Old Fort mayor Pam Snypes stood outside town hall on Monday afternoon, Sept. 30th, describing the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

“There are entire places just gone,” Snypes said.

Hurricane Helene dropped torrential rain across the state’s western region, compromising creeks, rivers, and dams.

According to a Sept. 30 from Gov. Roy Cooper, there have been 34 storm-related deaths in North Carolina. That number will likely rise as dozens of people have been reported missing.

It’s been a harrowing few days for McDowell County residents as flood waters, high winds, and a mudslide slammed parts of the community.

While local emergency personnel and those outside the region continue search and rescue efforts in McDowell County, other teams are forming to aid in recovery.

Leaders from (MTCC), and have been working around the clock to organize a distribution site.

The distribution site is located in McDowell County’s Universal Building that sits adjacent to MTCC’s campus. The building houses the college’s Advanced Manufacturing Center, the Small Business Center, and the county’s Economic Development Association.

Right now, the building’s warehouse space is being used as a central hub for incoming supplies, which have arrived from all over.

Distribution site volunteers, many of whom are local educators, organize essential items and prepare them for delivery. Supplies from the distribution site are then driven or flown to various locations, including four points of distribution (PODS) in the county.

Across town, more education and community leaders are gathered at the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) as they strategize and organize the next phases of disaster recovery.

MTCC President Dr. J.W. Kelley said the county is currently in phase one. Beyond search and rescue, phase one includes distributing food, water, and items for babies.

Planning for phase two is currently underway and will include what Kelley is calling comfort centers, or locations where community members can use Wi-Fi or make phone calls. Leaders have even discussed how to coordinate with the hospital to provide on-site emotional support animals.

What’s happening on the ground

The devastation stretches for miles and miles across Western North Carolina’s mountain communities.

Old Fort business owners are spending daylight hours pushing mud and water out of buildings. Two steps in either direction, and you hear the same story from residents. Properties gone — if not theirs, than someone’s who lives just “down the road” or “on the other side of the mountain.”

But you also see the human spirit.

It’s the kindness in the eyes of those moving quickly along the lined tables of recovery items who say they are all “just here to help.”

It’s in the faces of school鈥揳ged children tagging along with their parents to volunteer — children who are just as integral to the distribution operations as their parents. Moments of laughter fill the spaces, even in the midst of all that Helene has left.

There are those going neighborhood to neighborhood making sure the Latine community has information, access, and resources.

It’s a yellow truck and the unofficial “ice cream man” standing in the middle of the street handing out bags of ice to community members.

And a couple who never made it to Asheville for vacation 鈥� finding themselves at a rental in McDowell County waiting out Helene. When the stormed cleared, they didn’t go home to Massachusetts. Instead, they jumped in and started serving a community of people they had never met.

In the midst of crisis, the human spirit is generosity to those in need.

What’s ahead

The needs are and will continue to be tremendous in McDowell County as well as other Western North Carolina communities.

McDowell County leaders are busy putting plans in place for residents. Water will continue to be an immediate need, as will food, baby wipes, and personal hygiene items.

Old Fort mayor Pam Snypes added one more item to that list: “We need your prayers,” she said.

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鈥淵ou can鈥檛 teach a hungry child,鈥� Cooper said. 鈥淚f a child hasn鈥檛 eaten, then clearly that child is going to be more distracted, and it鈥檚 going to be more difficult to make sure that they learn.鈥�

Innovative breakfast options, like the breakfast served in classrooms at Glenn Elementary, help improve student success in academics while lowering the need for discipline, said Jim Keaten, the executive director of child nutrition services at .

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 starting to show in the academics that the kids being able to eat and focus and spend more time鈥攊nstructional time鈥� is really making an impact. And they鈥檙e focusing on education as opposed to discipline,鈥� Keaten said.

The funding will provide grants of up to $50,000 per school nutrition program to allow schools to better provide students innovative school breakfast options, such as breakfast in the classroom, grab-and-go breakfasts, or second chance breakfasts, when students have the option of eating breakfast during a break.

鈥淗opefully it can get more school systems and schools involved in this program because we know that it means a lot for them to do this,鈥� Cooper said.

Cooper is partnering with the (NCAH) and the (CHI) for this effort.

The governor said the effort would particularly help schools with high numbers of low income students.

