Education

Eight year-old MacKenzie Whistler had a rough start to her Christmas break. She had just found out that she would not be returning to her new school, Global Achievers School in Rocky Mount, this January.

Activists gathered Tuesday night for what they called a victory party across the street from the now-empty ground on which the Confederate statue known as "Silent Sam" once stood. Attendees chatted over free pizza and Kendrick Lamar’s "Humble."

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chancellor Carol Folt will leave her post at the end of the month. In a university wide email on Monday, she first announced she would leave this spring. But after the UNC Board of Governors called an emergency meeting, the board moved up her resignation to January 31.

Folt’s tenure came amidst an ongoing battle over Silent Sam, the Confederate monument in McCorkle Place that was torn down by protesters in August. 

Members of the UNC Chapel Hill faculty are trying to secure a say in new deliberations about Silent Sam, the Confederate monument protesters tore down from the campus last August. But it’s unclear whether or not, and to what extent, they will be given one.

On a sunny December day, Houston Kidd sits in an empty computer lab at the U.S. naval office near N.C. State, where he recently started working as a recruiter. Kidd is dressed in camouflage fatigues, reading from his first and only book, so far, Willow the Water Bear.

Note: This segment is a rebroadcast from January 16, 2018. 

Education equity is becoming a popular phrase among educators, but what does it mean, and what is North Carolina doing to provide a sound education to both privileged and disadvantaged students? Nonprofit news organization EdNC explores the topic in their new documentary series “Equity Meets Education,” a story told through the eyes of four African-American leaders. 

Note: This segment is a rebroadcast from January 16, 2018. 

A study from the Public School Forum of North Carolina confirms a large and growing gap in public school funding between the wealthiest and the poorest counties. The study found that in 2015-2016, the 10 highest spending counties spent $2,364 more per student than the 10 lowest-spending counties, and the gap has increased every year since 2011.

Kimberleigh Thomas knows from experience how hard it is to move forward after aging out of foster care.

“I didn't know what I wanted to do at 18,” Thomas said. “At 18, I wanted to be free -- but how to support myself, I didn't know how to do that.”

Thomas was living in a group home then. She'd been in four foster homes since she was 16 years old. Now she's pursuing an associate’s degree in social work at Wake Tech Community College.

Education and school safety were top of mind both locally and nationally this year. WUNC reporters Liz Schlemmer and Lisa Phillip covered everything from the Silent Sam protests to the student-led walkouts after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

“New collar jobs” is a phrase that’s starting to get batted around a lot in career and technical education. These are high paying jobs that require specialized training, but not necessarily a four-year degree. And they include growing industries like cyber-security.

A showdown is mounting between UNC- Chapel Hill officials and some university faculty and graduate students over the fate of Silent Sam.

The State Board of Education has voted to add Carver Heights Elementary in Goldsboro to the Innovative School District, but the state's school turn-around model could be changing.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Board of Trustees issued their recommendation Monday for the future of the confederate Silent Sam monument. The board wants to see the statue housed in a $5.3M history center on south campus. The news prompted protest among the students and faculty on campus who do not want the statue re-erected on any part of the campus.

More than 4,700 North Carolina students were eligible for migrant education services last year. These are the children of migrant workers who move from state to state as their parents follow seasonal crops. This frequent relocation means these students are often changing schools and even moving from one state to another. 

Just as doctors and engineers continue to seek training to keep up-to-date in their fields, teachers too look for ways to stay sharp -- and keep up with the industries their students will enter. However, the funding for professional development for North Carolina teachers is limited.

Updated 1:10 p.m.

Officials with the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees have approved a plan to recommend a new on-campus history center to house Silent Sam, the Confederate monument that was toppled by protesters earlier this year.

A current member of the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees is bringing a unique perspective to his deliberations on Silent Sam, the Confederate monument torn down by protesters in August. William Keyes once worked as a paid political operative for the government of South Africa during apartheid.