While students are headed back to the classroom next month, public schools across North Carolina face no shortage of challenges.
In March, a report showed fewer than 15% of third graders in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools were expected to earn successful reading scores. Another analysis showed middle school students lost over a year’s worth of progress in math during the pandemic in North Carolina.
Public education advocates say the latest state budget is hundreds of millions of dollars short of providing the funding needed to enhance public education under the court-ordered Leandro case.
As of early June, there were 30 guns found at CMS schools alone. This comes amid the ongoing tragedy of school shootings throughout the nation.
Private school enrollment jumped by the largest amount in 50 years. There are now over 115,000 students in private schools, a surge of 7.4% from last year.
And pandemic safety continues to pose a threat, as infection rates ebb and flow and new COVID-19 variants continue to evolve.
We discuss the issues facing public education in North Carolina and what's being done to address them with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt.
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Catherine Truitt, North Carolina state superintendent of public instruction
