators are prepared to support a diverse range of students in a culturally competent classroom. Guests: - LaTanya Pattillo, Teacher Advisor, Office of Governor Roy Cooper - Dr. Anthony Graham, Provost, Winston-Salem State University - Kristy Moore, Vice President, North Carolina Association of Educators

Lawmakers recently adjourned their legislative session without reaching a compromise with Governor Cooper on teacher salaries, leaving educators to head into the holidays without pay raises for the 2019-20 school year. On today’s show, we’ll hear from two North Carolina teachers about how the lack of salary increases — along with other challenges — is impacting their lives and classrooms. We’ll also hear from two lawmakers — a Democrat and Republican — about their efforts to negotiate teacher pay raises and how they plan to move forward. Guests: - Rep. Darren Jackson (D-Wake), North Carolina General Assembly - Sen. Rick Horner (R-Johnston, Nash), North Carolina General Assembly - Tamika Walker Kelly, Elementary Music Specialist, Cumberland County Schools - Dane West, History Teacher, Wake County Schools

Nearly a quarter century after a state Supreme Court ruling known as Leandro reaffirmed North Carolina’s constitutional duty to ensure all children -- including those who are at-risk or from rural and underserved communities -- have the opportunity to receive a sound basic education, our state continues to struggle to meet this constitutional obligation. On this week’s episode, we’ll explore the school funding challenges at both the state and local levels that make it difficult to uniformly provide a high quality education for every child, and we’ll also explore how we might overcome these challenges, as the Governor’s Commission On Sound Basic Education and its court appointed expert third party research partner, WestEd, are expected to soon present our state policy leaders with a report detailing what needs to be done to address the educational needs of our children. We are fortunate to be joined today by two attorneys who work on school funding and equity issues at the state level, as well as the Granville

Last month, the Public School Forum of North Carolina, along with the Samuel Dubois Cook Center on Social Equity and the Policy Bridge at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University hosted their second annual Color of Education summit, which focused on racial equity and education in North Carolina. For this week's episode of Education Matters, we’ll talk with representatives from two of the Color of Education partner organizations about the summit and the work that is to come. We’ll also hear from two groups that presented at this year’s Color of Education summit about their racial equity work in schools and communities. Guests: - Patience Wall, Color of Education and Duke Sanford School of Public Policy - Ashley Kazouh, Policy Analyst, Public School Forum of NC - William P. Jackson, Ph.D., Chief Dreamer, Village of Wisdom - Aliyah Abdur-Rahman, Founder and Collaborator, DEI Works

Did you know that North Carolina is home to 568,000 rural students, the second largest rural student population in the United States after Texas? This fall, the Public School forum will convene its seventeenth study group to better understand the unique needs, challenges, and strengths of rural school districts across the state. It’s a critically important undertaking because in the years following a court ruling known as “Leandro,” the state has fallen short of its obligation to ensure that all children, including those who are from rural and underserved communities, have access to a sound basic education. Today we’ll hear from two co-chairs of the Forum’s new study group focused on rural education: Patrick Woodie, head of the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center, and Jeni Corn with MyFutureNC, which aims to close the educational attainment gap by 2030. Also joining us is Alan Richard, board member of the Rural School and Community Trust, a national organization addressing the crucial relationsh

In 2011, the North Carolina State Board of Education formed a Task Force on Global Education to assess the state's effort to produce "globally competitive" graduates ready to live, work, and contribute in an interconnected world. Thanks to their work, the state signed a series of global commitments to ensure every public school student graduates fully prepared for the world, and has taken action to provide statewide infrastructure that supports and guides educators in a common vision for global education for North Carolina’s public schools. Today we’ll hear about how North Carolina continues to work toward these big goals and how one method, dual language programs, is taking shape across our state and preparing our children to work and compete in a global workplace. Guests: - Bill Harrison, Chairman Emeritus, NC State Board of Education - David Young, CEO, Participate Learning - Jack Davern, Principal, Elon Elementary School (Burlington) - Ann Mailly, Parent, Jeffreys Grove Elementary School (Raleigh)

Every day, youth attend afterschool, before school and summer learning programs across North Carolina, engaging in activities like STEM, physical fitness, literacy, and civic education, to name a few. This week, we will take a look at the impact that afterschool programs have on the lives of youth, and we'll be joined by the Forum's director of the NC Center for Afterschool Programs, Dr. Sheronda Fleming, as well as two directors of local afterschool programs operating in Hyde and Gaston counties. Guests: • Dr. Sheronda Fleming, Director, NC Center for Afterschool Programs • Nancy Leach, Director of Student Services, Hyde County Schools • Roxann Jimison, Academy Director, Dream Center Academy, Gaston County Guest Host: • Tara Lynn, WRAL - TV