The innovative breakfast program at Glenn Elementary, which has been in place for about two years, allows all students 鈥� regardless of economic status 鈥� to arrive to class early for a free breakfast and receive bonus instructional time with teachers while they eat.

In the past two years, Glenn Elementary School鈥檚 performance grade has increased by 15 points, said Principal Matthew Hunt, and the extra time students can spend with their teachers has added about three additional weeks of instructional time for some students.

鈥淔ood is the most important school supply, and getting kids off to a good start early in the morning with a good breakfast is, I think, the right thing to do,鈥� said Morgan Wittman Gramann, executive director of NCAH.

Tanitra Edwards, a third grade math and science teacher at Glenn Elementary, said she is a fan of the program as it allows her more time to connect with her students, especially those who might need extra help.

鈥淚f there鈥檚 a student that I know is needing a little more support or something from a previous day, I鈥檓 allowed to work with them (at) that time,鈥� Edwards said. 鈥淥f course, if they were in the cafeteria, I wouldn鈥檛 have that time with them.鈥�

Cooper participated and observed as students at Glenn Elementary School were served individual bags of breakfast food early in the morning. Students in Edwards鈥� class worked on an online math game while they ate.

鈥淭hey just love coming in and having those options available,鈥� Edwards said.

Keaten recalled the stigma he felt as a child eating free breakfast at school, when students who needed free meals were separated from others, letting everyone know who the 鈥減oor kid鈥� was. Free universal breakfasts for all students cuts down on that stigma, he said.

鈥淭o be able to get all the kids to eat in the classroom with no stigma to me is just a tremendous gain,鈥� Keaten said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like one of my life goals to take that stigma away from kids.鈥�

The innovative breakfast program at Glenn Elementary emerged due to necessity during the pandemic as students had to eat in classrooms rather than in the cafeteria, Keaten said.

While eating in the classrooms, the school found students had more time to complete homework and receive help while school staff completed administrative tasks and morning announcements before class began, freeing up time during the school day, Keaten said.

Cooper said other ways to mitigate hunger among students include adequately funding public schools and teachers while employing more school social workers and counselors who can help support the 鈥渨hole child鈥� and their family.

鈥淥ur schools can help connect families to services and help children not only get better nutrition, but be safer and have healthier lives all together,鈥� Cooper said.

Expanded breakfast programs will also benefit students who may have food available at home, but aren鈥檛 ready to eat first thing in the morning at home, Cooper said.

The $1.4 million in funding comes from the federal Emergency Assistance for Non-Public Schools funds that have gone to the Governor鈥檚 Emergency Education Relief fund.

Applications for the grants will open in the next few months. When approved, the school systems will receive the support for their breakfast programs. All funding must be spent by September 2024.

鈥淲e celebrate this amazing opportunity to create more access for breakfast for more kids through innovative breakfast programs,鈥� said Lou Anne Crumpler, director of CHI.

In the wake of the pandemic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture provided all public school students across the nation with free breakfasts and lunches, though that opportunity ended at the start of the 2022-23 school year.

Cooper said on Tuesday that state is making efforts toward securing universal lunches for students, though the work is still in progress. The 2023-24 state budget included funding to , which means students qualifying for reduced-price lunches can now eat for free. The co-pay for reduced-price breakfast was eliminated in 2011.

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The State Board of Education discussed the implications of several items from the at its meeting earlier this month, including , known as the “Parents’ Bill of Rights.”

SL 2023-106 became law on Aug. 16, after the General Assembly overrode Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of the bill. At the time, state Superintendent Catherine Truitt said school districts needed more time to meet requirements of the new law, asking lawmakers to bump the effective date from Sept. 15 to Jan. 1.

The new budget, passed on Sept. 22, granted that extension for much of the law. The budget also clarified that parents will not need to be notified or provide consent when school personnel act in a medical emergency.

“From the beginning, I鈥檝e supported the Parents鈥� Bill of Rights law, and I want it to be implemented successfully and enacted fully,鈥� Truitt previously . 鈥淚 am very pleased to see that the General Assembly addressed provisions in the conference budget to ensure a smoother process for parents to be fully protected under the Parents鈥� Bill of Rights.”

The law seeks to 鈥渆numerate the rights of parents to direct the upbringing, education, health care, and mental health of their minor children.鈥�

While most Republicans and Democrats agree that the law outlines rights parents already have, Republican bill sponsors said the law safeguards the integral role of parents in their children鈥檚 lives. Opponents, including many educators, have said the law will damage the relationship between educators and students, while also threatening the safety of LGBTQ+ students.

