I’m aware that Election Day is almost here, but I’m ready for a short break to think about some education and workforce policy.
So let’s talk about an interesting idea from BEST NC, a nonpartisan group of business leaders that has become something of a quiet powerhouse in state education policy.
Look at its membership and you’ll find Ann Goodnight and Erskine Bowles alongside Art Pope and Bubba Rawl. That’s an unusual coalition in North Carolina politics, and I suspect it helps explain the group’s ability to get a hearing across Raleigh.
Their latest effort, called TeachReadyNC, is a patch on a problem we’ve been discussing for more than a decade without fixing.
When you think of new teachers, chances are you’re picturing fresh graduates of university education schools. But according to BEST NC, “alternative entrants” now outnumber graduates of UNC System teacher preparation programs nearly two to one.
These are college graduates who didn’t train as teachers, including people changing ca…
