Governor Mike Easley signed into law House Bill 1151 in July 2006, requiring schools to develop a plan to provide at least five hours of duty-free instructional planning time per week and a daily duty-free lunch period for every teacher. Acknowledging the difficulties in creating school schedules that incorporate sufficient non-instructional…

Successful democracies and economies demand that all students acquire analytical thinking, adept communication, and complex problem-solving skills. This kind of authentic learning requires highly skilled, accomplished teachers working within a school climate that promotes powerful learning experiences. Recent research shows that the design,…