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Table of Contents
Focus Text: Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16
Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our ancestors have told us. We will not hide them from their children; we will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and [the LORD’s] might, and the wonders that [the LORD] has done.
In the sight of their ancestors [the LORD] worked marvels in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan. [The LORD] divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap. In the daytime [the LORD] led them with a cloud, and all night long with a fiery light. [The LORD] split rocks open in the wilderness, and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep. [The LORD] made streams come out of the rock, and caused waters to flow down like rivers.
Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16
Overview
Focus Text: Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16
We will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and [the LORD’s] might, and the wonders that [the LORD] has done.
Pastoral Reflection by Rev. Tom Tate, Plaza Presbyterian Church (Charlotte); Member, Board of Education of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
This is the purpose of education wherever it takes place, moving beyond rote repetition to provide each learner the possibility of a future better than what might otherwise be expected. Psalm 78 invites humility, gratitude, and “the exercise of power in the form of love, not of force.”
Key Fact
National graduation rates vary by race. Among minority students, only 57.8 percent of Hispanic, 53.4 percent of African American, and 49.3 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native students in the U.S. graduate with a regular diploma, compared to 76.2 percent of white students and 80.2 percent of Asian Americans.
Related Texts
Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.
Deuteronomy 6:4-7
You shall put these words of mine in your heart and soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and fix them as an emblem on your forehead. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the LORD swore to your ancestors to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth.
Deuteronomy 11:18-21
O taste and see that the LORD is good; happy are those who take refuge in [the LORD]… Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD. Which of you desires life, and covets many days to enjoy good? Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and [the LORD’s] ears are open to their cry.
Psalm 34:8, 11-15
Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches! Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord! Lift your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint for hunger at the head of every street.
Lamentations 2:19
People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.
Mark 10:13-16
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God — what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:1-2
Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I arrive, give attention to the public reading of scripture, to exhorting, to teaching… Put these things into practice, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; continue in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers.
1 Timothy 4:12-13, 15-16
Other Lectionary Texts
- Exodus 17:1-7
- Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32
- Psalm 25:1-9
- Philippians 2:1-13
- Matthew 21:23-32
Scriptural Commentary on Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16
Psalm 78, one of the longest in the psalter, stands as an extended meditation on the history of God’s saving work among God’s people, the people of Israel. As the Psalm outlines, God “worked marvels,” “divided the sea,” led the people “with a cloud,” gave them the “grain of heaven,” “brought them in safety,” “built his sanctuary like the high heavens,” and “chose his servant David” (NRSV). This recitation of the works of the Lord has a very clear purpose: to teach the next generation, “so that they should set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; and that they should not be like their ancestors, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God” (78:7-8). We might think of this psalm as an early “Sunday School lesson,” which served the vital liturgical function of teaching the children what they need to know about the God of Israel.
Hebrew Bible scholar Konrad Schaefer offers this probing analysis: “The poet introduces the reflection as a parable and ‘dark sayings’ or enigmas (78:2). He or she intends to review God’s benefactions, the people’s failure to respond adequately, and God’s loyalty (3-6). Tradition is, besides a lesson, a ‘decree’ of God, who revealed himself and intended this revelation to be handed on. The purpose of the instruction is that the next generation not repeat the past but rather stay loyal to God (7-8), that they not ‘forget’ but ‘remember’ (7, 11, 35, 39, 42). To ‘forget’ God is a capital crime and the major theme of this psalm” (Schaefer, Berit Olam Series: Studies in Hebrew Narrative and Poetry, p. 192).
For the ancient Israelites, it is clear that children and young people play a crucial role in society. In each generation, to them is given the task of learning, remembering, and retelling the character of their God and the history of their salvation. For example, in Deuteronomy 6 – which continues to this day to function as a central part of Jewish prayer – God commands the people of Israel: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise” (Deut. 6:4-7, emphasis added). Thus, the society had both the grave responsibility and the joyous opportunity to consistently engage in teaching children about God. This teaching was to take place at all times and places, and the extent to which leaders failed to properly instruct young people became, in time, the extent to which society forgot the Lord.
