North Carolina

NC legislators continue to ignore teacher vacancy crisis • NC Newsline

Published

3 weeks ago

May 27, 2024

NC legislators continue to ignore teacher vacancy crisis • NC Newsline

In 2023 state policymakers were confronted with alarming data: teacher vacancies had hit record highs. Not only did 1 in every 18 classrooms lack a licensed teacher, but districts serving the greatest share of Black students and students from families with low incomes faced the greatest shortages. In other words, the teacher shortage had reached crisis levels, demanding a dramatic response from lawmakers.

Sadly, that response never came. Now the teacher vacancy problem has gotten worse.

At the 40th day of the 2023-24 school year, 6,006 classroom teaching positions were vacant, smashing the prior year record by 18 percent. This year, more than 1 in every 16 lacked a licensed teacher over a month into the school year.

These vacancies continue to be associated with the demographics of the district. Districts with more students from families with low incomes and districts with more Black students tend to experience higher teacher vacancy rates. The association has grown even more stark this year.

As a result, it’s disproportionately Black students and economically disadvantaged students who pay the price for lawmakers’ unwillingness to make the necessary investments to attract and retain certified teachers in every classroom.

Of course, all students suffer from teacher vacancies. And it’s not just the students assigned to an unlicensed teacher.

Teacher vacancies increase the demands on the teachers who have persisted in spite of state policymakers’ efforts to drive them from the classroom. Vacancies create larger class sizes. They require experienced teachers to assist untrained, novice teachers and to fill in when substitutes are nowhere to be found. This leaves our best teachers with less time to lesson plan, individualize instruction, assist less experienced colleagues, or to find regular opportunities to decompress from an increasingly difficult, stressful job.

As vacancies rise year after year, an increasing number of teachers are taking on more responsibilities to fill in the holes.

It should come as no surprise that North Carolina’s teacher vacancy problem has worsened. The 2023 budget failed to include any meaningful efforts to reverse the ongoing war on the teaching profession. In spite of the teacher shortage crisis, legislators cut public school budgets and provided meager pay raises of only 3.6 percent, barely keeping pace with inflation. Average teacher pay is 23 percent below the national average. Our schools remain among the worst-funded in America and our teachers continue to earn salaries that dramatically trail their peers in other industries.

Legislators know that teachers remain the most important in-school factor for boosting academic achievement. Yet they have instead chosen to prioritize a massive expansion of the state’s private school voucher program to benefit wealthy families already enrolled in private schools. While investments in teachers have been shown to boost academic performance, statewide voucher programs have produced unprecedented drops in test scores for voucher students.

The voucher expansion also sends a clear message to public school teachers: state leaders would rather subsidize their wealthy donors than provide teachers with competitive salaries, repair dilapidated school buildings, or give teachers adequate support staff such as teacher assistants, nurses, and school psychologists.

Legislators’ failure to support teachers and improve their working conditions is at the heart of the long-running Leandro court case which requires that all children have access to highly qualified teachers. The case has spurred a detailed, research-based, multi-year plan to increase investments in educators and students in order to provide the basic level of schooling promised under our state constitution. Unfortunately, legislative leaders have fought tooth and nail to get the plan thrown out by the courts, sending educators (and students) another clear message: they’re uninterested in making things better.

The legislature has further conveyed their contempt for teachers by continuing to meddle in how teachers can do their jobs. The Parents Bill of Rights creates purposefully ambiguous restrictions on how teachers approach subjects related to sexual identity and limits their ability to support trans students or others exploring their gender identity. The bill also allows bad actors to file frivolous information requests and objections to instructional materials, chilling instruction on controversial subjects while also wasting teachers’ limited time and resources.

Other bills targeting teachers’ instructional practices could be revived this year. For example, HB 187, which seeks to create a chilling effect around an honest teaching of history and current events, is awaiting action in the state senate. Additionally, a major candidate for Governor has conducted his own witch hunt of teachers – seeking and failing to find “indoctrination” – and has referred to educators as “wicked people.”

Is it any wonder that teacher vacancies continue to rise?

It doesn’t have to be this way. There are several obvious steps that the legislature could take to attract and retain excellent, well-trained professionals in every classroom:

Large, across-the-board pay raises
Proper staffing levels for support staff such as teacher assistants, psychologists, nurses, counselors, and social workers
Capital improvements to ensure each school offers a healthy, inviting learning environment
Restoration of professional development and early career mentoring funds

Not coincidentally, these are all elements of the Leandro Plan.

If legislators want to address the teacher vacancy crisis, they can implement these evidence-based policies. But if they’d rather erect barriers to make academic success more difficult for Black students and students from families with low incomes, then they can continue their current strategy of undermining and alienating educators.

