NCAE
NEWS BULLETIN May
2016
NORTH CAROLINA ASSOCIATION OF EDUCATORS
Volume 46, No. 9
NCAE Calls for Lawmakers to Restore Respect for Educators On the day when teachers are celebrated for the work they do in schools across the country, National Teacher Day, NCAE called on North Carolina’s lawmakers to restore respect for educators and the education profession. During a press conference at the General Assembly, NCAE leaders, members, and key legislators stood together in agreement that every child deserves an opportunity to be successful and North Carolina’s public school educators are making that happen each day. With average teacher pay and per-pupil spending rankings in the bottom tier of the nation at 42nd and 46th, teacher attrition rates at historic levels, and the enrollment training programs at our institutions of higher learning at dangerously low levels, we must restore respect to the education profession in order to recruit and retain teachers. “Educators are every day heroes who are providing opportunities for our students to be successful,” said NCAE President Rodney Ellis. “If some of our basketball teams were ranked 42nd and 46th, there would be a state of emergency declared. North Carolina faces a teacher shortage crisis, and instead of using surplus budgets to invest in our public school students, educators, and schools, some in the General Assembly have prioritized rewarding corporations and the wealthy with more tax breaks.” NCAE called on our elected leaders to stand with public school students and educators and commit to restoring respect to the education profession by doing the following: • Ensuring that every child, regardless of Zip code, has an opportunity to reach their fullest potential.
A
• Developing a comprehensive plan to improve per-pupil spending to at least the national average and to maintain it. • Developing a comprehensive plan to pay educators as professionals by increasing average salaries to at least the national average and to maintain it. • Developing a comprehensive plan to professionally compensate education support professionals, principals, and assistant principals.
B
• Restoring basic due process employment rights to ALL educators. • Restoring Master’s Pay and restoring Longevity Pay as a separate bonus.
A) President Ellis: “Every child in this state deserves an opportunity to be successful!”
• Restoring textbook, technology, and instructional resource funding to pre-recession levels. • Eliminating or modifying the current A-F grading system of schools, recognizing that student growth is disproportionately undervalued. • Maintaining the Defined Benefit Contribution plan and protecting other health and retirement benefits for educators. • Funding a scholarship program for college students preparing to become public school teachers. • Investing in professional development opportunities for educators. • Committing to visiting public school classrooms and talking with public school educators.
C D E B) House Democratic Leader Rep. Larry Hall; C) Senate Democratic Leader Dan Blue; D) Rep. Craig Meyer; E) Sen. Erika Smith-Ingram; F) Rep. Angela Bryant
F