Mary Ann Wolf Coverage

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MARY ANN WOLF: N.C. legislators will soon spend $1 billion surplus. Public schools must be a priority

Wednesday, April 24, 2024 -- Public schools matter to each and every community across North Carolina. With meaningful investments, they can continue to thrive and serve our state.

MARY ANN WOLF: Building relationships via 'Bring Your Legislator to School Day'

Monday, April 22, 2024 -- Allowing policymakers to experience the day-to-day reality of the state's elementary and secondary schools helps establish strong relationships between legislators and the communities they serve to foster collaboration, ensure transparency and consider diverse perspectives when crafting policies.

MARY ANN WOLF: Education is on the ballot

Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024 -- North Carolina is ranked at the bottom -- 49th this year -- for school funding efforts. That won't change unless we elect decision-makers who value and prioritize education as a public good essential to the continued progress of our communities.

MARY ANN WOLF: Better support, resources make teachers even more effective

Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024 -- Teachers are the No. 1 school-related factor in student outcomes. Each teacher has the potential to impact hundreds of children throughout their career. We place high expectations on those educators but as a state, we have oftentimes failed to give them the resources needed to meet those expectations.

MARY ANN WOLF: Supporting teachers so they can support students

Monday, Oct. 2, 2023 -- Public education is an investment. Is there a more worthy investment than one in the future of our children and communities? By providing teachers with the compensation, resources and respect they are entitled to, we give them the tools to build up each child.

MARY ANN WOLF: Words of hope from N.C.'s teacher, principal and superintendent of the year

Monday, Sept. 11, 2023 -- What gives hope to our Teacher of the Year, Principal of the Year and Superintendent of the Year.

MARY ANN WOLF: Kids matter! Don't neglect N.C.'s public schools

Monday, Sept. 4, 2023 -- One of the most central purposes of our state government is to support a strong system of public schools to pave the way for a strong democracy, society, and economy. Yet over the past few months, we've heard proposed bills, recommended ideas and rhetoric that forgets and detracts from that purpose.

MARY ANN WOLF: North Carolina has the money. Why shortchange public education?

Thursday, May 18, 2023 -- We have the money and we DO want it invested in our public schools. The 1.5 million public school students in our state deserve it.

MARY ANN WOLF: Ask yourself these questions

Monday, May 8, 2023 -- Pay attention to what is happening before our eyes. It does not matter what party you are in or even who you voted for. The full impact of these proposed changes would be devastating. We would not have the democracy we cherish. We would not have the schools our kids and families deserve. We would not attract businesses to this state.

MARY ANN WOLF: Taking $1 billion from public schools will hit rural communities hardest

Thursday, March 30, 2023 -- The removal of $1 billion in public school funds to go to private schools will be devastating for our public schools already struggling to make ends meet due to inadequate and inequitable funding from the state. In nearly half the counties in North Carolina, school districts are, and shifting these funds to homeschooling or private schools would have a significant negative impact on the local economy.

MARY ANN WOLF & GRIFFIN GURKIN: Knowing your students, helping them with choices

Monday, March 20, 2023 -- Being aware of the students -- knowing that what they experienced at home may be very different from what they are getting here and even what you've experienced in your life -- making sure you think about that with the choices they make.

MARY ANN WOLF: Making education engaging and responsive to today's students

Monday, March 6, 2023 -- We have made progress toward a more just and equitable world, but we still have much more work to do. Being willing to shift the way we educate our students and engage them more deeply in class content is a part of that work.

MARY ANN WOLF: Top N.C. education issues for 2023

Monday, Feb. 13, 2023 -- We are not talking about throwing money at problems and hoping they somehow get fixed. We're talking about research-based solutions and shifting from viewing education as an expense to viewing it as an investment in our state, our economy, and our communities.

MARY ANN WOLF: The importance of student voices

Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023 -- We must bring in the perspective of students, and when we ask, they have much to say and offer to important discussions and decisions. ... If we want to do what's best for our kids, listening to them is a simple but essential step.

MARY ANN WOLF: What N.C.'s regional teachers of the year want you to know

Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023 -- "We want families to be aware of what we're teaching, how we're teaching it, how they can help at home, and (as) stakeholders in the community. We benefit so greatly from not just donations, but people that are professionals coming in and teaching our kids their skillset."

MARY ANN WOLF: Early childhood education, care and support

Monday, March 29, 2020 -- According to research released before the pandemic, only half of all N.C. parents were able to access any type of center-based or formal early childhood care. Six months into the pandemic, that rate fell to less than one-in-three. The analysis finds that "households of color face more early education challenges: the care they rely on is lower quality, with fewer employer supports; and the pandemic has disproportionately impaired their access to child care." For our economic recovery and future prosperity, it is imperative that North Carolina takes swift action to ensure all of our children are well cared for and well prepared for academic and social success.

MARY ANN WOLF: Ensuring all N.C. students read on grade level by 3rd grade

Monday, March 22, 2021 -- The state has focused on early literacy explicitly for many years, but the efforts have not led to the results we want as a state overall with only about 57% of our children reading proficiently in the third grade in 2018-2019. Many are looking to address this gap.

MARY ANN WOLF: A school finance system providing adequate, equitable and efficient resources for every child

Monday, March 15, 2021 -- What is a sound basic education? Over the past 25-plus years, rulings in North Carolina's landmark school funding court case -- known as Leandro -- have defined what a sound basic education looks like. It includes baseline student abilities around reading, math and physical science as well as being able to make informed choices in their communities. They must also be well-equipped to be able to compete in both college and career and become gainfully employed citizens.

MARY ANN WOLF: The intersection of equity and education

Monday, Feb. 8, 2021 -- Achieving equitable access to high quality education for all requires that every child has what they need to be successful, that oppressive systems are dismantled and structural inequities are redressed. We can begin this process by working toward the goal of ensuring that all children have equitable access to a sound basic education, as defined in the Leandro case and as guaranteed by our state constitution.

MARY ANN WOLF: Education in the 2021 N.C. legislative session

Monday, Jan. 25, 2021 -- As we look toward this legislative session, I am reminded by the theme that has emerged in every discussion, in every episode in the past year: No one person or one entity can do the hard work to address the needs of our students, schools, and districts on their own.

MARY ANN WOLF: Programs outside traditional school day, key for student success

Monday, Jan. 18, 2021 -- Quality programming that supports students outside of the traditional school day is critical to student success and during COVID-19 our communities are relying on these innovative enrichment programs more than ever before. When school buildings closed their doors at the beginning of the pandemic, many programs remained open to provide care for essential workers' children. Our afterschool programs across North Carolina have truly risen to the moment.

MARY ANN WOLF: Safely starting the 2020-21 school year

Monday,July 13, 2020 -- No school district, educator, or parent wants to be in the position of having to debate whether or how we can return to school this year. We wish that we could start school with in-person full classes, and we watch as districts and families struggle to decide what is right for their children.