10/4/2024

New from EdNC

DPI presents Hurricane Helene relief request, includes pay for impacted school employees

by Hannah Vinueza McClellan and Mebane Rash | October 3, 2024

As rescue and recovery efforts continue in western North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction (DPI) is coordinating a statewide response to support impacted schools — including 28 school districts, 459 local public schools, and 24...

Introducing EdNC’s social media ambassadors for the 2024-25 school year

by Alli Lindenberg | October 3, 2024

EdNC has three social media ambassadors for the 2024-25 school year. These ambassadors will be sharing their school experiences this year on various social media platforms. You can read their stories below and follow along with their updates by following...

A guide to learning differences and navigating special education services

by Chantal Brown | October 3, 2024

During the 2022-23 school year, more than seven million students in the United States were served under the Individuals with Disabilities Act — approximately 15% of all students. The largest share of these students, according to data from the National...

Perspective | Aligning educational programs with community needs

by Jim Morton | October 3, 2024

As a community college president, I’ve seen firsthand the significant impact that responsive education can have on the lives of those we serve. Community colleges have a mission to align programs with the evolving needs of our local workforce. Putting...

Perspective | A shift in literacy: A first-grade teacher’s journey

by Sarah Hesson | October 1, 2024

In August 2021, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) embarked on a new journey rooted in the science of reading, a research base on how children learn to read. Navigating the challenges of COVID-19 guidelines and a return to in-person learning, many staff...

The Editor’s Notes

Here is your playlist for the weekend courtesy of Jeff McDaris, who is safe in Transylvania County.

This week, I will add one. North Carolina’s Rhiannon Giddens writes on social media, “Well in the cosmic movements of the universe, I and the Silk Road Project have been long scheduled to announce and drop a single from our new record about the transcontinental Railroad and the people who built it, on this day Oct 1. This single is of ‘Swannanoa Tunnel,’ a song I learned because of the amazing scholarship of two professors from Warren Wilson College, and is the emotional heart of the entire project. I’m still processing that Swannanoa was completely devastated by Hurricane Helene, and can only hope this coincidental timing can help raise funds and awareness for this stricken area.”

“I’m going back to
Swannanoa Tunnel
That’s my home, babe.
That’s my home.”

Take a listen.

Thank you to the team, our board and strategic council, our funders, and all of you for your ongoing support especially on the bad days.

Shout out to DPI’s regional directors who led in ways I never could have imagined, but I am so very thankful. Read this story for more about their role in recovery.

Stay safe this weekend. Team EdNC will be back on the road next week.

Need to know

• Chef José Andrés and World Central Kitchen distribute thousands of meals in Western NC

  The Charlotte Observer | October 3, 2024