Education Matters

State Board of Education Chairman Bill Cobey discusses proposed cuts at DPI and the ongoing power struggle with the State Superintendent and General Assembly. In the second segment, NC Charter School Advisory Board Chairman Alex Quigley and Research Triangle High School Chief School Officer Eric Grunden weigh in on recent charter school policy proposals. Guests: • Bill Cobey, Chairman, State Board of Education • Alex Quigley, Chair, NC Charter School Advisory Board • Eric Grunden, Chief School Officer & Founding Director, Research Triangle High School

This week’s show looks at the budget passed by the NC Senate, including the key education provisions and a controversial amendment passed at 3 am that appeared to target only Democratic districts for cuts. We talk with Sen. Erica Smith-Ingram whose district was hardest hit. We also talk with former NC Senator Howard Lee about the importance of leadership in education. Guests: • Senator Erica Smith-Ingram • Former Senator Howard N. Lee

This week on Education Matters, State Superintendent Mark Johnson talks HB13 class size debate, the State Board lawsuit, his listening tour and why he’s focusing on early literacy. This week’s show also includes a discussion with PNC Bank Regional President Jim Hansen and Dr. Kenneth Dodge from Duke University’s Center for Child & Family Policy about the importance of early childhood education. Guests: • Mark Johnson, North Carolina State Superintendent of Public Instruction • Jim Hansen, Regional President, PNC Bank • Dr. Kenneth Dodge, Director of the Center for Child and Family Policy, Duke University

This week we have two segments focused on the issue of race. First is a preview of an exciting new exhibition opening this week at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh called Race: Are We So Different? The second segment is a story about a group of middle school students who are making an impact by spotlighting – and seeking to honor – a local pioneer in desegregation in our state. Guests: • Emelia Cowans-Taylor, Asst. Head, Communications, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences • James White, Executive Vice President, Organizational Relations, YMCA • Joe Holt Jr. • Zack Boone, Exploris Middle School, Raleigh • Lev Cohen, Exploris Middle School, Raleigh

A look at the proposal to re-establish a NC Teaching Fellows Program to recruit new teachers into our state’s classrooms. Guests: • Rep. Craig Horn (R-Union) • Sen. Chad Barefoot (R-Franklin, Wake) • Dr. Mary Ann Danowitz, Dean, NC State College of Education • Danny Bland, NC Teaching Fellow, Heritage High School, Wake Forest

This week we discuss state employee and retiree benefits with guest State Treasurer Dale Folwell and we talk about the state’s critical school building needs and how to cover the $8 billion dollar price tag. Guests: • Dale Folwell, North Carolina State Treasurer • Leanne Winner, Director, Governmental Relations, NC School Boards Association • Kevin Leonard, Executive Director, NC Association of County Commissioners

A new report out by the Public School Forum spotlights stark gaps in school funding across the state. Guests: • Lauren Bock, Research Director, Public School Forum of NC • Aaron J. Beaulieu, Chief Financial Officer, Durham Public Schools • Rep. Kevin Corbin R-Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Macon • Dr. Eric Houck, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy, UNC-Chapel Hill

A leading national expert discusses the push toward privatization in K-12 education and its impact on public education and society as a whole. Guest: Richard Kahlenberg, The Century Foundation

This week we focus on two key issues in school funding. We talk to school leaders about the impact of the K-3 class size mandate and a search for a solution. We then examine a new report that looks at overall school finance reform efforts for North Carolina. Guests: • Katherine Joyce, Executive Director, NC Association of School Administrators • Dr. Tim Markley, Superintendent, New Hanover County Schools • Kris Nordstrom, Policy Analyst, Education & Law Project, NC Justice Center

State Budget Director Charlie Perusse talks about Gov. Roy Cooper’s first budget and its focus on education investments in the first half of the show, followed by a discussion with key reporters who cover the ins and outs of education in North Carolina. Guests: • Charlie Perusse, State Budget Director, NC Office of State Budget & Management • Lynn Bonner, News & Observer • Mark Binker, WRAL News

This week we focus on principal preparation and development. Why is principal development important, what are we doing well, what else do we need to be doing and what are the gaps and challenges in North Carolina? Guests: • Lisa Stewart, Principal, Grays Creek High School, Cumberland County • Dr. Tom Williams, President, Strategic Educational Alliances • Dr. Bonnie Fusarelli, Director, Northeast Leadership Academy, NC State