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North Carolina

North Carolina’s Collective Negotiated Slick NIL Deal For Incoming Lineman

Published

3 hours ago

June 17, 2024

Press Room

North Carolina’s Collective Negotiated Slick NIL Deal For Incoming Lineman

As Name, Image, and Likeness continues to be a larger staple of collegiate athletics, there have been collectives created in coordinance with the schools to deal with funding and NIL aspects.

In the future, it’s unknown how big of a role these groups will play as some oversight could finally be determined about how NIL will operate going forward, but as it stands right now, collectives play a massive part for all programs across the country.

North Carolina is no different.

As a national brand on the basketball court and a competitor in the ACC during football season, their collective called Heels4Life has been busy working on NIL deals for their athletes or prospective student-athletes.

In a roundup of deals that took place this past week, Jeremey Crabtree of On3 reported incoming North Carolina freshman Peter Pesansky has signed an NIL deal with NC Carpet Binding in an agreement that was orchestrated by the Heels4Life collective.

According to the report, the defensive lineman will promote the products on his social media accounts and on video and podcast appearances.

NC Carpet Binding is the world’s largest manufacturer of carpet binding equipment.

Pesansky is coming in rated as a three-star by On3’s Industry Ranking, listed as the 71st-best player at his position. He committed to North Carolina on April 24 in a battle that saw them beat out Wake Forest and Duke among others.

The monetary figure of this deal was not revealed, but it does offer something interesting when discussing recruiting.

Pesansky is an incoming freshman and has not played a down for the Tar Heels in his career, yet the collective negotiated an NIL deal for him. Whether that was a factor in his decision making to attend North Carolina is not known, but these types of deals have become more and more of a norm across the country.

With NIL continuing to expand, there is going to be more opportunities for every player to make money, not just the coveted recruits and high-profile athletes.

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North Carolina

Tennessee Baseball's Win Over North Carolina Different But Not Surprising | Rocky Top Insider

Published

10 hours ago

June 17, 2024

Press Room

Tennessee Baseball's Win Over North Carolina Different But Not Surprising | Rocky Top Insider

Cal Stark catches against North Carolina in the 2024 College World Series // Photo via UT Athletics

OMAHA, Neb. — Tennessee’s offense didn’t explode in any one inning and totaled just seven hits in its 6-1 College World Series win over North Carolina on Sunday night. In that way, the Vols’ second win in Omaha was different than what they are known for, but that doesn’t make it surprising that they knocked off the Tar Heels the way they did.

“I think it just shows how versatile we are,” right fielder Kavares Tears said postgame.

“Friday night never really giving up even though we were down however much,” left-handed pitcher Kirby Connell said. “Just worried about the next pitch and tonight was getting off to a good start and kind of never took our foot off the gas.”

How Tennessee won its College World Series opener against Florida State is what this team’s known for. Twelve runs, a late game rally and six extra-base hits. That’s what people think of when they think of this team.

And the Vols can win that way. They’ve totaled double-digits runs 30 times this season and have won three games allowing double-digit runs.

But Tennessee can also win with pitching and defense. They won four SEC regular season and tournament games scoring four or less runs. After its win over North Carolina, Tennessee now has a 10-9 record in SEC and postseason games where they scored six or less runs. That record is 10-4 if you start after the series opening loss at Auburn that’s proven to be a turning point in the season.

Both pitching and defense were on display against the Tar Heels. Drew Beam, who struggled in his first three starts this postseason, was efficient and effective in five innings of one run baseball.

“I thought Drew Beam was really, really good,” North Carolina coach Scott Berry said.

“There was conviction to it,” Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello said of Beam.

The junior’s bounce back was a great sign. Tennessee needed him to be better if they were going to win the National Championship. He delivered in his first opportunity and a second one is now looking all the more likely.

More From RTI: Tony Vitello And Hunter Ensley Update The Centerfielder’s Status

Don’t overlook the defense behind him either. No one will forget Hunter Ensley’s stellar catch running into the wall in center field in the second inning but that wasn’t the only nice play. Dean Curley, Christian Moore and Blake Burke all had impressive plays. The only defensive miscue of the whole night came on a grounder Billy Amick couldn’t corral in the fifth inning.

That’s important too. Tennessee’s defense has been sloppy the entire NCAA Tournament. Not just sloppy but “get you beat at some point” sloppy.

“The defense was outstanding on both sides,” Vitello said.

While it wasn’t the offense’s best night, it wasn’t bad either. There was the usual power surge— a Kavares Tears three-run homer that broke the tie in the fourth inning and a Reese Chapman solo shot an inning later. But there was also an ability to generate runs to help cushion the lead.

