Number 10

North Carolina Approved to Extend Child Care P-EBT Food Assistance Benefits Through 2021-22 School Year, First Issuance Scheduled for Next Week

"Next week, North Carolina’s youngest children who are eligible for food assistance benefits will begin to receive extra monthly benefits tied to the COVID-19 pandemic for the 2021-2022 school year. North Carolina is among the first states in the nation to receive approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a 2021-2022 Child Care Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer food assistance program.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will issue the first round of Child Care P-EBT benefits next week for nearly 220,000 children who were eligible during September and October 2021. These benefits will continue to be issued monthly through August 2022, covering food needs for children who were eligible from September 2021 to May 2022. Children are eligible if they were 5 years old or younger as of Sept. 1, 2021 and participated in Food and Nutrition Services (FNS)."

Read the full press release from NCDHHS here.

Number 9

Work Underway to Develop Statewide Portrait of a Graduate

"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.

The effort was launched last fall when funding was approved during a November State Board of Education (SBE) meeting. The Portrait aims to enhance classroom learning, helping prepare North Carolina’s students for an ever-changing world driven by technology, human interaction, and innovation. The finalized Portrait will also help guide policymakers towards a new testing and school accountability system to assess these skills and competencies, serving as a more balanced measure for student success."

Read the full press release here.

Number 8

State Board of Education Approves Start of K-12 Standards Review Process

Last week, the North Carolina State Board of Education granted permission for NCDPI to move forward with the review and revision of the K-12 Healthful Living and K-12 Science standards.

The standards review/revision process will be guided by the NC Standard Course of Study Manual, which was approved by the State Board of Education in February of 2022.

Find a brief overview of the review and revision cycle here.

Number 7

Alamance-Burlington School System Students Place 2nd in National Creative Decision-Making Competition 

At the first JAG National Career Association Conference in Dallas, Texas, more than 600 students from across the country participated in 10 competitions. The Communities in Schools/Jobs for North Carolina Graduates (JNCG) team from Williams High School in Burlington competed as the smallest team in the Creative Decision-Making Competition and placed 2nd in the nation! 

Students had 30 minutes to create a response to the prompt, “ What can be done to prevent depression and suicide in schools.” and present to a panel of judges representing a number of large employers in the Dallas-Forth Worth Metro Area.  

Congratulations to Williams High students Christian Hernandez, Ana Hernandez-Colunga, Amauri Williams and Specialists Parrish Walker!

Number 6

Wake Elementary School Teacher Wins Milken Educator Award

"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.

Lightfoot, now an instructional coach after teaching third grade most recently at Wake’s Cedar Fork Elementary School, was honored by the Milken Family Foundation and by state and local education leaders for her success with all students, her leadership with peers and her passion and commitment to education."

Read the full press release here.

Number 5

NC Project AWARE/Federal School Safety Clearinghouse Webinar

Join the Federal School Safety Clearinghouse for a webinar on mental health, including guidance and resources for K-12 schools.

The session will be held in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and feature Project AWARE Site Directors from Rockingham County and Cleveland County Public Schools. 

Presenters will provide an overview of how communities can utilize a multi-tiered system of support in schools to address the complex mental health needs among K-12 audiences. The discussion will feature additional school safety-related resources available through SchoolSafety.gov, as well as a Q&A session.

The webinar will be May 19, 3:00-4:00 pm. Learn more and register here.

Number 4

Professional Learning Opportunity with Schools that Lead

Schools That Lead, in partnership with the NC General Assembly and the NC Department of Public Instruction, is excited to announce it will launch its third cohort of North Carolina Networked Improvement Communities for PSUs seeking to improve learning outcomes for their students.

Over the course of three school years, learning and using tools of Improvement Science, participants' teams will learn how to reduce the number of students with those early warning indicators, getting more students back on-track for choice-filled lives.

Learn more and apply here. 

Number 3

Office of Learning Recovery and Acceleration Blog

The Office of Learning Recovery & Acceleration is publishing a series of blog posts intended to help the field better understand the overall impact of the pandemic on students in NC public Schools. Each blog post will include a white paper that will serve as a resource for evidence-based policymaking.

Check it out and join the conversation here!

Number 2

Eight North Carolina Schools Named 2021-22 Capturing Kids' Heart National Showcase Schools

Capturing Kids’ Hearts National Showcase Schools are recognized for their excellence in creating safe and welcoming environments where students are relationally connected and eager to learn.

Congratulations to the eight schools, and thank you for all you do for your students!

• Burton Magnet Elementary School (Durham Public Schools)
• C.C. Spaulding Elementary School (Durham Public Schools)
• East Wake High School (Wake County Public School System)
• Knightdale Elementary School (Wake County Public School System)
• Lakewood Elementary School (Durham Public Schools)
• McDeeds Creek Elementary (Moore County Schools)
• Selma Elementary (Johnston County Schools)
• Southern Middle School (Moore County Schools)

Number 1

Three North Carolina Students Named 2022 US Presidential Scholars

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona today announced the 58th class of U.S. Presidential Scholars, recognizing 161 high school seniors for their accomplishments in academics, the arts, and career and technical education fields.

The North Carolina scholars include (hometown, scholar, school, location):

• Kayla McKenzie Moore, East Rutherford High School, Rutherford County Schools (U.S. Presidential Scholar in Career and Technical Education)
• Benjamin Brown Knight, Chapel Hill High School, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools
• Dheepthi Mohanraj, The North Carolina School of Science & Mathematics

Congratulations Kayla, Benjamin and Dheepthi on this incredible achievement!