ASHEVILLE (September 26, 2025) – The one word people repeated over and over was ‘community.’ A three-day symposium last week organized by UNC Asheville faculty to mark the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene’s devastation of Western North Carolina covered a vast array of topics, with nearly 80 events and discussion sessions. And over and over,… READ MORE
Schools and colleges in Western NC bounce back from Helene
By Kate Denning Carolina Public Press ASHEVILLE (September 23, 2025) – Buncombe County Schools Superintendent Rob Jackson and Mars Hill University President Tony Floyd both used the same phrase to describe their corners of the state in the early days after Tropical Storm Helene tore through — an island. Whether Helene kept college students inside… READ MORE
Former provost sues board at UNC-Chapel Hill
HILLSBOROUGH (September 22, 2025) – UNC-Chapel Hill’s former provost sued the university’s Board of Trustees Monday, saying the board repeatedly violated state open meetings and public records laws – and even used a platform that deletes texts after they’re read to evade the law. Chris Clemens, a respected astrophysicist and a recognized conservative, joined UNC’s… READ MORE
Lessons Learned: Troubling tax cuts harm public schools
By Amy Cockerham Public Ed Works (RALEIGH) – While North Carolina school systems are grappling with underfunding, corporations and millionaires are paying less and less taxes. Corporate tax rates were reduced from a 6.9% rate in 2012 to 2.3% and are planned to drop to 0% by 2030. In the year 2000, the rate was… READ MORE
What? NC ranked #1 for business but 48th for funding schools?
By Dr. Francis P. Koster KANNAPOLIS (September 24, 2025) – On June 11 of this year, CNBC conducted a survey which ranked North Carolina (the ninth most populous state) as the “Number One State in America for Doing Business”! North Carolina won the number one slot in part because in 2013 our state legislature put… READ MORE
UNC System enrollment up; tuition might be too
RALEIGH (September 18, 2025) – Universities across the country are struggling to attract students due to shrinking birth rates. The UNC System is headed in the opposite direction. The system announced record fall enrollment figures last week that show 3.4% growth across the system in fall 2025. Enrollment increased at 15 of 16 campuses, topping… READ MORE
Hans on AI: Not the end of college
EDITOR’S NOTE: Everyone is figuring out how to use or cope with artificial intelligence, including the education community. In these remarks to the UNC Board of Governors last week, UNC System President Peter Hans addresses many issues the system faces with AI. Read the full text here. Or watch the remarks on video here. RALEIGH… READ MORE
History’s role in guiding NC students
EDITOR’S NOTE: The State Archives of North Carolina will host a free public discussion among four distinguished UNC-Chapel Hill historians on teaching the Foundations of American Democracy from 5:30-7 pm on Wednesday, Oct. 1 at 109 E. Jones Street in Raleigh. For more details and to register, click here. By W. Fitzhugh Brundage, Kathleen… READ MORE
Lessons Learned: NC struggles to recruit and retain teachers
By Amy Cockerham Public Ed Works RALEIGH (September 17, 2025) – Thousands of teachers leave North Carolina classrooms every year – and legislators ignoring the needs of educators could be to blame. Low pay and lack of respect, among other problems, are cited as reasons why school districts have trouble filling teaching positions. The latest… READ MORE
Lessons Learned: NC leaves young learners behind
By Amy Cockerham Public Ed Works RALEIGH (September 10, 2025) – Legislators’ refusal to properly fund education even affects our youngest learners in North Carolina. Research shows pre-kindergarten can be a crucial stage to a child’s development. North Carolina has a high-quality Pre-K program, but the state isn’t serving all the kids it can. Last… READ MORE