Class size Coverage

Enrollment limits lifted at 3 western Wake County schools

The school board voted unanimously Tuesday to remove enrollment caps from Apex Elementary and from Highcroft and Mills Park elementary schools in Cary.

Emily Walkenhorst, WRAL education reporter

Editorial: Only determined focus, from statehouse to schoolhouse, will fix lagging reading scores

Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019 -- Our leaders need to engage more directly with those who REALLY know about the challenges students face in learning to read. They cannot tolerate failure on the current scale. Good managers, when faced with failures to perform in their organizations, first turn to those on the front lines. Why aren't they able to accomplish their tasks? Do they lack the materials or time? Do they lack the training? Are their efforts spread too thin (in school, too many students per class, lack of teacher assistants)? Passing the blame and embracing ethereal fads isn't teaching any more kids to read.

EDITORIAL: N.C. education 'transparency' dashboard misleads, is fatally flawed

Monday, May 6, 2019 -- N.C. Superintendent of Public Instruction Mark Johnson appears to want us to understand how much our classroom teachers are being paid and how that compares with household incomes and wages other North Carolinians earn in their jobs. He wants to convince us he and other leaders are doing a good job of providing resources for public education. Truth is, looks are deceiving. Johnson's current dashboard is so significantly misleading as to be worthless. The specific "facts" presented may be in and of themselves accurate. But they are displayed in a way that lies to and misleads North Carolinians.

Average teacher pay, textbook funding, class sizes: NC debuts new school finances website

The average teacher salary in Wake County is $58,403. But in neighboring Franklin County, teachers are paid, on average, nearly $9,000 less at $49,805. Those are some of the school finance statistics reported on North Carolina's new Financial Transparency Dashboard.

Kelly Hinchcliffe, WRAL education reporter

Organizer: Teacher rally will be 'something Raleigh has never seen'

So far, 26 school districts across North Carolina have canceled classes next Wednesday as anywhere from 10,000 to 15,000 teachers plan to march to the Legislative Building then rally on Bicentennial Plaza.

Natalie Matthews, WRAL.com web editor, and Kelly Hinchcliffe, WRAL education reporter

19 NC school districts now plan to close for rally, crowd estimate rises to 15,000

Johnston County public schools announced Wednesday that the district will close classes to allow its teachers to participate in a rally at the state Capitol in Raleigh.

Alfred Charles, Online Managing Editor

Cooper backing class size measure despite 'political attacks and power grabs'

In a blistering attack on the Republican-controlled legislature, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper accused lawmakers Wednesday of violating an order of the North Carolina Supreme Court and manufacturing a dispute over a fund tied to a natural gas pipeline.

Matthew Burns, WRAL.com senior producer/politics editor, & Laura Leslie, WRAL Capitol Bureau chief

Lawmakers leave town after passing class size fix measure

State lawmakers adjourned their latest special session Tuesday after sending a bill that would phase in caps to elementary school class sizes to Gov. Roy Cooper.

Laura Leslie

Class size omnibus gets first vote

The state Senate voted 37-5 Friday in favor of a bill that would delay scheduled reductions in elementary school class sizes. Some Democrats voted against the measure because it includes unrelated provisions aimed at scoring political points against Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.

Laura Leslie

Lawmakers to delay, phase in class-size caps

Republican legislative leaders Thursday announced they've reached an agreement on a fix to problems created by capping class sizes in early grades, but they've attached it to provisions Democrats are calling a poison pill.

Laura Leslie, WRAL Capitol Bureau chief, & Matthew Burns, WRAL.com senior producer/politics editor

Lawmakers nearing agreement on class size fix

Lawmakers are in serious negotiations to work out a deal on a class size mandate that school districts say they cannot afford to carry out.

Laura Leslie, WRAL Capitol bureau chief

Class sizes, school funding among NC education group's top issues for 2018

The Public School Forum of North Carolina released its Top 10 Education Issues for 2018 Wednesday during its fourth annual Eggs & Issues Breakfast in Raleigh. More than 225 business, education and government leaders attended, according to the group.

Kelly Hinchcliffe, WRAL Education Reporter

Rabon: Not so fast on that March class size session

N.C. Senate Rules Chairman Bill Rabon pumped the brakes late Thursday on talk of a March special session to consider North Carolina class size rules.

Travis Fain