The U.S. Department of Education has awarded the N.C. Department of Public Instruction a $17.6 million grant to develop innovative instructional approaches to better meet student needs during disruptions to schooling such as the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Maureen M. Stover, a science teacher at Cumberland International Early College High School, was named the 2020 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year during an awards luncheon today held outside a Cary hotel with a small group of attendees. Stover was selected from a field of nine finalists representing the state’s eight education districts and charter schools. 

Today, the State Board of Education approved the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s Lighting Our Way Forward: North Carolina's Guidebook for Reopening Public Schools and a summary with navigation links to the full document. The operational strategies were developed by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, in conjunction with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, teachers, support staff, local education leaders, and others, to assist the state’s public schools and communities as they develop reopening plans for the 2020-21 school year.

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. But hunger doesn't take a summer break, especially this summer, when social distancing is necessary to help prevent the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The State Board of Education approved the allocation of $70 million today from federal CARES Act funds for school districts and charter schools to provide summer programs aimed at helping elementary students who were in kindergarten through fourth grades during the 2019-20 school year needing extra instruction in reading or math because of school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The board’s action follows COVID-19 legislation by the General Assembly earlier this month that mandated the development of the remote instruction plans to ensure quality teaching and learning outside the traditional classroom. The legislation required that the plans address a number of issues, ranging from parent involvement and effective instruction to equitable access and provisions for monitoring student attendance.

North Carolina students and their families should be recognized for their remarkable resilience and perseverance throughout this pandemic, and the UNC System and NCDPI understand the unique challenges ahead.

Some North Carolina high school seniors are going to have an unforgettable graduation this spring. State and Cabarrus County school officials, along with the Charlotte Motor Speedway, have announced plans to hold several graduation ceremonies for the Cabarrus County Class of 2020 at the speedway.  The events will allow students to participate in an in-car graduation ceremony.  Students will receive their diplomas at the start /finish line on the track.  State Superintendent Mark Johnson made the announcement today.

The N.C. State Board of Education took additional steps today in response to the state’s continuing efforts to stem the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 has necessitated innovation. Educators throughout North Carolina, without hesitation, are answering this call. It is with great admiration that we express appreciation for district and school leaders for providing vision and direction, teachers for serving as education’s first responders by maintaining critical connections while nurturing students’ social and emotional well-being. Countless child nutrition, transportation, and other support staff are ensuring our most vulnerable students continue to receive nutrition meals.