What if public schools fail?

Both of my parents are 80 this year and both are retired public schools educators. Mom was reading a news article this week about the state of public schools in North Carolina. She was shocked and appalled. As I was bringing her up to speed on several things far from her imagination since her retirement, she recalled something one of her former principal’s (Bob Clendenin) had said. “If public schools fail, so will middle class.”

As we see a shift in politics in moving towards the privatization of schools through vouchers and expansion of charters, public school employees seem to be the few who understand the big picture and long-term effects of this transformation in education. The unintended and unexpected consequences of this considerable permutation will not only change the face of public education, but will also substantially change the …

Happy New Year 2017

Greetings to each of you as we embark on a fresh new calendar year. For most educators a new year is actually in August when the school year starts. But January is always a great time to reflect upon the year so far, where we have been, and of course where we are going. January through about March is a traditionally long stretch for many of us as we dig in to meet state requirements and help our students be successful as they finish out their year. Many of us pray for snow days just to get a little break in between.

At US Digital Literacy, we are keeping a watch on changes from the No Child Left Behind Legislation to the Every Student Succeeds Act. “With this bill, we reaffirm that fundamentally American ideal—that every child, regardless of …