Education Matters

The world around us is constantly changing and so is the workforce. It is imperative that youth are afforded opportunities to learn by doing, build skills, connect with mentors and prepare for the jobs of tomorrow. Today, STEM jobs are driving global economic growth, and youth nationwide are getting opportunities to develop an interest in science and gain STEM-related skills. At the North Carolina Center for Afterschool Program’s annual Synergy Conference, we were able to begin this conversation with the STEM Coalition Kickoff Panel. In this two part series, we will continue to discuss the importance of investing in STEM for youth as early as Kindergarten, developing core skills necessary for STEM career pathways, and the impact of STEM on the lives of youth and young adults. Guests: Alfred Mays, Senior Program Officer of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Ron Ottinger, Executive Director of STEM Next Khalia Braswell, Founder and CEO of INTech Camp for Girls

COVID-19 has created changes to the school budget landscape across our state. From creating access to broadband to in-person learning costs, there are new and different short and long-term impacts on the budget. Guests: Cathy Moore, Superintendent, Wake County Public Schools Tony Jackson, Superintendent, Vance County Public Schools

We are now two weeks into the new school year in NC; and educators, students, and families alike are adjusting to a new normal in either a remote or hybrid setting. We will have the opportunity to hear from a Superintendent, principal, and two students on how they are embracing this experience and ensuring that we have an effective culture to support our students, staff, families, and community. Building a culture does not just happen, it takes purposeful and consistent nurturing and engagement to support students in their academic, social, and emotional learning. Guests: Dr. Bob Grimesey, Superintendent, Moore County Schools Dr. Carrie Tulbert, Principal, Iredell-Statesville Schools Jorge Gomex Mancilla, Super Senior, Vance County Early College Ayanna Anderson, Junior, Vance County Early College

This week, K-12 students across North Carolina are going back to school. Our public school students are beginning school under what have become known as Plans B and C — and in most districts, that is either a hybrid or a fully remote learning schedule. As of this taping, students in 60 school districts will begin in a fully remote learning setting. Many school districts have shared that the fall, even if it is conducted all online, will not be like March through June of this past school year, when we were just starting out with remote learning. District and school leaders and educators have had a chance to reflect on the spring, engage in professional learning, and plan for what their students need. While this year is certainly different than any other start of a school year that we can remember, it is very important for us to ensure that student voice is considered and heard through the implementation of our learning environments. During this show, we will do just that - hear directly from students across ou

As families and school districts work to provide academic, social, and emotional learning opportunities and support for their students, afterschool, before school, and summer programs are key pieces for many children. As an integral part of the learning process, programs teach children foundational skills, like communication, teamwork, and problem solving, and prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow. Today, we will focus on the North Carolina Center for Afterschool Programs at the Public School Forum of North Carolina and the 21st Century Community Learning Center Program, a federal program led by the Department of Public Instruction across the state. Whether remote or in-person, these programs are essential for our students and are an integral part of an important partnership with families, schools and communities. Guests Dr. Sheronda Fleming, Public School Forum of NC Sheneika Simmons, Public School Forum of NC Dr. LaTricia Townsend, Department of Public Instruction

Supporting and Lifting Up Teachers in the World of COVID-19 While this time of year always seems to involve a great deal of back-to-school talk, this year it is even more so with every conversation involving school plans, district or parent decisions, and imaging what school will be like this year. For teachers, these discussions and issues are at the forefront of their minds, as they prepare for a year like no other. Guests Mariah Morris, 2019 Teacher of the Year Maureen Stover, 2020 Teacher of the Year Matt Smith, Principal of the Year Tamika Walker, NCAE President

While schools and districts are struggling to know what to do and how to best meet the needs of our students, the shift to hybrid or remote learning plans have had a dramatic impact on our families and students. During this episode we will meet with four guests who will help us better understand the challenges and also offer some recommendations for how we must continue to improve in our engagement and support of families. Guests Kelley Johnson, Principal/Lead Learner, Innovation Academy at South Campus, Johnston County Public Schools Lisa Godwin, Kindergarten Teacher, Dixon Elementary, Onslow County Schools Dr. Devonya Govan - Hunt, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools Parent and President, Charlotte Affiliate, Black Child Development Institute Leslie Welch, Wake County Schools Parent