The law bans curriculum on gender identity, sexual activity, or sexuality in kindergarten through fourth grade. It also requires schools to notify a parent about their child鈥檚 physical and mental health, including any school health care services they use, changes to their well-being, or requests to change a student鈥檚 pronouns.

The law also allows parents to review all curriculum and establishes remedies and timelines for parental concerns. Under that provision, the law mandates that school governing bodies adopt procedures for parents to notify principals regarding concerns about curriculum. A process to resolve concerns should take place within seven days of the date of notification by the parent.

After 30 days, 鈥渢he public school unit shall provide a statement of the reasons for not resolving the concern.鈥� At that point, parents can also request a 鈥減arental concerning hearing鈥� with the State Board of Education.

Board leaders about the provision, saying the hearings 鈥渨ill likely be a frustrating exercise in futility for all involved” and a 鈥渟ignificant expenditure of resources.鈥�

On Thursday, the Board discussed a regarding such hearings.

Under the policy, parents can only request a hearing with the Board under limited circumstances. One set of circumstances include the failure of a child鈥檚 school to adopt and implement policies to notify parents about the following items:

• Health care services at the child鈥檚 school and how parents can provide consent for services.
• The procedures available to parents to remedy concerns.
• A copy of student well-being questionnaires or health screening forms for students in K-3, and how parents can consent to the form.
• Changes in services or monitoring related to 鈥渢heir child鈥檚 mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being and the school鈥檚 ability to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for that child.鈥�
• Changes in the name or pronoun used for a student 鈥渋n school records or by school personnel.鈥�

Parents can also also seeks hearings with the Board about the existence of the following procedures or practices at their child’s school:

• Procedures that 鈥渄o not include a requirement that school personnel either encourage a child to discuss issues related to the child鈥檚 well-being with his or her parents or facilitate a discussion of the issues with the child鈥檚 parents,鈥� or that encourage a child 鈥渢o withhold information from that child鈥檚 parents about his or her mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being.鈥�
• Procedures that prohibit parents from accessing their children’s school education and health records, except in investigations of abuse.
• Procedures that “result in instruction on gender identity, sexual activity, or sexuality鈥� in K-4.

Notably, that list does not include book challenges, which must be handled at the local level.

Parents can request a hearing about the above items after notifying the principal of their child鈥檚 school, if the school has not resolved the concerns within 30 days.

Under the new policy, the Board will appoint a hearing officer for each case who is a member of the North Carolina State Bar and has experience in education and administrative law in the last five years. The public school must pay for the costs of that hearing officer, who would then hold a hearing and submit a recommended decision to the Board within 30 days after their appointment.

鈥淎t the next regularly scheduled State Board meeting, held more than seven days after receipt of the recommended decision, the State Board shall vote to either approve, reject, or amend the hearing officer鈥檚 recommended decision,鈥� the draft policy says.

Graduation requirements

The new budget also requires the State Board of Education to create a three-year graduation track for high school students by Nov. 1. That track will consist of 22 credits, and must receive parental consent.

The budget currently states that “local boards of education shall offer a sequence of courses in accordance” with that minimum requirement. Many schools already allow early graduation pathways for some students, but most schools typically require 28 credits for graduation.

Many education leaders worried the budget’s provision would prevent them from requiring more than 22 credits for any students.

“That of course, caused a lot of outcry from our school districts,” said Sneha Shah-Coltrane, director of advanced learning and gifted education at the Department of Public Instruction (DPI). “As a result, we are very grateful that we are working with the General Assembly on some technical corrections, to be able to move forward with a reasonable, different approach.”

In anticipation of such technical corrections, the Board discussed . That policy will come to the Board for approval next month, pending the corrections.

The proposed amendment, “Authority for Local School Boards to Exceed Minimum Graduation Requirements,” outlines a process for students who wish to graduate after three years to 鈥渞equest that local board waive the additional local requirements.鈥�

The student must complete and sign a waiver from the local board. That waiver must also be signed by the student鈥檚 parent or legal guardian, unless the student is 18 years or older, or has been emancipated. An administrator from the student鈥檚 high school must also then meet with the student and their parent 鈥渢o discuss the implications of graduating in three years.鈥�

Students who successfully opt to graduate early 鈥� and who also seek a degree, diploma, or certificate at an eligible postsecondary institution 鈥� will be eligible for 鈥渆arly graduate scholarships鈥� based on financial need. Read more starting on 

“This is just another step toward recognizing that the nature of school and work is changing before our very eyes,” Truitt said. “I think it is a very small percentage of students for who it is right to stop at 22 (credits) — this may continue to grow as more and more options become available to students — but what I really like is that this policy requires parent buy-in for this happen.”

