ICYMI, here is the”meet the candidates” interview of Dr. Jen Mangrum, candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction held by the NC Association of Public Charter Schools and the NC Coalition of Charter Schools last night.
To kick off the college application season, please celebrate the fourth annual #WhyApply Day today by sharing a photo from college and why you applied with the hashtags #WhyApply #myFutureNC.
From EdNC’s Liz Bell:
Three former governors, including former North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt, discussed the importance of strengthening early childhood education Thursday as part of the virtual Reagan Institute Summit on Education.
Moderated by Javaid Siddiqi, president of The Hunt Institute, the conversation also included former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant and former New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez. All three said increasing quality, access, and investment in early learning is necessary to strengthen economies, address socioeconomic gaps in achievement, and improve students’ long-term outcomes.
“I found the magic to advancing our state, and that was in little children’s brains,” Hunt said. During his governorship, Hunt started Smart Start, a network of local partnerships that support the education and health of young children and families. Other states have replicated this model, Hunt said.
The governors found that leveraging the business communities in their states was key to garnering bipartisan support for early childhood education.
“This does not need to be a political issue,” Bryant said. “If there’s anything that we can agree on it is the future of our children.”
Strategic expansion is necessary, they said. Martinez said the physical placement of programs needs to be convenient for the families who need them most. And the quality of early learning programs matters. She said partnering with higher-ed institutions was important in strengthening the early childhood workforce and program quality. Early educators are not just babysitters, she said.
“If they don’t understand the development of a brain… they’re not very effective,” Martinez said.
This was echoed by both Bryant and Hunt. Bryant said a partnership with community colleges across Mississippi increased training for early childhood teachers. Hunt said more people are understanding the value of this work, but some still have a ways to go.
“It isn’t just child care, it isn’t just being nice to the little children,” says Hunt. “Sometimes the legislators don’t get that.”
In other news:
Here is the response from Eric Davis, chair of the N.C. State Board of Education to the Governor’s announcement.
Gov. Roy Cooper and Lt. Gov. Dan Forest will participate Monday in a forum sponsored by the N.C. Association of School Administrators.
The two candidates for state superintendent of public instruction, Republican Catherine Truitt and Democrat Jen Mangrum, will participate as well.
The forum will run from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m as part of the association’s 2020 symposium. It’s a virtual event and will stream on WRAL.com. The gubernatorial candidates will be up first.
Vance County Schools Superintendent Anthony Jackson, the 2020 North Carolina Superintendent of the Year, will moderate the superintendent’s debate.
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