Catherine Truitt, North Carolina’s superintendent of Public Instruction, announced the 48 members of a new Parent Advisory Committee on Tuesday, June 14.
The names were drawn from 3,000 applicants who responded to Truitt’s announcement earlier this year about the new committee. The purpose of the panel is to “elevate the voice of parents in students’ education” and to gather recommendations and feedback. Each member will serve a two-year term beginning this fall.
The commission includes six parents or guardians from each of the state’s eight educational regions, including two traditional public school parents, one public charter school parent, one homeschool parent, one private-school parent, and one at-large public-school parent from the largest county in each region.
“This commission is a consistent and routine way to ensure we are addressing challenges and improving outcomes for all of North Carolina’s students using feedback from those who know students best,” said Truitt in a statement. “I know they will come prepared to represent their unique students, who hail from all different backgrounds, by providing their insights, experiences, and perspectives on various aspects of K-12 education and student well-being.”
Each regional sub-group will meet monthly to prepare for quarterly meetings with all 48 members present.
In March, Democrats on the N.C. State Board of Education criticized Truitt for including too many parents from schools of choice — charters, private, and home schools. She countered that two-thirds of the panel is represented by parents of children from traditional public schools, and that public education leaders need to listen to parents with students attending schools of choice.
“I’m about protecting and improving outcomes for students in our public schools — absolutely, 100% — but if we’re going to be the first choice for families, then we need to understand why some families are choosing not to send their kids to us,” said Truitt in an interview with Carolina Journal for the Extreme Injustice podcast series.
“It would be difficult to find a state superintendent that has done more to engage parents than Catherine Truitt,” said Dr. Terry Stoops, director of the Center for Effective Education at the John Locke Foundation. “The Parent Advisory Committee is a perfect example of Truitt’s rejection of the popular command-and-control leadership model in favor of a superintendency based on dialogue and collaboration with diverse groups of stakeholders.”
“Even the Biden administration agrees that communities need to increase parental engagement in education,” Stoops added. “The U.S. Department of Education recently announced the launch of the National Parents and Families Engagement Council. Like the Parent Advisory Committee, the National Parents and Families Engagement Council will include parents with children in district, charter, private, and home schools.”
Members of the Committee
North Central Region
Delon Fletcher – traditional public at-large
Preeti Vidwans – traditional public
Daniel Riley – traditional public
Tamara Adams – public charter
Delicia Hare – private
Natascha Alvarado – homeschool
Northeast Region
Diane Taylor – traditional public at-large
Dawn Price – traditional public
Sonya Askew-Williams – traditional public
Beatriz “Betty” Ward – public charter
April Edwards – private
Mary Syrrist – homeschool
Piedmont-Triad Region
Treena Jackson – traditional public at-large
Dwayne Young – traditional public
Lillian Adams – traditional public
Jessica Hofstetter – public charter
Neely Turlington – private
Dan Stephens – homeschool
Southwest Region
Yolanda Price – traditional public at-large
Maria Cristina Sanchez – traditional public
Theresa Knight – traditional public
Nazila Alimohammadi – public charter
Rebecca Dies – private
Larina Pierce – homeschool
Southeast Region
Yvonne Eason – traditional public at-large
Grelynn Bradley – traditional public
Lindsey Lee Miller – traditional public
Jessica Lopez – public charter
Charlonda Brown – private
Meganne Smith – homeschool
Western Region
Lydia Flanders – traditional public at-large
Dawn Steed – traditional public
Clark Glenn Jr. – traditional public
Shawn Wright – public charter
Susan Osborne – private
Amber Black – homeschool
Northwest Region
Kirsten Maynard – traditional public at-large
Kelley Wilson – traditional public
Kelsey W. Adams – traditional public
Shanna S. Wall – public charter
Maria S. Ballard – private
Jessica Frierson – homeschool
Sandhills Region
Ar-Nita Davis – traditional public, at-large
Samantha L. Oxendine – traditional public
Marie Smith – traditional public
Yvette Bell – public charter
Victor Allen – private
John Miner – homeschool