Teacher pay

Truitt also spoke about the budget’s raises for school employees — which included a 7% raise over two year for most school employees, and a 3.6-10.8% raise for teachers.

Earlier this long session, Truitt and the Board asked lawmakers for at least a 10% raise for employees.

鈥淎s a former educator, I鈥檝e been vocal that North Carolina鈥檚 teachers deserve a raise, and I鈥檓 disappointed that we did not see the double digit pay increase for educators that we hoped for in this Conference budget,” she said in . “Salaries in other professions have kept pace with inflation, however that is not the case with education.”

Truitt highlighted her disappointment with the raises again during her report on Thursday. Board members also spoke about disappointment in the budget’s provisions for teacher raises.

Board Chair Alan Duncan said he hopes lawmakers will readdress teacher pay in the short session.

鈥淚 cannot help but express some disappointment that there was not a better response to the request,” he said. “And I鈥檓 sorry for the educators that there was not.鈥�

You can view the updated salary schedules for 2023-24 . You can also read about the budget’s supplements outlined for educators at

Truitt said DPI’s requests for the short session will include funding for professional development for middle school teachers, with a focus on improving math proficiency.

Truitt also highlighted the budget’s provision of nearly $13 million into the Advanced Teaching Roles (ATR) initiative — the first directed state funding for the program.

Under that program, adult leadership teachers in participating districts will receive a $10,000 supplement. Classroom excellence teachers will receive a $3,000 supplement.

The Board heard a presentation on the Friday Institute’s The Board opted to send a partial version of the report, due Oct. 15, to the General Assembly, and will submit the full report in November after it is approved with additional information requested by Board members.

Truitt also highlighted the following items from the budget during her report:

Reports on students with disabilities and low-performing schools

The Board heard several important reports on Wednesday regarding student success.

First, the Board discussed a .

Per the report, a federal view found several things that “need assistance” within the state’s Exceptional Children (EC) department. The priority areas identified in the report include:

• Participation and performance on statewide assessments
• Suspension and expulsion
• Preschool outcomes
• Child Find/Early Childhood Transition
• Secondary Transition/Post-School Outcomes

The Board also received from the Council on Educational Services for Exceptional Children, which advises the State Board of Education “on unmet needs of children with special needs and the development and implementation of policies related to the coordination of services for students with disabilities.”

The council made the following recommendations in its 2022-23 report:

• “Hear from the ground.” Invite organizations which provide support to families navigating the education system to speak about best practices and challenges at least once a year.
• Do a survey of other organizations that also serve families with disabilities along with mental health concerns.
• Incorporate “A New Wave of Evidence,” showing that connections between school, family, and community lead to student success.

The Board also discussed its annual report to lawmakers

State law defines low-performing schools as those that receive a school performance grade of a D or F and a school growth score of “met expected growth” or “not met expected growth.” A low-performing school district is defined as a district in which the majority of the schools are low-performing.

Here is some data from that report.

On Thursday, the Board also approved two policies related to low-performing schools.

First, the Board approved a policy allowing the Board 鈥渢o assign an assistance team to any school identified as low-performing or to any other school that requests an assistance team and that the State Board determines would benefit from an assistance team.鈥�

Second, the Board approved a new policy that allows them to appoint an interim district superintendent when more than half the schools in that district are designated as low-performing and the assistance team assigned to a school 鈥渞ecommends the superintendent has failed to cooperate with the assistance team or has otherwise hindered that school’s ability to improve.鈥�

Finally, the Board also saw a preview of its annual report to the General Assembly The Board will vote on that report next month.

Updates to parental leave policy

The State Board of Education gave final approval to its temporary , as mandated by . That section requires a paid parental leave policy for all state agency, public school, UNC, and community college employees.

Originally, the policy — based on state law — said that employees must have been employed by the public school unit without a break in service 鈥渇or at least 1,040 hours within the previous 12-month period” to be eligible for paid parental leave.