By Chris Liu-Beers, Program Associate, NC Council of Churches
Pastoral Reflection on Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16
Psalm 78 is a maskil, an artful song that includes didactic elements to be recited in the presence of the community. Preaching is maskil. So is teaching, whether it is found in the church house or in the school house. In Psalm 78 the sanctioned curriculum that has been passed down through generations for the sake of the children is summarized in verse 4, the “glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.” Freedom and fidelity are highlighted in order “to inspire hope and obedience in the hearers and, indeed, in all subsequent generations.” This is the purpose of education wherever it takes place, moving beyond rote repetition to provide each learner the possibility of a future better than what might otherwise be expected. Psalm 78 invites humility, gratitude, and “the exercise of power in the form of love, not of force.” (1)
When we read the whole psalm, we discover that this curriculum is not just about spiritual subjects such as prayer and faith. Since it is difficult to teach a person who is hungry, thirsty, and homeless, God takes care of Israel’s physical needs, providing water from a rock, manna from heaven, and a promised land.
We have found something similar to be true in our public schools. Because educating everyone is our task, the school day begins for some students with breakfast. After a few classes comes a free lunch. On Friday some of them take home an extra backpack filled with food for the weekend. Social workers deal with the needs of homeless students, who are as thirsty for drink as they are for knowledge. Teachers tell the coming generation what they need to know. For some they provide stability unknown anywhere else. And they impart love – love for learning, love for self, love for neighbor, love for the creation in which we live.
In the last fifty-some years, it has been made clear the compulsory segregation of the races in public schools will not be tolerated. In June 2007, the United States Supreme Court struck down voluntary race-conscious student assignment plans in Seattle, WA and Jefferson County, KY. While Justice Anthony Kennedy agreed with the majority that the two plans were unconstitutional, he also said the following, “This Nation has a moral and ethical obligation to fulfill its historic commitment to creating an integrated society that ensures equal opportunity for all of its children. A compelling interest exists in avoiding racial isolation, an interest that a school district, in its discretion and expertise, may choose to pursue. Likewise, a district may consider it a compelling interest to achieve a diverse student population.… The decision today should not prevent school districts from continuing the important work of bringing together students of different racial, ethnic, and economic backgrounds” (June 28, 2007). Without knowing it, Justice Kennedy may have been lifting up the past and our failures in order to help us in the present prepare for the future. He may even have sounded a note from Psalm 78.
How we will educate everyone, of course, remains to be seen. In the era of No Child Left Behind, public education requires accountability at every level. Teachers are accountable for making sure that students learn. Parents are accountable for getting their children to school prepared to learn. Students are accountable for making the grade, becoming proficient, and passing the test. In the process, education can become overly technical, even losing access to the stories that make a difference in student’s lives.
Public education reform has not yet found a way to close achievement gaps measured by race, ethnic background, or economic status. For the most part, public policy has focused on what happens in the schools. Expectations are too low, we are told. Teachers are not highly-qualified. Curricula are badly designed. Classes are too large. School climates are not disciplined. Leadership is not focused. Or it’s a combination of these factors.
“Americans have come to the conclusion that the achievement gap is the fault of ‘failing schools,’” writes Richard Rothstein, “because it makes no common sense that it could be otherwise. After all, how much money a family has, or the color of a child’s skin, should not influence how well that child learns to read. If teachers know how to teach reading, or math, or any other subject, and if schools emphasize the importance of these tasks and permit no distractions, children should be able to learn these subjects whatever their family income or skin color.” While that sounds like common sense, it overlooks a number of social and cultural characteristics that influence learning in school. Rothstein calls these “a collection of occupational, psychological, personality, health, and economic traits that interact, predicting performance not only in schools but in other institutions as well.”4 Among these are styles of rearing children; ways of disciplining children; different ways of communicating expectations; different ways of reading to children; health, especially regarding vision and hearing; adequate vs. substandard housing; student mobility; homelessness; differences in the accumulation of wealth; and attitudes toward education and work. While none of these is determinative on its own, taken together they can affect student achievement. These are not excuses for the failure to educate everyone who comes through the school house door. They are, however, factors that the whole community, including houses of worship, must address together.
From Egypt to Canaan, Psalm 78 declares that God leads us, cares for us, loves us, teaches us. The faith community has taken this movement from slavery to freedom seriously and has advocated for equal opportunity, equal education, and equal treatment under the law. May it be so for the coming generations.