In a stunning move last week that sent shockwaves across the political landscape here in North Carolina and nationally, the Republican majority in the NC House overrode Governor Cooper’s veto of the state budget with nearly half of the 120 House members absent, mostly Democrats. With a called vote early on the morning of September 11th, the House voted 55-9 to override the Governor’s veto of the state budget. Democrats accused Republicans of holding a surprise veto override vote despite telling Democrats no votes would be held. Republicans say they never told Democrats there wouldn't be votes. But after all the drama in the House, there is still no final state budget without Senate action now 2 ½ months into the fiscal year. This week on the show we talk about last week’s override and what’s next with Democratic Rep. Deb Butler, who became the face of last week’s fireworks on the House floor, and Democratic Senator Mike Woodard on prospects of a veto override in the Senate. We also talk with two leading polit

Last week the NC Department of Public Instruction released its annual A-F School Performance Grades for the state’s public schools and they continue to reflect a clear relationship between poverty and student test scores. This week on the show we discuss the latest school grades and the grading system itself. Why do the school grades correlate to strongly to poverty? Do they provide an accurate assessment of the job our schools are doing educating students? If not, what needs to change? Guests: • Dr. Lauren Fox, Senior Policy Director, Public School Forum of NC • Dr. Helen “Sunny” Ladd, Susan B. King Professor Emeritus of Public Policy, Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy • Michelle Burton, Librarian/Teacher, Durham Public Schools

While the official Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1st through November 30th, September historically has been the most active month for hurricanes affecting North Carolina, with 35 percent of all hurricanes striking the state in that month including Hurricane Florence last year. As a new school year begins, we talk to two education leaders about how these major storms affect our schools and how we can better prepare for the next one. We also talk to a meteorologist on what we might expect for this year’s peak season. Guests: • Dr. Mike Ward, Former State Superintendent of Public Instruction • Dr. Meghan Doyle, Superintendent, Craven County Schools • Mike Maze, WRAL-TV Meteorologist

We know that Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACEs can lead to long-term health issues as adults, but we’re just beginning to understand the impact trauma has on a child’s ability to learn during the critical early years in school. The good news is researchers have identified strategies that help these students learn and they are beginning to be implemented in public schools across North Carolina. Today we’re going to talk with two leaders of the NC Resilience & Learning Project and hear from principals from Eastern North Carolina who are rolling out these game-changing efforts in their schools. Guests: • Elizabeth DeKonty, Director, NC Resilience & Learning Project • Dr. Katie Rosanbalm, Senior Research Scientist, Duke Center for Child and Family Policy • Jessica Parker, Assistant Principal, Phillips Middle School, Edgecombe County Public Schools • Roderick Tillery, Principal, Baskerville Elementary School, Nash Rocky Mount Public Schools

While school choice and education privatization efforts grab headlines and generate a great deal of activity at the NC General Assembly, a wide array of innovative and transformative efforts are quietly underway in public school systems all across North Carolina. This week we’re going to introduce you to the state’s first renewal school district that was granted broad flexibility and local control to redesign how their schools operate. We’ll also meet the co-founder of The Innovation Project that is working with superintendents across the state to implement new practices in the districts they lead. Guests: Dr. Lynn Moody, Superintendent, Rowan-Salisbury School System Ann McColl, Chief Executive Officer, The Innovation Project

Governor Roy Cooper vetoed the budget passed by the NC General Assembly on June 28th and offered up a counter proposal a week later. Now more than a month has passed and the General Assembly has yet to bring a veto override vote to the floor and publicly there seems to be little movement on a budget both sides will accept. This week we sat down with Governor Cooper and discussed the state of the budget, his priorities particularly in education and what’s next now one month into a new fiscal year without a state budget. Guest: Governor Roy Cooper, State of North Carolina

The North Carolina State Health Plan is managed by the State Treasurer of North Carolina Dale Folwell. His office has been engaged in a bitter battle with the state’s hospitals and healthcare networks over pricing and the contract dispute has more than 700,000 teachers, state employees, retirees and their dependents caught in the middle. This week we talk to Treasurer Dale Folwell about his plans and we meet two educators very concerned about the impact this fight could have on them and their families. Guests: • Dale Folwell, Treasurer, State of North Carolina • Susan Ringo, Librarian, Wilkes County Schools • Mike Landers, Teacher, Cabarrus County Schools

Last year, students from Wake County’s Middle Creek High School, along with students from two other local schools, worked with the Alabama-based Equal Justice Initiative to document the only confirmed lynching case in Wake County. Following this transformative work, students began working with the Wake County Truth and Reconciliation Commission's ongoing efforts to bring a memorial marker and other activities to the area to shed further light on that event. We’ll hear from two of the students and the teacher who inspired them to embark on this journey. Guests: • Matt Scialdone, English Teacher, Middle Creek High School, Wake County • Destinee Eaton, Student, Middle Creek High School Class of 2018 • Yancy Greer, Student, Middle Creek High School Class of 2019