Research repeatedly demonstrates that the early years are very important. High-quality early experiences have been proven to reduce the need for special education and welfare services, reduce drop-outs and teen pregnancy and generally help launch a child toward a successful and economically productive adulthood.
This
page features a listing of Action for Children's Education
Publications, featured in chronological order (most recent first). To
see more information, click "Read More."
A survey of local school districts recently completed by Action for Children North Carolina found that during the 2008-2009 school year, students in N.C. public schools were hit by
school personnel more than 1,400 times.
The report notes that decades of research have uncovered no
evidence that hitting students is an effective form of discipline. Not only is
educational performance not improved, but there are negative effects on social
and psychological development, as well as the promotion of pro-violence
attitudes in youth.
A wide array of practice and advocacy
organizations are asking the General Assembly specifically to exempt students
with disabilities from corporal punishment.
New! Emerging Issues Report: Children in Immigrant Families - February 2010
All children deserve access to good health, safety, a sound education and the stability that comes with family financial security. And yet, Action for Children's newest report finds that access to these basics has been denied to far too many of the 340,000 children in immigrant families in
North Carolina. Although children in immigrant families make up 15 percent of the child population of the state, and the vast majority of them are U.S. citizens, many of them are blocked out of the health care system, pushed out of school, and relegated to the economic margins. Click here to read the full report.
Action for Children North Carolina's 2009 North Carolina Children's Index offers a wealth of child and youth well-being data that demonstrate the state's public policy successes as well as missed opportunities. The report shows that important investments in children's services pay off, that sound research enhances the ability to build effective programs and that, despite progress in addressing children's needs, geographic and racial disparities persist.
Research tells us that children really need to be on grade level by third grade to see good long-term educational outcomes. Action for Children's first-of-its-kind Putting the Pieces in Place: A North Carolina School Readiness Report explains that school readiness is really about working with all the key pieces of the puzzle—children, the schools, and families and communities—to ensure that those crucial first 8 years of life are filled with the kinds of resources, interactions and experiences that make for school and life success.
North Carolina is one of 21 states with a law that permits corporal punishment in the public schools. Yet, it may be the only state that does not monitor the administration of corporal punishment. That is the core message of an issue brief, entitled Fact or Fiction: Corporal Punishment in North Carolina Public Schools. Findings include:
Sixty local districts still permit corporal punishment.
Fifty-five local districts ban it, and this number grows each year.
Only 23 districts require principals to report the occurrence of corporal punishment to the superintendent’s office. Thus, there is no check on the principal’s “discretion” with regard to corporal punishment.
None of the policies reviewed require training for school personnel who administer corporal punishment.
Seven districts have policies that require specific written parental permission to hit their child. In all other districts, parents are notified only after the fact that their child has received corporal punishment.
In response to the fact that there is no statewide ban, Action for Children calls for the practice of corporal punishment to be standardized and monitored.
What Stands Between North Carolina Students and A Sound Basic Education?, issued jointly by Action for Children and The University of North Carolina School of Law’s Center for Civil Rights, documents the wide variations in school system resources and outcomes, and details policy options to improve outcomes statewide. This easy-to-understand analysis of key education variables, 10 years after the first N.C. Supreme Court Leandro decision, examines data that focus on teacher, administrator and resource adequacy within our public schools, and in particular, within our most disadvantaged school systems.
The 2006 North Carolina Children's Index includes more than 75 indicators of child and youth well-being in the following areas: child health and safety, economic (in)security, early care and education, child maltreatment, juvenile justice and demographics. The 2006 Index also includes a special section highlighting how the children and youth of
North Carolina are developing in positive ways.
Copies of the Children's Index are free. If you would like to order multiple copies of the Index, we do ask that you pay postage costs. Please email your name, organization, mailing address and phone number to admin@ncchild.org
North Carolina children who live in families above 200% of the federal poverty line—about $38,700 for a family of four—are more likely to enjoy excellent physical and dental health, more likely to be read to as young children, more likely to participate in after-school activities and sports, and less likely to repeat a grade than their lower-income peers.
North Carolina made a promise to provide all our children with a sound, basic education. Yet, this promise is being broken for the more than 150,000 students who are suspended each year. In all, more than 1-out-of-every-10 students in North Carolina are suspended from school. Suspensions occur in every single grade (including kindergarten), but are most prevalent during ninth grade.
Today’s students are tomorrow’s workforce. North Carolina cannot afford to write-off more than 150,000 students. But that is what is happening as more and more students lose out on their right to an education due to suspensions. H1747 will promote appropriate education for this segment of the student population and further move North Carolina toward providing a sound, basic education to all of our children.
Leandro is a court case that has been twice upheld by the North Carolina Supreme Court. It determines that every North Carolina child has a Constitutional right to sound, basic education. Action for Children has compiled brief history covering the case from its beginning in 1994.
