Challenges and opportunities for diversity in North Carolina schools
Commitment determines outcomes for students
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Rhonda Dillingham is executive director of the North Carolina Association for Public Charter Schools.
There’s a saying that “the rain will show you where the holes in the roof are” and that couldn’t be more true over the past eight months in North Carolina and around the country.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought to the forefront the challenges that all schools face in our state from public to private, from charter to district-run. Among those challenges is the issue of diversity and equity across schools in our 100 counties. As a North Carolina educator and advocate, I’ve seen how commitment to diversity (or the lack thereof) can affect the success of students of color as well as the recruitment of educators of color which are in desperate need. While this challenge is complicated, there is no doubt that an honest conversation followed
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) North Carolina Families for School Testing Reform is hosting an online student and parent event about concerns with in-person standardized student testing as COVID-19 cases surge. Our mission all the time is for fewer tests, fairer tests and fruitful tests so we feel that the current mandate to require in-person testing is not checking any of those boxes, said Chelsea Bartel, a school psychologist and leader with NC Families for School Testing Reform. It s not going to be fruitful to measure skills right now in the midst of a pandemic. It s not fair to our students and families and communities who have chosen virtual learning.