Democratic candidate for NC House 77, Sabrina Harris: “As diverse as the North Carolina landscape is, so should our public education system be but not at the cost of being underfunded, undervalued and underserved.”

For decades, it’s been said that the N.C. education system is terrible and that our students cannot compete in global markets because we provide subpar learning experiences. However, we have so many successful stories! I will share my own. Before the ’90s, there were no grading systems in place to rate public education systems in the U.S. I remember, as a high school student, being told that the Chinese education system was far superior and that, as a country, we weren’t disciplined enough or starved enough for our students to strive to do well academically. I can remember thinking to myself….by whose standard? By what measure?

I was an inner-city and latch-key kid. I witnessed firsthand what your life could be like if you did not graduate high school. My No. 1 goal was to get my diploma and attend college. The second goal was to beat the temptation so that I didn’t end up pregnant in high school during a time when sex was everywhere! I got into college but I did get pregnant going into my senior year (as I said, temptation was everywhere!)

As a born deaf/hard-of-hearing citizen, folks felt it would be surprising if I had just graduated high school.

It was my public education teachers who believed in me. Who saw something in me that I didn’t know existed. They pushed me to stay focused, to try new things and personally introduced me to new environments. They are the reason I have a “No Excuse” mentality. They are the power in my grit and my fearlessness. They made sacrifices for me, often treating me like I was their child. They helped my mom in so many ways during school and during the summers. Teachers whose life passion is education often go beyond the classroom! When I got married, two of my former teachers attended my wedding. They quietly sat in the back wiping away tears.

They’re the reason I will always be passionate about educators! I will always desire to see N.C. put Public Education first because I know how valuable it was for me. I know that it is the main way (notice I didn’t say “only”) to impact the lives of children in all 100 counties. As diverse as the North Carolina landscape is, so should our public education system be but not at the cost of being underfunded, undervalued and underserved.