In other words, employees who moved school districts would not have been eligible for the benefits, even if they had worked in North Carolina public schools for 10 years.

Following pushback, lawmakers made technical corrections to the law. The Board’s new policy will now cover employees who recently switched districts, as long as they have an aggregate 1,040 hours without a break of service at a North Carolina school or state agency.

The policy provides up to eight weeks of paid parental leave after giving birth to a child on or after July 1, 2023, or up to four weeks after any other qualifying event, like adoption or legal guardianship.

The revisions to the rule will be effective on Nov. 7.

Other things to know

• The Board approved a report to the General Assembly on the The goal for 2022鈥�23 was set at 89.5%. The statewide rate, 86.5%, did not meet this year鈥檚 target, though 31 individual school districts did.
• The Charter Schools Review Board (CSRB) presented in light of new state laws regarding charter schools in the budget. There are currently 15 applications for 2023.
• The Board also approved a new policy, . That policy is in response to a new state law that allows “an applicant for a charter school, a charter school, or the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (to) appeal to the State Board of Education from a final decision by the Charter Schools Review Board on whether to grant, renew, revoke, or amend a charter.”
• Thursday marked the last Board meeting for Dr. Maria Pitre-Martin, the director of Board operations and policy.
• The Board offered initial approval two additional community colleges to offer the Elementary Education Residency Licensure Certificate Program: Pitt Community College and Robeson Community College. Those colleges join many other community colleges to receive initial authorization for the program

The full State Board of Education meets next Oct. 31 through Nov. 2 at East Carolina University in Greenville for its planning and work session.

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With amounts ranging from $3,200 to $7,500 per child, depending on family income, the program is expected to be the second largest in the nation, after Florida鈥檚. The budget that included the plan passed 26 to 17 in the Senate and 70 to 40 in the House, with five Democrats crossing the aisle. 

The bill鈥檚 passage was the culmination of years of work for Marcus Brandon, a former Democratic state representative who considered himself a progressive and once thought vouchers were 鈥渆vil.鈥�

鈥淢y constituents are the ones that led me here. They’re the ones that talked about the lack of educational opportunities,鈥� said Brandon, who represented the Greensboro area until  2015. He鈥檚 now executive director of NorthCarolinaCAN, part of the 50CAN network, which advocates for school choice nationwide. 

With the vote, North Carolina becomes the ninth state with a universal school choice program in a year of unprecedented expansion. Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Utah and West Virginia now have ESA programs open to all. Oklahoma has a universal tax credit program. Ohio has a universal voucher program and in Indiana, the family income ceiling for a voucher is set so high that it鈥檚 . Opponents argue that universal ESAs hurt funding for public schools and largely go to families whose children never attended the public system rather than those seeking to escape failing schools. 

鈥淚f this funding was instead allocated to our public schools, the budget could more than double teacher raises鈥� for the next two years, said Mary Ann Wolf, president and executive director of Public School Forum, an advocacy group that . 鈥淗alf of our teachers do not make a livable wage.鈥�

But advocates say the programs are giving families the freedom they need to personalize learning for their children.

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen incredible wins for students over the past two years, and we expect to see school choice continue to grow and benefit families across the country in the coming years,鈥� Patricia Levesque, CEO of ExcelinEd, a school reform organization, said in an email.

North Carolina has had that provides between $9,000 and $17,000 annually for students with disabilities since the 2018-19 school year. A separate voucher program supports low-income students attending private schools. Both programs have seen over the past year as the state expanded eligibility. Those programs will now be combined under the new universal ESA, which will go into effect in the 2024-25 school year. 

鈥淭he real breakthrough with this new legislation is the universality,鈥� said Marc Porter Magee, founder and CEO of 50CAN. 鈥淲e know that parents are hungry for an education system that recognizes the uniqueness of their children and ultimately, ESAs enable families to craft the education that鈥檚 right for them.鈥� 

Brandon expects roughly 80% of the 126,000 students in the state鈥檚 private schools to take advantage of the ESA. For comparison, almost 67,000 students are using Arizona鈥檚 Empowerment Scholarship Account, including homeschooling families. While homeschoolers won鈥檛 be eligible in North Carolina, it would be relatively easy, Brandon said, for families in pods or microschools to qualify for an ESA. He thinks current homeschooling families would choose that route. 

