MARY ANN WOLF: It's quite simple. Put our kids and their needs first

EDITOR'S NOTE: Mary Ann Wolf is president and executive director of the Public School Forum of North Carolina.

I’ve recently been in many social and work situations where people talk about how complicated the world is -- or worse -- what a mess it has become. People are discussing what our kids have to worry about compared to what it was like when we were growing up. Our kids wonder what it was like when we were growing up. My college-age son even sincerely asked me if we had school shootings when I was a kid.

I have tried to process the last couple of years -- even just the last couple of weeks -- through my education lens. From Uvalde, to the nicknamed “Don’t Say Gay” legislation (HB 755), to the term ‘learning loss,’ to volatile school board meetings, to the exhaustion of teachers, and the polarization of our government -- I often come away with a sense of overwhelming complexity with layer after layer of all that needs to happen.

After recent discussions, many with students, I’ve come to very different conclusion.

Yes, educating our wonderfully diverse students is very complicated. But, in terms of what we, our state and public education leaders need to do, it’s simple. Yes, VERY simple.

Put our kids and their needs first. Our kids MUST BE centered as the primary focus of the discussions. Students will shape our world, our economy, and our communities in the decades to come. They also inherit what we create. They will live with the challenges, trauma or opportunities we give them.

Research tells us what our kids need to succeed in college, career, and citizenship (making our economy and communities thrive). We are actually doing this in one area - the science of reading.

We looked at the research. We see this in practice. We are moving forward to equip our educators with the tools and resources they need so our students have access to high quality and effective reading instruction. The same leaders who are moving forward with the science of reading -- from both sides of the political aisle -- have an opportunity and a responsibility to follow the research on what else our children need.

We must ensure that:

• Every Child Has Access To High Quality, Effective Teachers: Teachers are the single greatest factor on student learning. Every child in North Carolina deserves high quality, well-prepared classroom leader. We must value the teaching profession, the credentials required, and support those who want to enter the profession as well as those in it. Working conditions and teacher pay are important components of this. Our legislature, with $4.5 billion more than expected in available funds (on top of a significant budget surplus), has the resources to fully address this. Teachers do not need token enhancements per paycheck. They need significant salary restructuring to pay them enough so they can live in the communities they serve, afford childcare so they can teach, and honor the education, credentials, and skills they are required to bring to our schools every day. To attract and retain a highly effective and diverse teacher workforce we MUST trust and pay our teachers commensurate with those expectations.
• Our Students Are Physically Safe: Research shows us that our students must feel safe so they can learn. Now our students worry about their safety. Our children see the same news and social media posts we do. The safety of our students and educators must be prioritized over partisan disagreements.
• Our Students Are Supported: Safety and supported goes beyond the physical and includes mental and emotional security. Students must be able to be themselves and be safe with the teachers and others in their schools. Prohibiting culturally responsive, age-appropriate curriculum sends the message that their family make-up, or how they might identify, is not acceptable. Limiting their ability to see themselves in the curriculum or discuss world issues, including race or gender related topics in a safe and age-appropriate setting with a high quality, well-prepared teacher, diminishes their ability to be ready to learn and thrive.
• Districts And Schools Can Meet The Needs Of Every Student: Our principals are second only to teachers on those who impact student outcomes. We must pay them at a market rate and provide them with the human and fiscal resources they need to support our educators and students. They need more staff support and an appropriate salary schedule to hire them. It is a sign of inadequate support when school parent groups must have bake sales to afford the basic materials and books needed in our classrooms.

We must honor the CRITICAL role public schools play in our community and the essential right to a sound basic education enumerated by our N.C. Constitution. I was reminded nearly every day during the pandemic that our schools are the hubs of our communities. It was so clear they are the very glue keeping people connected, our students fed and families secure in knowing someone cared for them. Rural, suburban or urban schools are the center of our communities. Too many of our lawmakers are quick to complain about our schools. Yet they don’t come even close to providing the human and fiscal resources -- following the research or implementing the Leandro Comprehensive Remedial Plan – so our schools are ready and able to provide a high quality and equitable education for our students.

The jobs of our educators and principals are not easy. Working with human beings -- families and children -- places many demands and opportunities before us.

What our state leaders need to do is not complicated. We have the money, a huge surplus. We have the research and we have the data showing what needs to be addressed.

Let’s stop saying it’s so complicated. It is not. The answers are easy and doable. The only thing stopping our legislators and decision-makers is the will to follow the data, the research, and to provide our schools with the very resources and researched-based practices that any well-run business would insist upon.

No more excuses of complexity. This is simple. North Carolinians know what to do. Roll up our sleeves and get it done.