Dr. Rex Fortune, who was a husband and father, an educator, author and advocate passed away on January 29, at the age of 81. He devoted his life to lifting up the most vulnerable students and closing the academic achievement gap and in doing so made a lasting impact on the lives of countless students and faculty members during his extensive career.
When the emancipation proclamation freed African-American slaves some 32 years later, slave-holding states like North Carolina did not automatically throw out the harsh anti-literacy legislation they had been using to oppress slaves. Those laws, the Jim Crow ones that followed, segregated schools, under-funded school districts – as well as other economic, political and social factors – all played a role in erecting barriers to a quality education for African Americans over the decades that followed.
Supporters of the bill say it adds more accountability and strengthens the flexibility and autonomy their schools need to innovate for students. For them, it also formalizes transparency and governance practices already followed by a majority of charter schools throughout the state.