ABOUT US
Learn More About PENC
WE ARE...
FOCUSED ON EDUCATION
Our mission is to promote education reform for the benefit of all North Carolina children while ensuring the recruitment, development and retention of qualified educators.
INDEPENDENT
While we are a member of a nationwide coalition of independent associations, our focus is on education issues having an impact in North Carolina.
STATE-BASED
Member dues remain in North Carolina and are used to support member services and education initiatives.
NONPARTISAN
While we neither endorse nor contribute to political campaigns, we work with all education policymakers to ensure quality education reform.
AFFORDABLE
We believe educators should enjoy the best services and benefits at a reasonable cost. We continually strive to make protection and involvement accessible to all educators.
OUR HISTORY
PENC Celebrates Over 4 decades!
Over four decades ago The Professional Educators of North Carolina (PENC) formed in Charlotte. The group emerged in 1979 in response to a growing need for an alternative professional association in the state. PENC’s first president, Jan Carpenter, a media specialist at Rama Road Elementary School in Charlotte, stressed the newly formed organization’s opposition to collective bargaining and to closed shops. From its inception, PENC partnered with the Classroom Teachers Association (CTA). PENC opened their first office in 1983 at the back of the CTA office in Charlotte. The two groups merged at the beginning of the 1990s, but the relationship dissolved ten years later, in 2000.
Today, PENC continues to serve as an alternative to other professional organizations in North Carolina. PENC remains state-based, with member dues remaining in North Carolina, independent, and non-partisan as they work to promote quality education reform. For more information on PENC, visit www.pencweb.org.
