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WUNC: NC State and WCPSS partner to help instructional assistants become teachers

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A student looks at blended sounds during a literacy lesson.

Aug 14, 2026

Education Week: A New Phonics Debate Shows How the ‘Science of Reading’ Movement Is Evolving

Debate about ‘linguistic’ phonics signals rising interest in using best practices in classrooms
Three children lay on the floor to read together

Aug 11, 2026

San Antonio Express-News: SAISD Put AI to Work at Middle Schools Struggling with Reading. Did it Help?

Efforts to boost school scores typically take about three years to yield results, said Devin Kearns, a professor at North Carolina State University whose research focuses on literacy intervention.
A photo of a bookstore with books on display.

Aug 11, 2026

WFAE: How Charlotte’s Bookstore Boom Could Impact Low Rates of Adult Literacy

Charlotte is in the midst of a bookstore boom, with many new independent bookstores popping up across the area. At the forefront of the rise are mobile bookstores, operating businesses from repurposed vehicles and bringing books straight to communities.
Julie Celestial, center, teaches her kindergarten class a literacy lesson at Mark Twain Elementary School in Long Beach, Calif. on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. Proponents of a "speech-to-print" phonics approach say it works more efficiently than other methods. But research evidence is inconclusive. Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via TNS

Aug 10, 2026

Education Week: What is ‘Linguistic’ Phonics and Why Are Some Schools Adopting It?

The “science of reading” movement has ended, at least for now, one great literacy debate: Policymakers, education leaders, and experts almost universally agree that explicit, systematic phonics is an essential component of early literacy instruction.
A group of adult learners stand in a group looking at their work.

Aug 10, 2026

EdNC: Belk Center Launches Adult Learner Lab to ‘Help Colleges Scale What Works’

The Belk Center for Community College Leadership and Research announced the launch of the Adult Learner Lab (ALL) last week, a new “national hub for research, innovation and systems transformation focused on adult learners,” according to the ALL’s website.
The Browns are emblematic of the type of family that had sent their children to a brick-and-mortar school before 2020 but switched to homeschooling in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and stayed with it. Parents Arlena and Robert are shown leading their kids Jacoby, Felicity, and Riley through math practice in their home in July 2021.

Jul 22, 2026

Education Next: Parental Choice Is Sending Public Schools a Message. Are They Listening?

District leaders may be starting to see there’s more to be gained from embracing school choice than trying to eliminate it
College of Education alum Adrienne Wood stands outside with her whole family.

Jul 21, 2026

#WhyIChoseEducation: ‘Autism Out Loud’ Co-author Adrian Wood ‘06PHD On Leaving the World a Better Place for All

In the New York Times Best Seller Autism Out Loud: Life with a Child on the Spectrum, Adrian Wood ‘06PHD relies on her own experiences, as well as her research background, to support parents and advocate for children with autism.

Barbara M. Parramore

Jul 14, 2026

Remembering Professor Emerita and Former Department Head Barbara M. Parramore ‘59MS

Barbara M. Parramore — a professor emerita with NC State’s College of Education who was a pioneer in public education and the first woman to receive the university’s Holladay Medal — passed away on June 30, 2026. She was on the College of Education’s faculty from 1968 to 1996 and was the founding head of what was then the Department of Curriculum and Instruction
College of Education Banners

Jul 8, 2026

EdNC: Partnership between NC State and WCPSS to help instructional assistants earn teaching license while working

NC State University’s College of Education and the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) recently announced the start of a new partnership between their institutions.

Janaki Palaniappan

Jul 6, 2026

WUNC: NC State and WCPSS partner to help instructional assistants become teachers

Janaki Palianappan has been an instructional assistant in a special education classroom at Smith Magnet Elementary for the last four years, and dreams of becoming a classroom teacher. The licensure requirements to become a teacher felt like a major obstacle, so she was thrilled when she received an email advertising a new program at North Carolina State University designed for instructional assistants like her.