鈥淎ll it takes is a fire and health inspection,鈥� he said.  

He thinks 70% of students in public schools and 30% using choice programs is a 鈥渉ealthy split.鈥�

Similar to opponents of vouchers in other states, Wolf is concerned that the plan will especially hurt schools in rural areas.

鈥淓ighty of our 100 counties are rural,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ur schools are the hub of so many of our communities.鈥�

Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, who declared over the voucher issue and with the Republican-dominated legislature over education issues, announced that the budget would become law without his signature. it a 鈥渂ad budget that seriously shortchanges our schools.鈥� But it also includes a he wants.

Opponents want greater guardrails on how families spend the money and say students using ESAs should be required to take the same assessments as students in public schools. 

The bill would require the state superintendent to recommend a standardized test for students on vouchers in private schools. But Wolf said her concerns go beyond academic performance.

鈥淪hould our public dollars be going to private schools that can discriminate, that don’t have to be accredited, that are held only to minimal transparency?鈥� she asked. 

Brandon said he leans toward as few restrictions as possible.

鈥淚 do not ever want to compromise the flexibility and the uniqueness of what private means,鈥� he said. 鈥� can spend $40,000 for his kid and understand that that is a quality education. All parents are just like him. They are able to recognize a school that’s working or is not working for their child.鈥�

Gov. Roy Cooper went on the attack Monday, blasting away at Republican legislation that he contends will 鈥渃hoke the life out of public education鈥� in North Carolina.

The Democratic governor said that it鈥檚 time to declare a 鈥渟tate of emergency鈥� and he urged North Carolinians to contact lawmakers to protest legislation that could irreversibly damage the state鈥檚 system of public education.

鈥淚t鈥檚 clear that the Republican legislature is aiming to choke the life out of public education,鈥� Cooper said. 鈥淚鈥檓 declaring this a state of emergency because you need to know what鈥檚 happening. If you care about public schools in North Carolina, it鈥檚 time to take immediate action and tell them to stop the damage that will set back our schools for a generation.鈥�

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Cooper said extreme GOP legislation could cost the state鈥檚 public schools hundreds of millions of dollars, exacerbate a stubborn teacher shortage and bring political culture wars to classrooms.

He lashed out , a bill to expand the state鈥檚 school voucher program. Under the proposal, even the state鈥檚 wealthiest families would qualify for what are known as 鈥渙pportunity scholarships鈥� to help pay for private schools. The voucher program was created a decade ago to help low-income families escape low-performing districts and schools.

鈥淭heir private school voucher scheme will pour your tax money into private schools that are unaccountable to the public and can decide which students they won鈥檛 to keep out,鈥� Cooper said. 鈥淭hey want to expand private school so that anyone, even a millionaire, can get taxpayer money for their children鈥檚 private academy tuition.鈥�

Voucher critics complain that the private schools that receive taxpayer money engage in religious indoctrination and exclusion, discriminate against LGBTQ students and parents, and are not held accountable for academic outcomes the way charter schools and traditional public school are.

They also contend that vouchers divert money and other resources from already underfunded public schools. Under the proposed legislation, annual spending on private school vouchers would steadily increase until it reaches $500 million by the 2031-32 school year.

Meanwhile, voucher supporters such as Rep. Tricia Cotham, a Republican from Mecklenburg County, contend that expanding the voucher program will help families that decide that public schools aren鈥檛 the best fit for their children. Cotham, a former Democrat who switched parties in March, co-sponsored a House bill with the same language.

On Monday, Cotham tweeted that Cooper is 鈥渁dvocating for systems rather than students themselves.鈥�

鈥淓ducation is not one-size-fits-all and NC families should have the freedom to determine what kind of education is best for them,鈥� Cotham said. 鈥淢y bill to expand the NC Opportunity Scholarship program, to allow all NC families to make that choice, will soon be on his desk, waiting on his signature. NC kids are waiting, Governor! Stop the political theater and put kids first!鈥�

Cooper also took aim at the Senate鈥檚 teacher pay raise proposal, which he said will only increase veteran teachers鈥� salaries $250 over two years. There are currently 5,000 teaching vacancies, he said.

鈥淭wo hundred and fifty bucks,鈥� Cooper said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a slap in the face and it will make the teacher shortage worse.鈥�

The Senate recently released a budget calling for a 4.5% average teacher pay raise over two years. The budget would bump starting teacher pay to $39,000 annually. First year teachers currently earn $37,000 a year.

