By: R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D

We are all aware, or should be, that the public school system in N.C. is an expensive failure. The 2022 test results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress shows that 34% of eighth graders failed to meet basic reading skills and 39% failed to meet math skills. This in spite of spending about $10,000 per student per year. We are not getting what we are forced to pay for, and the trend is getting worse.

The recent election placed more Republicans on local Boards of Education. What changes should we expect? Here are my recommendations: (1) Re-focus on basic academic skills such as reading, spelling, writing and math by eliminating other subjects until the fourth grade. No point in teaching social studies, history, geography, etc. until basic skills have been mastered. (2) Remove lap-tops, tablets, etc., and go back to paper and printed material. Children need to learn cursive writing and spelling so they can communicate effectively in English. Electronic learning is distracting and distances teachers from the student’s performance. (3) Eliminate Critical Race Theory, Social Equity Learning and other harmful indoctrinary teaching. (4) Implement strict discipline in the classroom without which learning cannot effectively occur. The ability to remove incorrigible, disruptive children to alternate programs is needed. (5) Establish an independent, interview process that would determine why teachers are leaving. For example, the Craven County school system currently has an estimated 75 teacher vacancies. We must know the reasons why teachers are leaving so that retention can be improved. (6) Start a pilot program of video cameras in classrooms that allows monitoring of the classroom environment and potentially allow parents to observe the educational instruction their children are receiving. (7) Reduce the funds for non-teaching administrative positions by at least 20%. Studies have shown that funding of administrative positions have been increasing substantially more than funding for classroom instructors. (8) Re-introduce programs that recognize and reward academic achievement. The goal should be to encourage every student to maximize their potential not some socialist nonsense of equal outcomes.

You may have noticed that most of these recommendations reflect a return to the traditional methods of educating our children. The truth is that the traditional methods were much more effective than what is being followed now, which accounts for the declining academic performance of our children. The question becomes, “Do local Boards of Education have the wisdom and courage to make bold changes?” We will see.

Of course, support of school choice and vouchers for public, private, charter and homeschools must be the basis for improving education in North Carolina. Parents must be given the authority to choose the educational option that they deem best for their children. Without parental control, no meaningful improvement will occur in the public schools