‘I can’t do it alone’: Green invites community engagement in education
Mo Green speaks to the crowd at Tuscola High School. Hannah McLeod photo
The aim of newly-elected State Superintendent of Public Schools Mo Green’s “Mo Wants to Know” tour is simple — to garner as much input as possible about the direction North Carolina Public Schools should be heading in the coming years.
Green hosted the first in a series of public listening sessions on Monday night, March 17, in the Tuscola High School auditorium not only to garner input from the public and educators in the western region of the state, but also to encourage investment and community support for public schools.
The national conversation around public schools, especially during election season, is often critical and describes an institution in crisis. During the 2024 election, his opponent Michelle Morrow said Green’s experience in North Carolina Public Schools was a liability and that he was “an integral part of the failing, broken system.”
But Monday’s event was devoid of such political chatter. Instead, Green, educators, schools board members and the public took time to celebrate and discuss what is working well within the public school system, while simultaneously taking a hard look at what isn’t working and what needs to be improved, changed or restructured.
Haywood County Schools Superintendent Trevor Putnam opened the night with a brief introduction before Green took to the stage.
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“The most endearing thing that I have discovered since his arrival is that he’s a genuine and real person,” said Putnam. “He’s kind. He’s interested in our kids. He’s interested in our voice. And I can tell you, as far as I know, this is the first time the State Superintendent has come to listen and learn.”
Green said that when he has taken on new leadership roles throughout his career, he has found it helpful to take time to listen and learn before taking action.
“I like to listen and learn, and that is what tonight is going to be about,” Green said. “Tonight will be primarily about me hearing from you so that we can put together the best strategic plan for our children and the future of public education in the state of North Carolina.”
After all eight listening sessions take place across the state, Green’s leadership team together with the State Board of Education will create a joint strategic plan that will be released in June. This will be the first time that the state superintendent and board of education have worked together on such a plan.
Prior to the public input portion, Green described the goal of achieving educational excellence.
“I believe that we will have the very best public education system in the country,” said Green. “It is going to require all of us to do a lot of work, but you have to understand that I set my bar exceedingly high, and then call on folks to rise to the occasion, and then our children will follow. When excellence is all that our children know, they will rise to the level of excellence.”
Green’s initiative involves six primary pillars — prepare each student for their next phase of life, fully fund public education, support public school educators, enhance parent and community support, ensure safe learning environments and recognize the good in public education.
“This is a noble profession,” Green told educators gathered for the event. “And somewhere along the line in this country, in this state, we have forgotten the profession that transforms the lives of people, community, our station and nation — the world.”
Green and his team solicited input from the public with four broad questions. The first of which was “what should we celebrate and continue in NC public schools?”
Responses from the public spanned arts education, early college programs, apprenticeship programs, pre-K education, career and technical education programs, exceptional children’s programs and academically and intellectually gifted programs.
“My son is severely intellectually disabled and visually impaired and I just want to celebrate our exceptional children program,” said one Haywood County mother. “I implore everyone to support the exceptional children’s program in the state of North Carolina and see that it continues.”
Another mother from Buncombe County shared a similar appreciation for EC programs.
“We weren’t sure that public school was going to be right for him,” the Buncombe mother said of her special needs child. “The EC staff at Lucy Herring was truly excited to get the chance to work with my special kid. It was amazing. He has grown so much this year because of the staff, teachers, everybody at Lucy Herring.”
The second question of the night was “what are the challenges in NC schools and potential solutions?”
“I hope you’ll see this isn’t just about listing challenges, this isn’t simply about the concern, this is also about identifying and raising up a potential solution to the challenge,” said Green. “I’m with bright individuals tonight that I think know some answers to some of the challenges that we face in our public schools … let’s not assume that I know it all, because I do not.”
This question instigated the lengthiest portion of public input with members of the public and educators sharing a litany of challenges they face in the public school system and offering what they could in the way of potential solutions.
One speaker suggested that North Carolina schools come up with better plans for schooling and safety in the wake of natural disasters like Hurricane Helene.
Other speakers presented challenges like unequal access to arts education, graduation rates, attracting new teachers, retaining staff, facilitating training for new teachers entering the profession, supplies shortages, serving multilingual learners, bus driver shortages and more.