By Rev. Tom Tate, Plaza Presbyterian Church (Charlotte); Member, Board of Education of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
1. James Limburg, Psalms, Westminster Bible Companion (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2000), 266.
Worship Aids about Public Education
Responsive Reading
LEADER: Will the teachers, school administrators, counselors, school volunteers, support staff, cafeteria workers, school bus drivers, and all others who work in our schools, please stand at this time.
Today we remember the children and youth of this congregation and those involved in their education. The call to be involved in education is a high calling. Those who teach our children help shape the future. We give thanks to a gracious God for the teachers, school administrators, counselors, school volunteers, support staff, cafeteria workers, school bus drivers, and all others in our congregation who work in our schools.
PEOPLE: We celebrate your calling and pledge to support you and others in our communities who are involved in the education of children and youth. (School personnel may be seated.)
LEADER: As we recognize those who teach in schools, we recognize as well that teaching also happens at home. Will parents or guardians of our children and youth in school, please stand.
Education involves a partnership between school, home, and community. The support of parents and guardians is essential to a child’s success. This morning we recognize you for the support you give the students in your home. We hold in prayer all those in this congregation who have children and youth in school and pray that all homes will be a place where learning is valued and encouragement offered.
PEOPLE: We pledge our support to parents and guardians. We pray that our ministries will encourage and strengthen those in our church families who provide care for children. (Parents and guardians may be seated.)
LEADER: At this time I would like to invite our youth and children in preschool, kindergarten, elementary, junior high, or high school, to stand. Your church family believes that each of you is a gift from God, filled with potential and possibility. We pray that as you learn and grow you will develop caring hearts and minds that think clearly. We believe in you and care about your education.
PEOPLE: As your faith community, we pledge to be with you on your educational journey. We affirm that each of you is a precious gift from God. We will do all that we are able to ensure that your schools are positive places filled with hope and the resources necessary for learning. (Children and youth may be seated.)
LEADER: Let us pray: Gracious God, we lift up to you all those involved in education in this community and in all the communities in our nation and world. Guide us, great God, that we will know the best way to show our interest and support for our students, teachers, and all those involved in education.
PEOPLE: We pray for wisdom and strength to make a positive difference in the lives of those in school. We pray for courage to explore new ways of supporting the people and institutions that teach our children and youth. We pray in the name of the great teacher, Jesus. Amen.
(adapted from the National Council of Churches, “A Litany for Education and Schools,” www.ncccusa.org/gifs/Litanyhandout.pdf)
Prayer of Confession
Loving God, we confess that we have failed our children by not assuring that every child receives a proper education. We have bought into the world’s system of competition, happy for some children to excel, while others of little means fall behind for lack of resources they need—crippling their chances of future success and perpetuating a cycle of poverty and despair. As a society, we have neglected our children—turn us from our sin of neglect. Give us the strength to take the time our children need from us to feel valued and to be helped in times of questioning, failure, and stress. Remind all of us that our lives are safe in your hands—our pasts, our todays, and our futures because of the love of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.
(by B. J. Morton)
For Young Persons
God our loving Parent, you see your children growing up in an unsteady and confusing world: Show them that your ways give more life than the ways of this world, and that following you is better than chasing after selfish goals. Help them to take failure, not as a measure of their worth, but as a chance for a new start. Give them strength to hold their faith in you, and to keep alive their joy in your creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(adapted from the Book of Common Prayer, p. 829, #47)
Help Young People
Lord, this world needs this marvelous wealth that is youth. Help young people! They possess the inexhaustible wealth of the future. Do not allow an easy life to corrupt them, nor difficulties to quench their spirit. Amen.
(“Dom Helder Camara’s Prayer for Young People,” www.sm3a.org.uk/prayer_of_the_month/dom_helder_camara.html)
For the Care of Children
Almighty God, heavenly Parent, you have blessed us—as parents and as the church—with the joy and care of children: Give us calm strength and patient wisdom as we bring them up, that we may teach them to love whatever is just and true and good, following the example of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
(adapted from the Book of Common Prayer, p. 829, #46)
Right to Education
We pray for all those around the world who want to learn,
But are denied their right to education.
