Three North Carolina public schools today were named National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2020 by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. The three schools are among 367 schools nationwide recognized this year for their overall academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps.
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"It’s great news today that we are a step closer to providing the option of in-person learning to families who want their children to return to school. While the Governor, the State Board of Education, and I have our differences, I join with them today to encourage local school board members to take advantage of this change and open all schools safely. I thank the many parents and teachers across North Carolina who have been vocal advocates on this important issue.
Reflecting a similar trend nationally, the performance of North Carolina’s high school class of 2020 on the SAT college entrance exam slipped from that of the previous year’s graduates, according to results released today by The College Board.
North Carolina’s four-year cohort high school graduation rate increased to 87.6 percent with the class of 2020, up from 86.5 percent for the 2019 graduating class. Since 2006, when North Carolina first reported a cohort graduation rate – then 68.3 percent – this critical measure of student success has improved by more than 19 percentage points.
Kisha Clemons, principal of Shuford Elementary School in the Newton-Conover City School district, was named the 2020 Wells Fargo North Carolina Principal of the Year at an awards luncheon today in Cary.
Nearly three dozen charter schools across North Carolina have been awarded five-year grants ranging from $300,000 to $900,000 by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction to attract and enroll more educationally disadvantaged students.
More than 50 school districts across North Carolina will be replacing older school buses with new, more environmentally friendly models under the state’s initial share of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s settlement with Volkswagen for unlawfully cheating on vehicle emissions.
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.