Cooper鈥檚 budget includes an 18% teacher raise over the biennium. The budget approved by the House in April called for raises of 10.2% over the two-year budget cycle. Teachers would receive a 5.5% pay increase the first year, with the remainder coming in year two.

Cooper also said Republican lawmakers want to accelerate tax cuts that are projected to cut North Carolina鈥檚 state budget by almost 20%, which will hamstringing the state鈥檚 ability to pay for public education.

鈥淭ax giveaways to the wealthy also harm our youngest learners,鈥� Cooper said. 鈥淔amilies and businesses across the state have called for strong investments in early childhood education,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o far, the legislature is turning its back on children, parents and the businesses that want to hire those parents by shortchanging pre-K, Smart Start and quality childcare.鈥�

Cooper used Monday鈥檚 press to warn North Carolinians about the GOP鈥檚 plans to inject their 鈥減olitical cultural wars鈥� into classrooms with bills to allow politicians to develop curriculum, micromanage teachers and target LGBTQ+ students.

鈥淎lready, prominent Republicans have proposed eliminating core science classes and are pushing to rewrite history curriculums to fit a political agenda,鈥� Cooper said. 鈥淪tudents need an education that prepares them for the workforce and success.鈥�

According to a news release, Cooper will meet with business leaders, educators and parents this week to raise awareness about the dangers of the Republican-backed bills he believes are harmful to North Carolina鈥檚 public schools.

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When Susannah High heard in 2021 that public funds would pay for one person at each community college to receive mental health training, she jumped at the opportunity.

High, director of student wellness and success at Haywood Community College, was familiar with the training, called Mental Health First Aid, a national program that teaches people how to spot and navigate the signs of mental health challenges.

The goal, she said, is to 鈥渢rain as many people as you can, give skillsets to as many people as you can, so that we can better support ourselves as a society.鈥�

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High has done just that, but says the college needs sustainable funding for training going forward to meet the needs of its community.

Gov. Roy Cooper announced this week a $7.7 million investment to launch new mental health programs and sustain existing ones like Mental Health First Aid. These funds come from the federal Emergency Assistance for Non-Public Schools program and have since reverted to the Governor鈥檚 Emergency Education Relief fund, says. The money will fund suicide prevention training for faculty and staff across community colleges, UNC system schools, and independent colleges and universities, as well as a mental health hotline and resiliency program at UNC system schools.

鈥淚dentifying their mental distress and getting them access to quality treatment is more critical for our students than ever,鈥� Cooper said. “This investment will help our state鈥檚 colleges and universities better support their students so they can thrive.鈥�

The UNC system has created at 116 colleges and universities across the state with a $5 million investment from the same funding source last year.

鈥淚t’s always been something I knew existed,鈥� said High, who is also a clinical social worker. 鈥淚’ve always been interested in it. It’s incredibly expensive. It was always out of our budget.鈥�

High got trained with that original funding from the community college system in March 2021. The college has since used federal pandemic relief funding to pay for the costs of running classes. High immediately prioritized training faculty and staff, including president Shelley White.

After that, her main goal was reaching students. With a dedicated funding source, she would ultimately like to be a resource for agencies and organizations in the community as well.

High has taught five classes and 36 people on Haywood鈥檚 campus, plus another five, she estimated, in partnership with Asheville-Buncombe聽Technical Community College.

“The whole purpose is to put instructors out in the world, who can go and continue to share skills with more and more people, so that eventually, the average everyday person can just be better equipped to recognize problematic signs and symptoms,” High said. “… It’s geared to be accessible for any person and not intimidating, so that you can learn how to recognize and respond.”

She has a sixth class planned for this month, which will include a combination of faculty, staff, and students. It’s the last one that she has funding for, she said.

鈥淚 want to see a line item for this, so that we know every fiscal year, we are contributing a set amount of dollars toward giving back to the community in terms of mental health,鈥� High said.

This is particularly important in light of recent heightened mental health struggles, she said. Though she鈥檚 been seeing reports of higher rates of concerning behaviors, she hasn鈥檛 heard from students as she thought she might.

鈥淭hey’re not reaching out,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd so that means problems still exist, but they’re trying to deal with them themselves, or relying on the friend or family member 鈥� That means we need to be equipping those friends and those families, those community members, with the skills that could potentially help encourage that person who’s struggling to reach out.鈥�

This summer, High said, she’ll be looking for opportunities for extended funding.