This week, our Governor provided more guidance for schools and districts as they plan for the beginning of a school year like none other. As families make complex and sometimes heart-wrenching decisions to meet the needs of their children, today we will talk to education leaders about what they are grappling with when it comes to finding and securing the resources necessary to safely open our schools in just one month. Guests: Dr. Patrick Miller, Superintendent, Greene County Schools Alan Duncan, Vice Chairman, North Carolina State Board of Education Mike Lee, Vice Chair, Durham Public Schools Board of Education

As North Carolina continues to develop plans for safely beginning the 2020-21 school year, we take a look at the possibilities surrounding what next year could bring and what that means for both large and small school districts across our state. Joining us today are Cyndy Bliss, Principal of Myrtle Grove Middle School in New Hanover County, Doctor Barry Williams, Superintendent of Gates County Public Schools, and Cathy Moore, Superintendent of Wake CountyPublic Schools. Guests: Cathy Moore, Superintendent, Wake County Public Schools Cyndy Bliss, Principal, Myrtle Grove Middle School, New Hanover County Dr. Barry Williams, Superintendent, Gates County Public Schools

During COVID-19 and the new remote learning environment that North Carolina’s students are grappling with, our state’s business community has stepped up to bridge the digital divide, forming partnerships with local school districts to provide technology and innovative solutions to access school resources. We’ll talk with representatives from Google and Lenovo today on the show about these partnerships, and in another exciting development, we’ll introduce the Public School Forum’s new President and Executive Director — and future host of Education Matters-- Dr. Mary Ann Wolf. Guests: Mr. John Bischof, Executive Director, North America Commercial Category, Lenovo Ms. Lilyn Hester, Head of External Affairs, Southeast, Google Dr. Mary Ann Wolf, Executive Director, Public School Forum of NC

Judge Lee’s Consent Order of January 21, 2020, it directed the State Defendants (SBE/Gov/DOJ representing the State to submit a status report setting out the “Specific actions that the State Defendants must implement in 2020 to begin to address the issues identified by WestEd.” Since then, in the midst of COVID-19, the State and the Plaintiffs have worked to develop the Joint Report issued on June 15 with the required specific actions and investments. Today on the show we discuss the specific Leandro action plan and our students constitutional right to a sound and basic education. We will hear from the State Board of Education on these plans as well as a superintendent and a former student. Guests Mr. James Ford, Member, State Board of Education and Executive Director, Center for Racial Equity in Education (CREED) Ms. Daisy Almonte, Graduate of Sampson County Schools Dr. Marvin Connelly, Jr., Superintendent, Cumberland County Schools

As COVID-19 continues to present our state and nation with so many challenges with regard to children’s schooling, joining us on the show today is the chair of the North Carolina State Board of Education, Eric Davis, and the Chief Deputy Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Susan Gale Perry, to discuss the most recent guidance released about how to safely re-open North Carolina’s public schools for 2020-2021. Also joining us today is Tabari Wallace, Principal of West Craven High School and Matt Wight, Principal of Apex Friendship High School, who represent our high school principals across North Carolina who have done amazing things to honor the 2020 graduating seniors and help them cap off a year that was anything but normal. Mr. Eric Davis, Chair, State Board of Education Ms. Susan Gale Perry, Chief Deputy Secretary, NC Department of Health and Human Services Mr. Tabari Wallace, Principal, West Craven High School Mr. Matt Wight, Principal, Apex Friendship High School

At a time when COVID-19 still presents a significant public health threat, education leaders are working hard to develop plans to keep students physically safe through a variety of remote and in-person learning options for the upcoming school year. But we must remember that there is work to be done to ensure the social and emotional well-being of our students and educators, as well. Today on Education Matters, we talk with leaders with the Public School Forum’s Resilience and Learning Project as well as school counselors and a social worker to learn more about what we need to do to ensure the social and emotional well-being of our school communities across the state. Guests: Segment 1: Elizabeth DeKonty, Director, Forum’s NC Resilience & Learning Project Stacey Craig Riberdy, LCSW, Consultant, Forum’s NC Resilience & Learning Project Segment 2: Garfield Martin, School Counselor, Cooper Academy, Johnston County Carmen White, School Counselor, McGee’s Crossroads Elementary, Johnston County Yvette Richardson,

