As newspapers shrink coverage and bleed talent, alternative forms of media pop up. Blogs like ours (“Wise and Balanced”), websites catering to the left and right, and even, occasionally, a responsible, informative and well-done news source like EdNC.

EdNC is a daily online newspaper about education. That’s a short, clear and concise mission statement. Every morning, EdNC pops up in my inbox. I can read just about anything and everything I want, if not more, about education here and across the nation.

EdNC is led by CEO and Editor-in-Chief Mebane Rash. It’s primarily the brainchild of Gerry Hancock and Ferrel Guillory. And it’s now featuring a weekly series of reports on special education by a certain Maggie Pearce (spoiler alert: family tie here).

In her introductory article, Maggie talks about why she is becoming a special education teacher and what “special education” means.

I was surprised to learn that more than one in 10 students in our state – 175,000 out of nearly 1.5 million total – gets some type of special ed services. She writes, “These students have a range of disabilities, from intellectual disabilities or emotional/behavioral disorders to reading disabilities and health impairments. We are constantly learning more about these disabilities, how to diagnose them, and how to support the students.”

She adds, “We respond to each student as individuals. We shape their education around them. We personalize, customize, whatever it takes to give that child a love of learning. We do this for every student, whether they have an Autism Spectrum Disorder or a minor speech impairment, or if they are academically and intellectually gifted.”

Maggie will graduate from Appalachian State University in December with a degree in adapted special education. After completing her student teaching in Wake County this fall, she plans to remain in North Carolina to teach students with significant disabilities.

So pardon a proud dad for shamelessly plugging her and EdNC – and their work.