We pray too for those who teach, especially
Those who work with few resources and little support.
We give thanks for the knowledge, skills and understanding we have
And we ask your help to remember how much we have still to learn.
Teach us to respect wisdom, wherever we find it.
As you walked with the disciples on the road to Emmaus
Walk with us as we try to understand.
Open our hearts and minds to new learning
Even when it challenges us to change.
Give us the courage to tackle injustice and
Guide us towards a new, shared future,
Where everyone has the chance to learn,
and all may grow in wisdom and understanding. Amen.
(© Linda Jones/CAFOD—used with permission)
Suggested Hymns about Public Education
I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say
African Methodist Episcopal 249
African Methodist Episcopal Zion 198
Baptist Hymnal 551
Christian Methodist Episcopal 310
Gather Comprehensive (Catholic) 646
Lutheran Worship 348
Moravian Book of Worship 606
New Century Hymnal (UCC) 489
The Hymnal 1982 (Episcopal) 692
Lord Whose Love in Humble Service
Chalice Hymnal (Disciples of Christ) 461
Gather Comprehensive (Catholic) 681
Presbyterian Hymnal 427
The Hymnal 1982 (Episcopal) 610
United Methodist Hymnal 581
Now in the Days of Youth
Moravian Book of Worship 801
New Century Hymnal (UCC) 350
Open My Eyes That I May See
African Methodist Episcopal 285
Baptist Hymnal 502
Chalice Hymnal (Disciples of Christ) 586
Christian Methodist Episcopal 129
Presbyterian Hymnal 324
United Methodist Hymnal 454
Tell Me The Stories of Jesus
African Methodist Episcopal 550
Baptist Hymnal 129
Chalice Hymnal (Disciples of Christ) 190
Christian Methodist Episcopal 459
United Methodist Hymnal 277
Quotes about Public Education
If all the rich and all of the church people should send their children to the public schools they would feel bound to concentrate their money on improving these schools until they met the highest ideals.
Susan B. Anthony
The question is not whether we can afford to invest in every child, the question is whether we can afford not to.
Marian Wright Edelman
Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. Our requirements for world leadership, our hopes for economic growth, and the demands of citizenship itself in an era such as this all require the maximum development of every young American’s capacity. The human mind is our fundamental resource.
John F. Kennedy
Don’t leave a better world for the kids. Leave better kids for the world.
Author unknown
As we approach the new millennium, we see how much remains to be done to give our young and future generations a better world to live in: a more peaceful society with a healthier, cleaner environment and a pattern of sustainable development which seeks to eradicate poverty. Education is the single most powerful means to improve the quality of life… the single most powerful weapon against poverty and intolerance. Education builds a culture of peace … it empowers human beings, both young and adult, to be effective in their chosen sphere of activity … education in its essence, opens doors to both personal and social development.
Federico Mayor
Education is a vaccine for violence.
Edward James Olmos
Vignette about Public Education
Communities in Schools — A Success Story
We’d like to tell you the story of one of Communities in Schools of Durham’s (CIS) students, Tom Smith.* Three years ago he was a high school freshman who was getting into regular arguments with several other students and was struggling academically. The other students were provoking him, but Tom also admits that he had some anger issues. He dropped out of high school after getting into a fight with one of the students.
Tom was referred to CIS’ Career Mentoring Program by one of our community partners, The Durham Literacy Center, where he was enrolled in the Teen GED program. CIS connected him to a mentor who had had troubles earlier in his life, but was now on staff at TROSA, a drug rehabilitation program. His mentor discovered that Tom was passionate about auto mechanics. Tabatha McEachin, a VISTA Volunteer at CIS, found a small automotive repair shop, Rufus Butler’s auto mechanic shop, willing to take Tom on as a summer intern. So Tom’s life path was looking much better than it had a few months before.
Just days before his internship began, however, Tom was arrested for possession of drugs and a gun. It also became apparent that Tom may have been involved in some gang activity. Many of the adults in his life, including his mentor, began to despair that Tom had blown it. While in jail, Tom used one of his few phone calls to call Rufus to apologize. He was in tears, realizing that he may have blown one of the few opportunities he had been given for a positive future. He pleaded with Rufus to let him do his internship if he was released from jail. In fact, he was released because it was determined that the drugs and gun were his friend’s.
