Diane Ravitch’s headline said it all. Two Moms Terrify DFER, Students First. If someone had asked you to describe the pair of women standing in bemusement at the corner of First and Tryon on Tuesday afternoon, I doubt that “terrifying” would have come to mind. True, our pencils were quite large, but they were made…

When the Democratic National Convention rolled into town 10 years ago, Carol Sawyer and I decided to do a little lobbying. We were involved in MecklenburgACTS, a local school advocacy organization dedicated to the idea that all students, regardless of background, deserved a rich and equitable education. Back then we spent a lot of time…