Blog

Smaller class sizes in our public schools aren’t just a nice idea. They’re a proven educational strategy allowing greater attention for all of our students, especially those who need more help to succeed. In its zeal for offering unfunded mandates, however, the North Carolina General Assembly has given our schools a prescription for smaller class sizes that causes more problems than it solves.

By changing the way teaching positions in elementary schools are funded, state legislators – particularly in the Senate – have put at risk the enhancement programs that make schools come alive for students. Art, physical education, music, technology, and other “enhancement” programs or “specials” are vital to educating the whole child. In addition to being valuable subjects in themselves, they keep our students engaged at school and therefore more likely to thrive in their core subjects such as math and readin