Editorial: N.C. Forum's 10 points can make public schools better

Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018 -- "Adequacy and equity are central tenets to address the chronic and growing divide between urban and rural, wealthy and poorer school systems. Where children are born should not determine the educational opportunities available to them," said Keith Poston of the Public School Forum of N.C.

Posted 10:00 a.m. Jan 24, 2018 — Updated 10:00 a.m. Jan 24, 2018

CBC Editorial: Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018; Editorial # 8262

The following is the opinion of Capitol Broadcasting Company

Last week North Carolina got its education report card. It was one of those that, in another setting, we might wish we could say the dog ate it. The state received a C- overall (40th in the nation) and a D (45th in the nation) in school finance, according to the Quality Counts 2018: Grading the States” report from Education Week.

Our legislative leaders like to point with miss-directed pride, to the state’s low tax, low wage, low cost-of-living – as a beacon enlightened opportunity. They don’t mention ranking among the worst states for teachers, low teacher pay, low school principal pay, low per-student spending, low support for Medicaid, low support for child health and, well, we could go on.

And don’t point to those reports that rank the state high in attractiveness for business. It wasn’t all that long ago, that those who now crow about them were dismissing them as rigged and phony.

So, on the heels of that less-than-stellar report on the status of education in the state, the Public School Forum of North Carolina today offers up 10 issues that, if addressed forthrightly, will start to lift our state’s education system out of the basement.

“Adequacy and equity” in funding the state’s public schools, the Public School Forum says, is key.

“Adequacy and equity are central tenets to address the chronic and growing divide between urban and rural, wealthy and poorer school systems,” says Keith Poston, the forum’s executive director. “Where children are born should not determine the educational opportunities available to them.”

For those who truly want our state to have a top ranked public education system, focusing on the Forum’s 10 issues would be a good start on that road.

Fix the class-size mandate crisis, providing certainty to students, parents and educators. The legislature should fully fund the kindergarten-3rd grade class-size mandate and provide additional time for implementation. Failing that, the legislature should continue to give local schools flexibility in teacher allocations.
Provide adequate and equitable funding for schools, including the buildings. Address the growing gaps between poor and wealthy school systems – and related student achievement gaps.
Insist on transparency and accountability for school choice (voucher) programs. Taxpayers should know just how their money is being spent on vouchers and private education savings accounts; private schools should have to disclose information on curriculum, student achievement on par with public schools.
Recruit and retain the best and brightest teachers and principals. Improve principal pay, which is the lowest in the nation. Restore retiree health benefits for future teachers (as well as other state workers).
Fix the faulty A-F school grading system with indicators that more accurately reflect what in schools is working and truly measures student achievement.
Scale up successes for the state’s struggling schools by restoring funds to the Department of Public Instruction’s successful “Turn Around Lowest Achieving Schools” intervention model, provide more incentives for the most talented teachers to work in struggling schools and provide charter-like flexibility to more public schools.
Adopt a “whole child” approach to health and learning. All students should have access to high-quality afterschool programs and out-of-school learning opportunities.
Pursue “outcomes-focused” strategies around racial equity. Do more to diversify the teacher workforce; increase minority enrollment in advance placement and higher-level coursework.
Build on the state’s investment in early childhood education.
Policy makers must do better at governing public schools. Policymakers, education leaders and parents must effectively work together.

These are realistic and common-sense priorities to make public schools better that North Carolina policymakers, particularly leaders in the General Assembly, need to embrace.

To learn more about the Public School Forum of North Carolina’s Top 10, click here.

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