Tom’s internship was a huge success. Not only did he complete the four-week internship (which was funded by Durham City’s Workforce Preparedness Board), but he wanted to continue. Both he and his mother knew that the financial incentives of selling drugs would tempt Tom if he did not have an opportunity to earn money from legitimate work. CIS then began soliciting private donations to help Tom continue his internship at the auto mechanics shop. Several generous individuals sent in checks that paid for Tom to continue his internship. Once those funds were exhausted, CIS staff found a supervisor at a local Jiffy Lube shop that was willing to help Tom by hiring him. Since then, Tom has earned his GED and plans on attending Durham Tech to take classes in car repair.
CIS’ experience with Tom shows the importance of not giving up on our at-risk teens. There were multiple points at which CIS and its partners could have given up on Tom. The crisis and barriers he had to overcome seemed insurmountable at times. His experience also shows the importance of creating pro-social opportunities for our youth. Tom wanted to work and wanted to follow his passion of working with cars. He wanted the opportunity to do legitimate work as opposed to selling drugs on the street. “Without CIS’ support,” Tom says, “I’d probably be hanging out somewhere…I might still have been working, but I might have been on the streets.” Tom’s experience also shows the importance of community partnerships. Helping Tom succeed took the work of several agencies with different types of expertise, funding from city-run and federally-funded programs, and donations from individuals. It took the community to help Tom.
(*Student’s name changed.)
By Bud Reiter-Lavery, Executive Director, Communities In Schools Of Durham
Contacts & Resources for Public Education
www.nccouncilofchurches.org/programs/public-education
The North Carolina Council of Churches has been committed to public education issues since the Council’s beginning. Initial efforts addressed segregation, and in more recent years, the Council’s Public Education Committee has provided resources for churches to observe a Public Education Sabbath in support of both children and those who teach them.
http://www.ncjustice.org/?q=education
North Carolina Justice Center, North Carolina’s leading private, nonprofit anti-poverty organization. Its mission is to reduce and eliminate poverty in North Carolina by helping to ensure that every North Carolina household gains access to the resources, services, and fair treatment that it needs in order to enjoy economic security.
www.ncforum.org
Public School Forum of North Carolina, a not-for-profit policy think tank which is a partnership of business leaders, education leaders, and government leaders in North Carolina. In addition to research and work in the public policy arena, the Forum oversees programs in communities across the state.
www.ncchild.org
Action for Children North Carolina, as a statewide, non-profit, nonpartisan organization, Action For Children promotes well-informed governmental decisions by compiling accurate, up-to-date statistics; analyzing indicators of child well-being; and conducting policy research and development. Action for Children currently focuses on four issue areas: Child Health and Safety, Early Care and Education, Child Maltreatment, and Juvenile Justice.
www.cisnc.org
Communities in Schools of North Carolina, an independently incorporated not-for-profit directed by a board of directors representing both private and public interests in the state. CIS is the nation’s largest stay-in-school network, serving just over one million youth in 154 communities across the United States. CIS is providing the link between teachers and the community by bringing caring adults into the schools and community sites to meet children’s needs.
http://nccc4c.org
Congregations For Children (C4C) is a state-wide initiative of The United Methodist Church focused on reflecting the love of Christ to our “neighbors” by helping children in public schools who are living in poverty.
http://www.epi.org/research/education/
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) is a non-profit, nonpartisan think tank that seeks to broaden the public debate about strategies to achieve a prosperous and fair economy. EPI’s mission is to inform people and empower them to seek solutions that will ensure broadly shared prosperity and opportunity, including quality education for children.
Facts and Reflection about Public Education
- In the 2015-16 school year the North Carolina Public School system operated 2,592 public and charter schools serving 1,537,043 students.
- The Economic Policy Institute ranks North Carolina’s teacher pay competiveness as tied for the 49th worst spot while traditional teacher pay rankings place the Tarheel state as 41st.
- According to the most recent national data for the 2015-16 fiscal year, North Carolina’s per-pupil expenditure ranking has fallen to 44th, and now trails the national average by $3,182.