As the school year ends, planning begins. With the new school year approaching, we look to district and state leaders to decide what guidelines will be in place to keep our students and staff safe. This week we discuss backgrounds, options, and factors surrounding school opening plans with leaders in Edgecombe County as well as state leaders from the Department of Public Instruction. Guests Dr. Beverly Emory, Deputy State Superintendent for School Support Jessica Swencki, DPI Regional Support Team, Sandhills Abbey Futrell, Assistant Superintendent, Edgecombe County

Through community efforts, partnerships, and new funding, many students without broadband access have been provided loaned devices, wifi-hot spots, and community hot spot access in order to complete school work and continue learning. Today we catch up with teachers in Edgecombe County to find out what at home learning and broadband access looks like and take a closer look at a collaboration between Google and Caldwell County and their 31 hotspot school buses. Guests: Kadijah Jordan, Teacher in Edgecombe County Sandy Fulcher, Teacher in Edgecombe County Don Phipps, Superintendent, Caldwell County Melissa Costin, Principal, Caldwell County Norah Cool, Student, Caldwell County Jaime Cool, Parent Gabrielle Pope, Student, Caldwell County Angela Pope, Parent

Recently, in response to COVID-19, much needed additional state and federal funding has been allocated to North Carolina’s public schools. With the use of these funds, combined with state and local partnerships, more efforts are being made to connect students and teachers to broadband internet through allocating $1 million for wifi buses, $11 million for community and home mobile internet access, and $30 million for devices to help address the 197,000 student households still lacking internet access. Over the next two episodes, we will hear from students, parents, teachers, and administrators from across the state in a discussion about how students are learning remotely with no or limited home access to the internet. Guests: Hannah Wirt- Teacher, Catawba County Danielle Eller-Teacher, Catawba County Suzanne Cadwallader-Teacher, Catawba County James Frye-Principal, Catawba County Allison Etheridge-Parent/Administrator, Hyde County Marisol and Teresita Campos-Students, Hyde County Tequila Midgett-Parent, Hy

On May second, the North Carolina general assembly approved a pandemic relief package nearing one point six billion dollars in two bills. After compromising, votes in the house and the senate were unanimous in passing the COVID-19 relief package. Here to discuss the impacts of what this funding can bring as well as the state board of education decisions as the school year ends are Freebird Mckinney, Representative Craig Horn, and Senator Don Davis. Guests: Freebird McKenny- State Board of Education’s Director of Legislative Affairs and Community Outreach Rep. Craig Horn- (R) Union Sen. Don Davis- (D) Greene, Pitt

Governor Cooper announced last Friday that our school buildings will remain closed for the remainder of this academic year. and this week, our general assembly members returned to Raleigh to consider Coronavirus related legislation, including a number of policies that will impact our public schools. As we navigate this challenging time, our public schools will continue working to serve our students and families and learning will continue to happen remotely. Today we are fortunate to have parents from around the state on the show to share their experiences and perspectives on schooling during Coronavirus. Guests: Yvonne Seaman Parent, Granville Jenelle Brizendine, Parent Granville Xavier Wortham, Executive Director, Oxford Housing Authority Jessica Wilkins, Parent/PTO president of Granville Academy Alison McCloskey, Moore County Parent Ben Willis, Director of the Education Foundation of Caldwell County

Over and over we have been hearing from North Carolina teachers saying that they have not been able to reach some of their students during this stay at home order, one major reason being the lack of access to broadband. In areas across the state, broadband access is limited, particularly in rural regions, where some students are having to walk to schools or other publically available wifi hotspots just to do schoolwork on their devices. Even when broadband is available, other barriers to adoption prevent many of our households from being connected. This equity issue has been exacerbated in the wake of covid-19 and is leaving some students unable to communicate with their teachers and fellow classmates, unable to complete school assignments, and less able to access digital learning resources as other students staying home. Guests: Jeff Sural, Broadband Infrastructure Office, DIT Amy Huffman, Broadband Infrastructure Office, DIT Dr. Mark Samberg, director of technology programs at the friday institute for

Today on the show we are going to provide an update on educating during Covid-19 and discuss meeting the needs of exceptional children and English language learners during this challenging time. here to discuss are three education professionals coming from one side of the state to the other. Guests: Dr. Scott Elliott, Superintendent of the Watauga County Schools Dr. LaChawn Smith, Deputy Superintendent, New Hanover County Schools Dr. Maria Madison, Principal, College Park Elementary School