All young people deal with their own unique sets of pressure and stress in their lives that just come from growing up, but certainly two groups of students today are feeling it acutely –children of immigrants and LGBT youth. This week we talk with experts on how these students are coping and what is being done to support them both in and out of school. Guests: • Eliazar Posada, Youth Coordinator, El Centro Hispano • Brenda Elliott, Assistant Superintendent for Student Support Services, Wake County Public Schools • James Miller, Executive Director, LGBT Center of Raleigh • Bud Harrelson, Board Member, Safe Schools NC

The confirmation of Betsy DeVos as U.S. Secretary of Education has shined a spotlight on programs like NC’s Opportunity Scholarship Program, which provides state funding for children to attend private, mostly religious, K-12 schools. This week we explore NC’s private school voucher program. Guests: • Jane Wettach, Clinical Professor of Law and Director, Children’s Law Clinic, Duke Law School • Matt Ellinwood, Director, Education & Law Project, NC Justice Center • Jessica Holmes, Education Law Attorney and Member, Wake County Board of Commissioners

You may think education is largely a local issue, but when it comes to the calendar, NC school districts have very little say in when their school year starts, ends or even how many teacher work days they can have. A diverse coalition of stakeholders is hoping to convince the General Assembly to let school systems decide what is best for its students. Guests: • Dr. Michael Dunsmore, Superintendent, Wayne County Schools • Dr. Terry Stoops, Director of Research and Education Studies, John Locke Foundation • Sarah Martin, Wake County Schools Parent • Julia Lovingood, Senior, Orange High School, Hillsborough

Teacher of the Year is a new documentary film that reveals the complex reality of teaching in the 21st century and explores the forces that influence a teacher’s performance for the competing needs of audiences made up of students, parents, administrators, other teachers, politicians, and the public at large. The subject and directors join us to talk about the project and to explore how Hollywood portrays teachers and the teaching profession. Guests: • Mary M. Dalton, Professor, Wake Forest University • Rob Phillips, Filmmaker, At Large Productions and NC English Teacher, 9-12 • Jay Korreck, Filmmaker and Chief Design Officer, At Large Productions and Constructive Learning Design • Angie Scioli, Social Studies Teacher, Leesville Road High School, Raleigh For sponsorship and screening inquiries, go to: teacheroftheyearfilm.com or email atlargep@gmail.com For more details on the conference where the film will premiere, visit http://college.wfu.edu/ttmconf/

Newly elected Governor Roy Cooper sits down with Education Matters host Keith Poston for the full half hour in a one-on-one discussion about key education issues facing North Carolina. The interview was taped before a live audiences at the 3rd Annual Eggs & Issues Breakfast hosted by the Public School Forum of North Carolina.

K-12 education is being transformed nationally and here in North Carolina, as schools move quickly to take advantage of improved internet connectivity and new digital tools to enhance learning. We’ll talk about the state of digital learning in North Carolina from those helping lead it and those implementing it in classrooms today. Guests: • Dr. Jeni Corn, Director of Evaluation Programs, Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at NC State • Dr. Maria Pitre-Martin, Chief Academic & Digital Learning Officer, NC Department of Public Instruction • Andrew Livengood, Principal, Pine Hollow Middle School, Wake County • Harden Barker, 7th Grade Math Teacher, Pine Hollow Middle School, Wake County

HB 17 was passed in a surprise special session of the NC General Assembly in December. The bill, signed into law by former Gov. Pat McCrory, strips much of the power from the State Board of Education and gives it to the newly elected Superintendent of Public Instruction, Republican Mark Johnson. The State Board claims the law is unconstitutional and has filed a lawsuit to overturn it. Guests: • Bill Cobey, Chairman, State Board of Education • Willis Whichard, Former Associate Justice, NC Supreme Court • Howard Lee, Former Chairman, State Board of Education

This week we hear from key voices from our public schools – school administrators and teachers. We discuss some of the key issues on the minds of both groups of educators and what they hope to see happen in 2017 in North Carolina. Guests: • Katherine Joyce, Executive Director, North Carolina Association of School Administrators • Dr. Rodney Shotwellm, Superintendent, Rockingham County Schools • Katharine Correll, Director, North Carolina Teacher Voice Network • Doug Price, Teacher, Voyager Academy, Durham, NC

We’ll examine the new report from the General Assembly’s Program Evaluation Division on how schools are funded today in North Carolina. Are big changes on the horizon? We talk to the study’s lead author, as well as the chairman of the House Committee on Education Appropriations and the top finance officer from Durham Public Schools. Guests: • Rep. Craig Horn, R-Union County, Chairman of the House Committee on Education Appropriations • Sean Hamel, Principal Program Evaluator, Program Evaluation Division, NC General Assembly • Aaron Beaulieu, Chief Financial Officer, Durham Public Schools