Rachel Keith
Reporter/HostRachel is a graduate of UNCW's Master of Public Administration program, specializing in Urban and Regional Policy and Planning. She also received a Master of Education and two Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and French Language & Literature from NC State University. She served as WHQR's News Fellow from 2017-2019. Contact her by email: rkeith@whqr.org or on Twitter @RachelKWHQR
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Two Republican primary candidates are running for a seat in Brunswick County Board of Education’s District 4. Janis Simmons will be the winner’s Democratic challenger in November.
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At Monday’s New Hanover County Board of Education budget work session, members got briefed on the worst-case scenario for staffing cuts.
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At Tuesday’s New Hanover County School Board meeting, members voted 6-1 to consider new options for general counsel. The board also voted 4-3 to look for additional legal support for the current school year.
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On Tuesday, the New Hanover County Board of Education is discussing the future of the Vogel Law Firm, LLC. In January, two of the firm’s attorneys, Jonathan and Leigha Sink left the firm, and now are suing him for breach of contract.
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On this episode, WHQR's Rachel Keith helps unpack the latest work from New Hanover County Schools' Turnaround Task Force. The group has been generating some actionable ideas that could see local funding — but the district as a whole still faces challenges, including increased market pressures as it struggles against charter and private schools for public funding. Plus, we hear from some student leaders who are trying to bring their own perspective — and some valuable data — to tough conversations in the district.
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The organization was formed to provide the perspective of the students who are ultimately the ones impacted by board and administrative policy decisions. Student Voice recently researched student opinions of the district's controversial proposal for a new policy on professional standards of conduct — but there's a lot more they want to dig into.
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During the January New Hanover County Schools Turnaround Taskforce meeting, there was a lively discussion about how the district is marketing itself when compared to charter and private schools. With the state legislature’s considerable expansion of the Opportunity Scholarship program in this year’s budget, public schools have felt the pressure to sell what they’re offering to the community.
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In January, the New Hanover County Schools Turnaround Task Force held its fifth meeting. The task force was created to help support the district’s lowest-performing schools; this meeting focused on narrowing possible recommendations to address the performance gap amongst the district’s schools.
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At Tuesday's New Hanover County Board of Education agenda review, one of the board members said she’d introduce a motion to remove the district’s superintendent at next Tuesday’s regular meeting.
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During last week’s Cape Fear Community College Board of Trustees meeting, President Jim Morton gave his year-end report. Morton touted a host of successes but omitted any mention of a warning issued to the college by the regional accreditation board.