“Any new and additional attention and focus that we can put on this is so very important,” High said. “We just we have so many folks struggling.”

This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Updated

The office of Gov. Roy Cooper is convening educators, district leaders, and stakeholders throughout the state to highlight best practices to recruit, prepare, support, and retain educators of color.

With the support of the , the DRIVE Task Force made its first of four statewide tour stops last week in Edgecombe County to learn about 鈥淕row Your Own鈥� models and other initiatives developing in the area.

Additionally, the Task Force is concentrating on establishing a succession plan for their work to continue given the set to expire at the end of this year.

About the DRIVE Task Force

For over three years, the has been engulfed in matters of equity and inclusion in education. is made up of parents and guardians, K-12 educators, state and local government personnel, and both UNC System and community college personnel.

In 2021, the team released for how to increase the racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity of the state’s educator workforce. Now, they are committed to being in communities to discover organizational and programmatic assets that can advance the goal.

Each tour stop has two parts, consisting of an evening Educators of Color Networking Event and the task force meeting the following morning.

Letter to PEPSC

Attendees first reviewed and approved the final letter to be sent to the (PEPSC) and the State Board of Education.

As mentioned in the document below, the task force composed the letter to “highlight the positive impact that the could have on teacher diversity and to identify opportunities to align the professional pathways structures more closely with DRIVE Task Force Recommendations.”

Read the letter below:

Growing the next generation of educators

Gathered at Tarboro Brewing Company last week, community members, teachers, and school leaders engaged in a night of conversation and connection building.

Many of the same faces, and more, convened at Center for Innovation for presentations on the best practices from the North Central and Northeast regions and Task Force subcommittee reports.

These are the programs that were surfaced:

Scholar Teachers Program

(ECPS) has established a program to .

The district created a foundation to manage funding for the program. The foundation鈥檚 Future Teacher Fund is 鈥渄edicated to funding the Edgecombe Early College High School Scholar Teacher program to support diversity in education in North Carolina, to cultivate a pipeline of the next generation of teachers and build the economic and educational resiliency of our North Carolina communities by cultivating home-town talent.鈥�

(ORESU), along with Anonymous Trust and Barnhill, are among the sponsors for the program. When sharing about Corning鈥檚 partnership with ECPS, Dr. Millicent Ruffin, the ORESU鈥檚 director of community affairs, expressed that all parties involved share a passion for 鈥済etting quality educators in the classroom and helping them to do that debt free.鈥�

As part of the , students not only obtain 200 hours of field experience and their associates degree, but also financial support through the grant, receiving $10,000/year with their transition to their preferred North Carolina university. After graduating, committing to three years of teaching in Edgecombe County will allow the financial support to be repaid.

N.C. Teacher Cadet Program

The is another curriculum established under the 鈥淕row Your Own鈥� philosophy.

“Our goal is to really have our students, not just experience the program and the curriculum, but to experience it in their community,” Teacher Cadet State Coordinator Dr. Gwynne Shoaf said, “to really know the structures of the educational system in their community and find a place where they can give back.”

The program is offered as a high school course, aimed at giving juniors and seniors hands-on teaching experiences. The North Carolina Foundation for Public School Children utilizes the program to continue to nurture the next generation of educators.

ECU Partnership TEACH

College of Education is focused on increasing the number of high-quality teachers in the region. They offer a 100% online degree program where students begin courses at the community college level, then transfer to one of four teaching programs provided by the university. allows students to be placed in public school classrooms in or near their home communities to engage in learning experiences that correlate to their coursework.

NELA Program and Transformational Scholars

(NELA) focuses on principal preparation, with the aim of increasing 鈥渟tudent achievement by preparing and retaining principals in high-poverty, hard-to-staff, and historically low-performing schools.鈥�

According to their website, since the first cohort in 2012, the program has graduated over 140 principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership. The College of Education at N.C. State University has been identified as having a research-based, nationally recognized model with the goal of strategically elevating school leadership in North Carolina public schools.

Looking Ahead

The next three stops on the DRIVE Task Force Tour are:

• May 18-19 in Pembroke
• Sept. 21-22 in Cullowhee
• Nov. 16-17 in Winston-Salem

This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.