- The Council also has a long history of support for public education. In 1986, “we reaffirm[ed] our support for the system of public education in North Carolina . . . Being a system of our government financed by public funds, responsive to the community as a whole, and open to all without distinctions as to race, creed, national origin or economic status, public education serves as a major cohesive force in our pluralistic society; and we believe that by training for citizenship, education serves as a primary means of strengthening our constitutional [democracy]. We believe that freedom of thought and learning in our public schools is the necessary precondition to political and religious freedom.” Today we again reaffirm our support for the public schools as one of society’s primary vehicles for social, racial, and economic justice. Today we also voice our concern about the dangers of resegregation in the public schools and of a return to separate and unequal education.
- One out of every five children in North Carolina attends a high-poverty school. Among students of color, that number is one in three.
- High-poverty schools are defined as schools in which 75 percent or more of the student body qualifies for the federal free or reduced priced lunch program. Many high-poverty schools are faced with having limited resources to educate and care for students who often need extra supports, meaning they often struggle to provide a quality education equal to their middle-class and wealthier counterparts. In 2010 only 14% of teachers in high-poverty schools were from the top one-third of their class.
- School Suspension is considered one of the main arteries in the school-to-prison pipeline where minority students, especially students of color, are funneled out of schools and into the juvenile and criminal systems. In the most recent data available, non-Hispanic, White students had an in-school suspension rate of 7% and an out-of-school suspension rate of 5%. Those rates rise significantly for Black and African American students to 15% and 17% respectively. While White students were more likely to have in-school suspension, Black students were more likely to dismissed from campus.
- North Carolina’s overall graduation rate of 86% in 2015 was higher than the National average of 80%. However, serious disparities exist when that rate is broken down by race. While only 12% of white students did not graduate on time in 2015 that number rises to 18% and 20% respectively for Black and Hispanic/Latino students.
Sources
- Public Schools of North Carolina, “Facts and Figures: 2015-16,” http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/fbs/resources/data/factsfigures/2015-16figures.pdf
- North Carolina Justice Center, “How to Build an Economy that Works for All: Attract and Keep High Quality Teachers in the Classroom with Competitive Pay,” http://www.ncjustice.org/sites/default/files/POLICY%20BRIEF%20-%20Teacher%20Pay–FINAL.pdf
- North Carolina Justice Center, “Financing Education in North Carolina: A Budget and Tax Guide,”http://www.ncjustice.org/sites/default/files/NCJC_education%20finance%20primer%20021917.pdf
- North Carolina Council of Churches, “A Statement on Public Schools,” 5 September 2006, https://www.ncchurches.org/2006/09/a-statement-on-the-public-schools/
- North Carolina Justice Center, “Prosperity Watch (Issue 64, No. 5): More than 20 percent of NC students attend a high-poverty school,” http://www.ncjustice.org/?q=budget-and-tax/prosperity-watch-issue-64-no-5-more-20-percent-nc-students-attend-high-poverty-school
- and North Carolina Justice Center, “How to Build an Economy that Works for All: Attract and Keep High Quality Teachers in the Classroom with Competitive Pay,” http://www.ncjustice.org/sites/default/files/POLICY%20BRIEF%20-%20Teacher%20Pay–FINAL.pdf
- NC Child, Kids Count Data Center, “Children who have been Suspended from School by Race,” http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/8833-children-who-have-been-suspended-from-school-by-race?loc=35&loct=2#detailed/2/35/false/1021/10,11,9,12,1,185,13%7C/17704,17705 and Legal Aid of North Carolina, Inc., Advocates for Children Services, “Hearing on the School-to-Prison Pipeline,” http://www.ncjustice.org/sites/default/files/Hearing%20Statement-Final%20pdf.pdf
- Alliance for Excellent Education, “State Data: North Carolina,” https://www.all4ed.org/state-data/north-carolina/ and NC Child, Kids Count Data Center, “High School Students not Graduating On Time by Race and Ethnicity,” http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/9538-high-school-students-not-graduating-on-time-by-race-and-ethnicity?loc=35&loct=2#detailed/2/35/false/1381,1246/12,141,725,4041,1,185,13/18712,18713
