About the author

Justin Parmenter began his career as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching high school English in Albania shortly after the fall of communism.  He later taught in Istanbul, Turkey, and on the White Mountain Apache Reservation in eastern Arizona before moving to North Carolina in 2002.  He has been a seventh-grade language arts teacher at South Academy of International Languages in Charlotte since 2006.

Justin was named a finalist for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Teacher of the Year in 2016.  He is an alumnus of the Hope Street Group North Carolina Teacher Voice Network and will be eternally grateful to that organization for awakening his love of writing and interest in policy.

Justin currently serves on the advisory boards of Public Schools First NC and Red 4 Ed NC and was elected NCAE Region 3 Director in April 2020.  He writes frequently about public education in North Carolina, often at 4 AM with his beloved French press at his elbow.  You can follow him on Twitter at @JustinParmenter.