North Carolina Plans Charters for Rural Areas

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1. M. Schneider says:

   June 11, 2013 at 11:28 am

   Such a sad and common game: Promoting a dual system in which charters are protected (and funded) and traditional public schools are not. The results of such preferential treatment came out in a recent Louisiana charter audit. It’s wasn’t pretty.

   In Louisiana, some legislators came around this session and began asking why programs that take money from traditional public schools (in this case, vouchers) were accorded more money in the budget while public schools were given no additional funding. The result was a budget that added an increase for public schools as a tradeoff to addidng funding for the governor’s pet program of vouchers.

   May more North Carolina legislators forsake the ruse.

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2. nano says:

   June 11, 2013 at 2:43 pm

   this is the crux of the issue: are charters profitable outside of inner city areas? there are less people in the country (less markets) and, at least in suburban areas, parents have great interest in the quality of education.

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   • Ms. Cartwheel Librarian says:

     June 11, 2013 at 5:44 pm

     Nay, nano.

     Our rural areas are suffering greatly and have high unemployment rates. Unfortunately poverty often equals not apathy but a lack of incentive on the part of parents/caregivers. Rural areas in NC are often just that , rural. The suburban areas around the larger cities are a little more diverse than the rural counties and thus a higher interest in all aspects of education.

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3. Ms. Cartwheel Librarian says:

   June 11, 2013 at 5:48 pm

   “The House budget also included several cuts that will affect the rural (and non-rural) public schools, including cuts to teacher’s assistant funding by $53 million over the next two years and the elimination of pay bonuses for new teachers with master’s degrees.”

   From the last line of the article in the post. Why encourage more educated teachers? The lesser educated ones can probably test prep just as well and for a lot less.

   What the heck happened here and why would a young person seek to teach here?

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   • Ms. D says:

     June 11, 2013 at 6:18 pm

     House released proposed budget yesterday. House is proposing to cut teacher assistants by $24.6 million. House is also proposing no Master’s degree pay if job does NOT require one. Those who already have a Master’s degree will be grandfathered if paid on a Master’s degree scale during the 2013-2014. National Board Certified teachers will NOT lose their supplements, The House wants to give teachers 5 bonus days. Governor McCrory wants teachers to get a 1% raise. The Senate wants to freeze salaries.

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     • Ms. Cartwheel Librarian says:

       June 11, 2013 at 11:21 pm

       Again I ask, “why would a young person seek to teach here?” Many entry level teaching jobs do NOT require a Master’s degrees but I suppose it is just naivete on my part to think that bettering one’s self in one’s chosen field would make one more valuable as an employee, even a public one.

       Goodness knows it’s only childrens’ education at stake. Canned test prepping will probably be busted down to requiring only a GED to manage the classroom.

       As for salary freezing, a 1% raise, or 5 bonus days, why we could all just choose a, b, or c. We will be modeling good test taking skills.

4. jcgrim says:

   June 11, 2013 at 9:12 pm

   Rural areas are the next frontier for privatization if the right conditions are in place. The populations are typically provincial and have little experience with complex financial products. The Milken Foundation received a $40 million grant from Arne’s DoEd to begin teacher training & a merit pay plan in rural districts across 3 states. Two of the rural districts are in TN -Athens City & Morgan Co. Athens is a small town with some tax base and a small college in the city but Morgan Co. has no employment other than a prison. It is a rugged, remote and poor county. The foundation’s release describes a fiscal arrangement that sounds unusual. What role will NIET play as fiscal agent? What does the data management plan do to analyze data? TN has a data management system in Nashville that districts send there. Given the fact that Michael Milken is still a felon convicted of financial fraud who George Bush refused to pardon, I think further scrutiny of this arrangement is warranted.

   According to the NIET news release:
   “NIET will serve as fiscal agent in partnership with the primarily rural Central Decatur and Saydel Community School Districts in Iowa; the Emily O. Goodridge-Grey Accelerated Charter School, Sojourner Truth Academy, Hmong College Prep Academy and the Partnership Academy in Minnesota; and Athens City Schools and Morgan County Schools in Tennessee, both rural districts.
   Through a $15.2-million grant to Tennessee, NIET will enter into new partnerships with Athens City Schools and Morgan County Schools to implement TAP in each of 13 schools. A focus will be placed on full-range access to NIET’s data management tools to better track and analyze data and plan rigorous plans for professional development.”

   http://www.niet.org/niet-newsroom/niet-press-releases/niet-expands-scope-with-new-teacher-incentive-fund-grants/.

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5. Iheartdurham says:

   June 11, 2013 at 10:19 pm

   A (potential) ray of hope from NC regarding vouchers – -http://www.camelcitydispatch.com/w-s-legislator-may-withdraw-support-from-controversial-voucher-bill/

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