While several speakers offered creative solutions to the challenges they faced, many of the challenges have more straightforward solutions.
“There really is a problem and a solution with each of the items that were mentioned so far,” said one long-time school finance officer in Western North Carolina. “Someone here mentioned AIG as an important area we should focus on. North Carolina currently limits AIG funding at 4% of our ADM [average daily membership]. If we want students to excel, why is that limited?”
The finance officer went on to explain that North Carolina limits exceptional children funding at 13% of a school’s average daily membership.
“This year, 81% out of 150 districts exceed that arbitrary cap,” the finance officer continued. “So, I appreciate all the comments and I hope that you all speak up to your legislators as well because a lot of this, as much as Mr. Green is going to advocate for us, and support us, we all have to do this work as well.”
Jesse Ross, western regional vice president of the Young Democrats of North Carolina is a graduate of Haywood County Schools and encouraged a similar type of advocacy.
“I’ve heard a lot right now about the funding issue, and that is a serious problem across the board in so many different ways,” said Ross. “I don’t have a solution outside of getting more politically active. That doesn’t necessarily mean getting involved with one political party over another … Because we have been through a lot with Helene, the mill closure in town, we had a flood here three years earlier… because of that attention, I think there is a chance for the folks in this room to use the greater political leverage they have to get folks attentions, and I don’t want folks to miss that opportunity to feel empowered.”
The third question of the evening asked, “what is your ‘big idea’ for North Carolina Public Schools?”
Green encouraged those present to forget about the impediments to implementation and just focus on what they want to see for North Carolina public schools.
Ideas ranged from universal free pre-K to restructuring testing standards in the state, greater parental and community involvement in schools, more outdoor learning, less time on devices like computers and tablets, more arts education, and more funding across the board.
“I think sometimes we have a lot of words, and sometimes it just is simple,” said Evelyn Graning, principal at Jackson County Early College. “If you increase teacher pay in the state of North Carolina, we will do better. We will not have nearly the amount of issues that we have statewide right now. There is a massive exodus of teachers. If I’m a beginning teacher, what incentives do I have to teach in the state of North Carolina?”
The fourth question of the evening, which participants did not weigh in on for lack of time, was “what are the actions you/ your organization are committed to doing to enhance NC public schools?”
Participants who want to provide more input, or those who are not able to attend one of the listening and learning sessions are encouraged to submit their comments at go.ncdpi.gov/mwtk .
The ‘Mo Wants to Know’ tour began just weeks after Linda McMahon was confirmed to lead the United States Department of Education. And while the Trump Administration has touted the idea of dismantling the federal department, doing so would require an act of Congress.
However, when McMahon was approved for the position, she made a speech titled “Our Department’s Final Mission.”
“The Department will be focused on advancing education freedom, not building up government-run systems,” McMahon said in a press release following her confirmation. “We will empower states and districts to have more say in what is working on the ground for students instead of bureaucratic edicts from Washington, D.C.”
Since then, thousands of employees at the federal department have been fired.
Green did not address the changes at the federal Department of Education during the public session on March 17, but many of the challenges, as well as the programs that were celebrated by people in attendance depend on federal funding, including CTE programs, exceptional children’s programs, and Title One, which provides supplemental funding to schools and districts with high percentages of low-income students to help close achievement gaps.
In Western North Carolina, federal funds provide about 6-8% of individual school systems’ overall budget, while the vast majority of funding comes from the state and local level. For a few years that percentage was inflated due to federal relief funds provided during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Upcoming "Mo Wants to Know" events
March 24, 6 p.m. - Piedmont Triad Region – Mount Tabor High School (Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools)
March 26, 6 p.m . - Southwest Region – Harold E. Winkler Middle School (Cabarrus County Schools)
March 27, 6 p.m. - Sandhills Region – Westover High School (Cumberland County Schools)
March 31, 6 p.m. - Southeast Region – John J. Blair Elementary School (New Hanover County Schools)
April 7, 6 p.m. - North Central Region – Northern High School (Durham Public Schools)
April 9, 6 p.m. - Northeast Region – Northeastern High School (Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools)
Participants who want to provide more input, or those who are not able to attend one of the listening and learning sessions are encouraged to submit their comments at go.ncdpi.gov/mwtk.
