In 2019, inspired by what we launched in Read Charlotte’s community-wide movement, we announce a new strategic issue for the next five years: equitable access to effective teachers.

The Belk Foundation Announces New Strategic Issue of Equitable Access to Effective Teachers

The data are clear: early career teachers are more effective when hired by the school where they student taught. Familiarity with the school culture, principal, students and other teachers makes a difference for novice teachers and for their students’ achievement.

Fiscal year 2018 was a milestone year for The Belk Foundation – we marked our 90th year of grantmaking. We also engaged in reflection on the Foundation’s future and how best to focus our time and energy for impact within our two focus areas, K-3 achievement and excellent teachers and leaders.

Last night, The Belk Foundation convened education leaders in Raleigh from school districts, nonprofits, state government, and philanthropy to think about education in North Carolina and across the nation. “We must be innovative in North Carolina for the sake of our students,” said Johanna Edens Anderson, executive director of The Belk Foundation.

When students in the UNC system’s teacher training programs were asked what they would do for a child struggling to read, few could cite specific strategies, according to consultants who reviewed public university education programs.

At an event in downtown Raleigh last weekend, Republican State Sen. Chad Barefoot and Democratic State Sen. Jay Chaudhuri sat down with a troupe of preschoolers and read a story together. The children’s tale was about two people who “don’t agree on anything” – except the importance of reading.

It’s not a bad parable for state politics, which finds Republicans and Democrats disagreeing on a lot of things – but not about the importance of reading and childhood education.

In this episode of EdTalk, host Alex Granados talks with Johanna Anderson, executive director of The Belk Foundation, about our teachers, the teacher pipeline, school leaders, and equity.

In fiscal year 2017, The Belk Foundation began a new chapter by intentionally focusing our grantmaking in Charlotte and at the North Carolina state-level. This year, we made 37 grants, totaling $3.1 million, to strengthen public education.

We marked Katie Morris’ decade of leadership and debuted a video focusing on progress during her time as The Belk Foundation Board Chair and deep commitment to our mission.