The data is clear about the importance of children being able to read on grade level by third grade as a foundation of their education and future success. Today, we will delve into some shifts in how we think about early literacy and the direction the state and other partners are heading in regard to reading.
In the News
The Belk Foundation works continuously to affect lasting change in our focus areas. Check back often for the latest news and announcements.
EdNC – The time is now: Acting to ensure equitable access to excellent teachers in North Carolina
Teachers are the most important school-based resource for student learning. Highly effective teachers are an investment in our future — a sure way to promote students’ academic and social-emotional development.
The Charlotte Observer – Student? Teacher? Both. ‘Zero regrets’ for first-time teachers in CMS during COVID
For years, Leah Rausch thought about becoming a teacher. As a child, she recalls, she would line her stuffed animals up in her bedroom, forming a makeshift classroom with her toy students.
EdNC – A deep dive into the advanced teaching roles program
Teachers are at the heart of our educational system, therefore it is imperative that educational leaders support and retain talented educators. Advanced Teaching Role (ATR) models provide multiple avenues to do this.
2020 Annual Report
As a family foundation with over 90 years of history, we have never faced a confluence of events like we have in 2020.
EdNC – ‘There are thousands of Mrs. Talberts’ – Hear from a parent, first-grader, and teacher experiencing distance learning for the first time.
Nina Anderson is a first-grader in Charlotte. Due to recent school closures, Nina’s classroom looks very different than it did a few weeks ago. She and millions of other North Carolina students are learning from home. I interviewed Nina, her mom, and her teacher to learn more about what learning looks like right now.
EdNC – In our quest to improve early reading in North Carolina, let’s remember the ‘Five W’s’
Growing up, one of my favorite shows was Nick News with Linda Ellerbee. For those who missed it, Nick News was a long-running news show for kids hosted by Peabody-award winning journalist Linda Ellerbee.
Early seasons of the show explored myriad topics framed by the “Five W’s” (Who?, What?, When?, Where?, Why?) and the occasional 6th, How?
EdNC – Reading instruction needs to improve. Who will lead the charge, and how?
North Carolina is on a growing list of states that are studying Mississippi’s rising reading scores and discussing how to align reading instruction with the so-called science of reading. That much was clear on Thursday when The Belk Foundation held a “North Carolina and the Science of Reading” event at the Friday Institute.
EdNC – How can NC recruit and retain effective teachers?
Cherelle Sanders is a multi-classroom leader at Martin Millennium Academy in Tarboro. In her first year in that role, she worked with four teachers. One was in her third year teaching, but the other three were all brand new.
EdNC – Thinking about our teachers, thinking about our ‘difference makers’
“There are more than 100,000 teachers in North Carolina. We know there are effective teachers in all our communities across the state,” says Johanna Anderson, the executive director of The Belk Foundation.