Ann Bullock, dean and professor in the school of education, served as a moderator for the North Carolina Chamber Education and Workforce Conference, held virtually on Aug. 13, 2020.
The North Carolina Chamber Education and Workforce Conference was held virtually on August 13, 2020, with a focus on the need for effective education systems at all levels to ensure students are prepared for the 21st-century global marketplace.
This event brought together educators and business leaders to share ideas and collaborate on the roles each can play in ensuring the state’s students are college and career ready for the jobs of tomorrow.
With literacy rates stagnating in North Carolina and exacerbated by COVID-19, the business community is working together to strengthen the foundations for third-grade reading proficiency, including increasing access to the NC Pre-K program and ensuring the effectiveness of early literacy instruction.
Ann Bullock, dean and professor in the School of Education, served as the moderator of the panel discussion titled, “Protecting a Future Talent Pipeline after COVID-19: Increasing 3rd-Grade Reading Proficiency.” Serving on that panel were:
- Sepi Saidi, CEO, SEPI Inc.
- Trey Rabon, President, AT&T North Carolina
- Anthony Graham, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Winston-Salem State University
As an engineer, Saidi noted that “when something is not working, you don’t give up and accept where you are as the status quo. You fix it.”
Saidi shared his excitement to be a part of a group of N.C. business leaders who are working together to increase third-grade reading proficiency. “That work has been guided by six state-level policy recommendations first outlined in a report from the Business Roundtable that was released nationally in Raleigh by these CEOs,” he said. “We are committed, along with the North Carolina Chamber, to continue that work. And progress is being made.”
Before turning it over to Rabon, Saidi shared that “as we continue to recover from the impacts of COVID-19, we know our education system may never look like it did before the pandemic. However, in determining how we can strengthen our education system, learning from what is occurring, we must stay laser-focused on the importance of third-grade reading proficiency and undertake the necessary steps to ensure every child in North Carolina meets this critical education milestone.”
Rabon expressed that “increasing access to NC Pre-K is even more imperative now than ever. Rigorous research confirms that, when entering kindergarten, African American children are nearly nine months behind in math and seven months behind in reading, compared to their white, non-Hispanic peers. The ability to participate in high-quality program, like NC Pre-K, will reverse these numbers and level the playing field for every child.”
The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) found that, because the state funding structure requires counties to cover 40 percent of the cost of NC Pre-K, too many counties simply could not afford to expand. NIEER also found difficulties recruiting and retaining qualified teachers, funding transportation, and finding more classroom space.
“From those recommendations, our group of business leaders, the North Carolina Chamber, the North Carolina Bankers Association, and numerous local chambers of commerce, are asking for modifications to the state’s NC Pre-K funding structure to address challenges to maintaining and expanding the program and to reach the goal of enrolling 75 percent of eligible children in every county,” said Rabon. “Recognizing we are in a very difficult budget situation, we hope to work with this community of leaders to continue expanding access to NC Pre-K during next year’s biennial budget negotiations. This needs to be a priority for our state.”
Graham said he could not agree more. His stance during the panel discussion focused on ensuring that teachers and principals are fully trained to provide their students with the foundational reading skills they need. “When we move our thinking to support mentoring educators in the science of reading, we will see real change in the success of our students – all students,” Graham said.
He added that “achieving third-grade reading proficiency is crucial to a strong talent pipeline. We need the voices of the business community to emphasize that reading proficiency is not just an education issue – it is an economic development and economic growth issue. The business community needs to support these policy shifts and urge that the state support them in both policy decisions and funding.”