Eight years after the general public found out about PFAS in the Cape Fear River, the North Carolina House has finally passed a bill that would make PFAS manufacturer Chemours cover pollution cleanup costs. Republican Rep. Ted Davis, the main author of the bill, told WHQR he's "tickled" it went through. Nikolai Mather spoke with Davis about what the bill does, and the arduous route to get it this far.
In the summer of 2023, New Hanover County Schools formed a task force to address consistently low scores at 12 schools around the district. The state gives individual schools performance grades, and these schools were all getting Ds or Fs. The task force convened 16 people, to try and dig into the socio-economic and psychological backstory of the situation, and start compiling best practices and potential solutions for the problems ailing about a quarter of our schools.
Related: After two years, the work of the NHCS Turnaround Task Force comes to a close
Flash forward two years, the task force is wrapping up its work as a school committee and delivering a final report. But the people involved say there’s still work to do — so the task force may well live on in a different form. WHQR's Ben Schachtman and Rachel Keith unpack what the task force has accomplished, and what's next.
Links and resources:
· North Carolina House passes Rep. Ted Davis's PFAS liability bill
· NHC Smart Start survey shows why some families struggle to get their kids into preschool
· Consulting firm: “Overcrowding exists at all levels” in New Hanover County’s schools
· NHCS Turnaround Task Force pitches a possible ‘Future Center,’ discusses barriers to pre-K
· NHCS Turnaround Task Force considers budget options, measurable metrics
· NHCS task force discusses future of new district programs
· NHCS Turnaround Task Force debates focus on proficiency versus growth metrics
· NHCS Turnaround Task Force reorganizes, sets new goals
· The NHCS Turnaround Task Force hears from parents about pending job cuts, support for mental health
· A closer look at NHCS parents’ groups, and the significant differences in their funding capacity
· Turnaround Task Force’s latest plans, public schools competing in the education market, and hearing a Student Voice
· NHCS task force discusses how public schools can compete against charter and private schools
· The NHCS Turnaround Task Force’s ideas are taking shape
· Deep Dive: At roundtable, teachers candidly tell NHCS’ Turnaround Task Force what they need to succeed
· Unpacking the data behind New Hanover’s lowest-performing schools
· The Newsroom: What will it take to turn New Hanover County’s low-performing schools around?
· NHCS ‘Principals’ Roundtable’: Supporting Hispanic students, handling ACEs, and retaining teachers
· Turnaround Task Force, Part I: NHC community discussion of low-performing schools
· Turnaround Task Force, Part II: What principals need to be successful
· Turnaround Task Force, Part III: What researchers say about improving low-performing schools
· The Newsroom: The daunting but doable task of turning New Hanover County’s low-performing schools around
· NHCS forms task force to address its lowest-performing schools
· Conversations about education: Provost James Winebrake on UNCW’s new colleges, Dorian Cromartie on Rachel Freeman’s struggles
· Freedom Schools come to Wilmington, here’s what the program is all about
