Reflections on the N&O’s endorsement of June Atkinson

Today, the News & Observer endorsed June Atkinson for Superintendent of Public Instruction. The editors list three reasons for the endorsement.

1. She is a former teacher and official in the Department of Public Instruction.

In other words, she is firmly entrenched in the public school establishment.

2. She holds a doctoral degree in educational leadership and policy.

Her Ed.D. dissertation, “An Analysis of Achievement and Matriculation Rates of 1994-95 High School Graduates Completing a Tech Prep or Non-Tech Prep Course of Study in Three North Carolina School Districts” is irrelevant (in more ways than one).

3. Her priorities have included expanding online learning opportunities and making high schools more effective.

I suppose North Carolina’s graduation rate (70 percent) indicates how those efforts have panned out.

N&O editors should have called this race a toss-up.