Tennessee capitalized when North Carolina walked Colby Backus on four pitches and promptly threw a wild pitch as Dean Curley drove him home with a two-out single up the middle. Another four pitch walk in the eighth inning led to a run when Dylan Dreiling singled and then Tears doubles to right field with two outs.

“Pretty good hitting too,” Ensley said. “Some clutch hits. Two-out hitting was really good so just finding different ways to win ball games.”

The win marked the first time ever that Tennessee’s won its first two games in the College World Series and the two wins came in radically different fashions. But the Vols have been winning in different ways all season and that bodes well for a team that’s a win away from advancing to their second College World Series finals in program history.

“I think we’ve won two different ways in Omaha than we have all year,” Ensley said. “That’s good for the confidence for the team.”

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North Carolina

Tennessee baseball vs North Carolina score updates in College World Series

Published

17 hours ago

June 16, 2024

Press Room

Tennessee baseball vs North Carolina score updates in College World Series

OMAHA, Neb. − Tennessee baseball is off a good start in the College World Series.

The Vols (56-12) face North Carolina (48-14) on Sunday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2) in their second CWS game after winning 12-11 against Florida State on Friday. UT walked off the Seminoles on a ninth-inning single from Dylan Dreiling to cap a four-run inning that erased a three-run deficit.

UNC also walked off its first game on a single from Vance Honeycutt in the ninth inning against Virginia in the opening game Friday.

UT and UNC have not played since the 2019 Chapel Hill Regional. The Vols lost 5-2 in the regional final in the first postseason appearance under coach Tony Vitello.

Tennessee baseball live score updates vs North Carolina in College World Series

Parks Harber singles for the first UNC hit, but Drew Beam pitches around the runner for another scoreless inning. He’s now up to 34 pitches through four innings.

The Vols go down 1-2-3 in the third inning, including a Christian Moore flyout to center.

Drew Beam is through third inning with just 21 pitches after a clean run through the Tar Heels lineup.

Dylan Dreiling leads off the inning with a walk but the Vols don’t do anything with it.

Hunter Ensley robs Anthony Donofrio of extra bases with a catch as he crashes into the centerfield wall. What a catch.

Otherwise, a clean first two innings by Drew Beam

The Vols go down 1-2-3 against Shea Sprague, including a 115 mph groundout by Christian Moore to open the inning.

Drew Beam deals a 1-2-3 first inning against the UNC top of the lineup. Better start for the Vols, including a nice stretch by Blake Burke at first base to secure a 4-3 groundout.

What channel is Tennessee baseball vs. North Carolina on today?

TV: ESPN2 (Watch on Fubo)

MORE: Watch Tennessee baseball live vs North Carolina with Fubo (free trial)

Tennessee baseball vs. North Carolina start time

Tennessee baseball vs. North Carolina location

Omaha, Nebraska
Charles Schwab Field

LIGHT: Meet Carlee Beam, the brightest light at Tennessee baseball’s Lindsey Nelson Stadium

Tennessee baseball schedule

See the Tennessee baseball schedule here

North Carolina baseball schedule

See the North Carolina baseball schedule

Tennessee baseball roster

See the Tennessee baseball roster here

North Carolina baseball roster

See the North Carolina baseball roster

College World Series schedule

Below is the full 2024 schedule for the 2024 College World Series:

All times Eastern

Friday, June 14

Game 1: North Carolina 3, Virginia 2
Game 2: Tennessee 12, Florida State 11

Saturday, June 15

Game 3: Kentucky 5, NC State 4 (10 inn.)
Game 4: Texas A&M 3, Florida 2

Sunday, June 16

Game 5: Virginia vs. Florida State | 2 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)
Game 6: North Carolina vs. Tennessee | 7 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)

Monday, June 17

Game 7: NC State vs. Florida | 2 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)
Game 8: Kentucky vs. Texas A&M | 7 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)

Tuesday, June 18

Game 9: Winner of Game 5 vs. loser of Game 6 | 2 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)
Game 10: Winner of Game 7 vs. loser of Game 8 | 7 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)

Wednesday, June 19

Game 11: Winner of Game 6 vs. winner of Game 9 | 2 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)
Game 12: Winner of Game 8 vs. winner of Game 10 | 7 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)

Thursday, June 20

Game 13 (if necessary): TBD vs. TBD, 2 p.m. | TBD
Game 14 (if necessary): TBD vs. TBD, 7 p.m. | TBD

College World Series championship finals schedule 2024

Saturday, June 22

Game 1: TBD vs. TBD | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)

Sunday, June 23

Game 2: TBD vs. TBD | 2 p.m. | ABC (Fubo)

Monday, June 24

Game 3 (if necessary): TBD vs. TBD | 7 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)

College World Series odds

According to BetMGM

2024 College World Series bracket

See the bracket here.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.

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