American Graduate Series

Poetic Justice: Words From Phoenix Academy

CJ Suitt and Will McInerney — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 11:30:22 +0000

This past school year, WUNC partnered with the group Sacrificial Poets on a series of after-school writing workshops. The goal was to help young people tell their own stories using poetry, performance art and now, radio. This past semester, poets Will McInerney and CJ Suitt taught a small group at Phoenix Academy, an alternative school in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School District. They produced this poetic reflection on the experience.

Two Teacher Training Programs, One Spot In The Budget

Dave DeWitt — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 08:57:00 +0000

Back in the 1980s, North Carolina had a serious teacher problem. There were shortages in much of the state, but the bigger problem wasn’t how many teachers, but who they were.

“We had a real need to raise the scholastic profile of candidates for teaching and also to increase the numbers of males and minorities in teaching,” remembers Jo Ann Norris, President and Executive Director of the Public School Forum of North Carolina.

Report: NC High School Grad Rates Dip

Dave DeWitt — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:01:28 +0000

North Carolina’s high-school graduation rate is headed in the wrong direction. In the past two years, the state’s rate has dropped by about one percent.

Two years ago, North Carolina beat the national graduation rate average for the first time. Two years later, the state is back below the national average, as rates have gone up across the country and North Carolina’s have dipped.

Poetic Justice: Graduating High School At 16

Kane Smego — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 09:00:00 +0000

This school year, WUNC partnered with the group Sacrificial Poets to host a series after-school programs called Poetic Justice. They're designed to help under-served youth turn their life-stories into poetry and performance art.

This semester they were at Northern High School in Durham. That's where poet Kane Smego, a writer and youth leader with Sacrificial Poets, met Justavis Monique Brooks. The 16-year-old senior graduates from high school today.

Taking Flight For Aviation Jobs Of Tomorrow

Jeff Tiberii — Fri, 31 May 2013 09:00:00 +0000

Across the state thousands of high school students will graduate this weekend. About three dozen are from the Aviation Academy at T.W. Andrews High School in Guilford County. It’s one of only a few such programs in the state preparing young men and women for careers in aeronautics and engineering. And after two classes of students, the program’s graduate rate is perfect.

Tablet Training Underway In Guilford County

Jeff Tiberii — Thu, 30 May 2013 11:22:31 +0000

Thirteen thousand students in Guilford County will receive tablets computers when they begin the 6th grade this fall. Last year the county was awarded a federal “Race to the Top” grant for 30 million dollars. Now one of the largest classroom technology initiatives in US history is underway.

How Will North Carolina Education Change?

Alex Granados and Frank Stasio — Wed, 29 May 2013 15:53:26 +0000

A North Carolina House Committee approved yesterday a bill that would provide funding to low income families wanting to go to private or religious schools Host Frank Stasio talks about that and other education-related news with WUNC Raleigh Bureau Chief and Education Reporter Dave Dewitt.

The Tipping Point: Arapahoe Charter, Pamlico Schools, And ‘Choice’ In Rural NC

Dave DeWitt — Fri, 24 May 2013 09:01:00 +0000

This is a story about choice. And it starts in the lunch line at Arapahoe Charter School in Pamlico County when students choose between pizza and french fries.

And while that choice may seem easy to make, the choice to offer it is a little more complicated.

Charter schools aren’t required to offer meals, even to kids who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. But Arapahoe does – and sixty percent of the students here qualify.

Proposed Board Splits Charter Advocates

Dave DeWitt — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:26:00 +0000

Charter schools have been around in North Carolina for about a decade and a half, and for most of that time, the relationship between charters and traditional public schools has alternated between frosty and hostile.

Education Power Grab In Wake County

Nicole Campbell and Frank Stasio — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:52:31 +0000

County School Boards have long since been in charge of school construction. However, the Senate recently passed a bill that would hand over school construction to county commissioners in 10 North Carolina counties. Many people who oppose the bill argue that county commissioners may have experience building prisons but not schools. This is one bill out of many that have been progressing through the Senate recently.