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 North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) 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.
Topics Related to Press Release
Cason Justice, a history teacher at Swansboro High School, was named the 2026 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year. The announcement was made today at an awards luncheon honoring Justice and eight other regional finalists at the Umstead Hotel in Cary.
Jason Johnson, Orange High School principal and the 2025 Wells Fargo North Carolina Principal of the Year, was named the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) 2026 National High School Principal of the Year. He received the recognition at the National Education Leadership Awards (NELA) in Washington, D.C. on April 17.
Last week, the State Board of Education approved the Instructional Innovation Grant which will benefit North Carolina public schools’ Digital Learning Initiative (DLI). This competitive grant opportunity is designed to support North Carolina Public School Units (PSUs) in advancing innovative digital teaching and learning through high quality professional learning and purposeful instructional technology integration.
Historic percentages of North Carolina public school students are enrolling and succeeding in college-level courses while still in high school, according to new data presented to the State Board of Education today.
Report shows strong principal retention, teacher attrition rates hold steady for 2024-25 school year
The latest data on employment trends for North Carolina public school educators, presented today to the North Carolina State Board of Education (SBE), show strong principal retention and teacher attrition increased less than a quarter of a percentage point for 2024-25 over the previous year.
While five high school finalist teams competed in the annual North Carolina Jr. Chef cook-off this month to create unique school lunch entrée recipes, the “Gold Standard” team from CHASE High School (Rutherford County Schools) won first place in the 2026 NC Jr. Chef Competition. Their “Egg Roll in a Bowl” recipe won top honors in the competition and a silver medal.
Nine public school leaders from across the state have been recognized as regional Principals of the Year.
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) has been awarded more than $11 million in federal funding to strengthen school-based mental health services, following a recent announcement from the U.S. Department of Education. The two grants received will support school psychology training, recruitment and retention efforts, with a focus on high-need and rural school districts.
More than 23,000 public high school seniors have accepted direct admission offers from North Carolina colleges and universities through the NC College Connect program.