Press Releases

More than 900,000 North Carolina students rely on the nutritious meals and snacks served during the school year through the School Breakfast, School Lunch, and Afterschool Meals Programs. When school is out, Summer Nutrition Programs provide free, nutritious meals for children and adolescents ages 18 and younger. 

The NC Department of Public Instruction and the NC Collaboratory, a policy research center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, are leading a joint $6 million effort to spur research on the impact of COVID-19 on student learning and the evaluation of existing policies and programs aimed at overcoming those challenges.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt has announced the 48 members of her Parent Advisory Commission, drawn from 3,000 applicants who responded to her invitation earlier this year to apply for the new panel.

Digital teaching and learning in North Carolina is getting a boost from $1.15 million in grants to 13 school districts and charter schools during the 2022-23 school year to fund innovative improvement initiatives.

Facing continuing challenges this school year related to the COVID-19 pandemic, North Carolina teachers showed high levels of concern on a number of issues with a record-setting response rate on the latest NC Teacher Working Conditions Survey presented today to the State Board of Education.

The “Spice Girls” North Carolina Jr. Chef Team from Apex High in Wake County won second place in the 2022 Southeast Jr. Chef Competition on Friday at Sullivan University in Louisville, Kentucky. Their recipe was a twist on a traditional Mexican street food: a masa shell topped with seasoned chicken, beans, pineapple salsa, cabbage, queso fresco and crema. The team competed with five other state teams in the regional cook-off. Each of the North Carolina student team members, Courtney McKinnon, Jissel Morales-Ledesma, Casey Murphy, and Kayla Ray, receive an $8,000 scholarship to attend Sullivan University.

With support from Google, more than 500 teachers from public schools across North Carolina will receive free professional training from the Department of Public Instruction.

Dr. Patrick Greene, principal of Greene Central High School in Greene County, was named the 2022 Wells Fargo North Carolina Principal of the Year at an awards luncheon today in Cary.

With two of three regional meetings concluded, the statewide initiative known as Portrait of a Graduate is nearing completion to clearly define the mindsets and durable skills North Carolina students should possess when they graduate from high school to ensure their readiness for civic life, career, or college.

During her 12 years of teaching elementary school, Victoria Lightfoot has been singled out as teacher of the year in two different Wake County schools and as a semi-finalist for district’s top honor. Yet none of those accolades could have prepared her for the surprise at this morning’s assembly at Millbrook Magnet Elementary School, where she was handed a check for $25,000 after being named a national Milken Educator Award winner.

More than two dozen school districts across North Carolina will share nearly $400 million in new state lottery-funded grant awards for school construction, renovation projects and other capital improvements.

Leah Carper, an English teacher at Northern Guilford High School, was named the 2022 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year during an awards luncheon today at the Umstead Hotel in Cary. Carper was selected from a field of nine finalists representing the state’s eight education districts and charter schools.

Five high school finalist teams competed in the annual North Carolina Jr. Chef cook-off this month to create unique school lunch entrée recipes. Apex High from Wake County Public Schools won first place in North Carolina’s fifth statewide and second virtual competition. The “Spice Girl’s” Sope recipe intertwined familial heritage with innovative flavors. Their recipe was a twist on a traditional Mexican street food: a masa shell topped with seasoned chicken, beans, pineapple salsa, cabbage, queso fresco and crema.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt recognized her Student Advisory Council earlier this month during the March meeting of the State Board of Education.

Twenty-five school leaders from across North Carolina have been selected for the inaugural cohort of the Assistant Principal (AP) Accelerator Leadership Program.

About 8.2% of North Carolina teachers were counted as leaving employment in the state’s public schools during the 2020-21 school year, according to a report presented today to the State Board of Education. This represents an increase of only two-thirds of one percentage point from the prior school year, which state education leaders said is a remarkably stable rate in light of the massive disruption forced by COVID-19.

A new report analyzing the performance of North Carolina students during last year’s far-reaching COVID-19 disruptions finds that learning progress slowed across all grades and subjects. The report from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s Office of Learning Recovery and Acceleration (OLR) showed that students made less progress, on average, than students in the same grades and courses in previous years. Results presented today to the State Board of Education show also that students who experienced more face-to-face learning in the classroom, and where specific and targeted resources and supports were implemented immediately, made stronger gains than students who learned only virtually.

When students and teachers at Guilford County’s Page High School gathered this morning for a school-wide assembly, they thought they were just getting a break from class to welcome a visit from State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt and Guilford County Schools Superintendent Sharon Contreras. Truitt’s opening remarks, complimenting their school’s successes and achievements, hinted at nothing more.

Superintendent Catherine Truitt is launching a new Parent Advisory Commission to elevate the voice of parents in students’ education.

North Carolina has long been home to a large population of active duty, guard, reserve and veteran armed service members. In recognition of the state’s rich military history, the Department of Public Instruction is pleased to recognize hundreds of schools as part of its Purple Star Award Designation initiative which first launched in the 2019-20 school year.