State Board of Education Vision:Every public school student in North Carolina will be empowered to accept academic challenges, prepared to pursue their chosen path after graduating high school, and encouraged to become lifelong learners with the capacity to engage in a globally-collaborative society.
State Board of Education Mission:The mission of the North Carolina State Board of Education is to use its constitutional authority to guard and maintain the right of a sound, basic education for every child in North Carolina Public Schools.
Hope you had a wonderful spring break. I explored the crossroads of the Adriatic coast - Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. I learned about the Croatian War of Independence, the Siege of Sarajevo - Sniper Alley and the Tunnel of Hope and how the people of this region are living following the breakup of Yugoslavia. My journey was an amazing way to immerse myself in another culture, learn history and geography, all while enjoying beautiful scenery and making new friends.
Carolina Journal - CJ Staff | April 18, 2024: State forecasts $1.4 billion budget surplus - North Carolina Speaker of the House Tim Moore released information Thursday revealing the State of North Carolina projects a revenue surplus of well over a billion dollars for the fiscal year ending June 30. The projections include $400 million in collections above forecast in the current fiscal year, and what researchers estimate will be $1 billion additional revenue coming into the state coffers in FY 2024-25. The report from the North Carolina General Assembly’s Fiscal Research Division projects that, while inflation and interest rates are still up, the gross state product is up 6.7% with wages and salaries up 6.2% year-over-year in March of 2024. This year’s short legislative session gears up next week and generally focuses on adjustments to the second of the two-year budget. Debate over what to do with the surplus is starting already as some call for more spending on K-12 public schools. The current $29.7 billion General Fund budget authorizes nearly 40% of the state budget to K-12 schools, and 58% for K-12, universities and community colleges combined. Over the current two year budget, it amounts to a $795 million increase for K-12 public schools. The legislative short session is slated to gavelin on Wednesday April 24.
North State Journal - A.P. Dillon | April 12, 2024: House Committee report mirrors state superintendent’s A-F grading revamp - The North Carolina House Select Committee on Education Reform has recommended a major overhaul of the state’s school grading system, which currently assigns letter grades to schools based primarily on standardized test scores. The proposed changes aim to provide a more comprehensive assessment of school quality by incorporating four additional factors such as average student test score growth, student achievement on standardized tests, career and college readiness, and “opportunities” available to students.
EdNC - Mebane Rash | : Districts Across NC participate in ‘Bring Your Legislator to School Day’ - "North Carolina Bring Your Legislator to School Day took place on Monday. Ahead of the day, more than 60 legislators had accepted the invitation. 'Public schools belong to all of us, and legislators from all over the state showed us today how much they believe that’s true,' 2022 Teacher of the Year Leah Carper said. 'We all play a role in ensuring the success of our schools — educators, parents, students, taxpayers, policymakers, and … everyone.” Read the full story here.
Heather Smith, a Haywood County Schools math teacher, is the 2024 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year. The announcement was made at a ceremony honoring Smith and eight other regional finalists today at the Umstead Hotel in Cary.
“Heather is a change agent for public education—both for her colleagues and for her students. I’m so impressed with how she values the importance of real-world application in day-to-day instruction and how she’s made it a priority to help students see it too,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt.
Smith has spent her entire career teaching in Haywood County Schools. She’s taught sixth and eighth grade math at Waynesville Middle School since 2019. Prior to that, she taught at Canton Middle School and Clyde Elementary School. Smith is a graduate of Western Carolina University and is a National Board Certified Teacher.
North Carolina has recognized outstanding teachers through its Teacher of the Year program since 1970. For more information on North Carolina’s Teacher of the Year recognition program, visit the program’s website. You also can follow the North Carolina Teacher of the Year finalists on Twitter at #NCTOYPOY.
With support from Equitable Advisors and PBS North Carolina, a recording of this year’s livestream of the Teacher of the Year event is available on the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction's YouTube channel. Read the entire press release here.
Kinston Free Press - Patrick Holmes Lenoir County Public Schools | April 18, 2024
Vivian Roach, the leader of the Exceptional Children’s Program for Lenoir County Public Schools, is recipient of the Distinguished Service Award presented by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s Office of Exceptional Children. Celebrated for her experience, depth of knowledge and steady-handed leadership, Roach was honored for her “significant contribution to the positive outcomes of students with disabilities in North Carolina.” Roach received her Distinguished Service Award recently at the Office of Exceptional Children’s Spring Directors Institute in Greensboro. Read entire article here.
Vivian Roach, second from right - Contributed photo
For questions regarding meeting logistics and agenda, please contact nicole.niewinski@dpi.nc.gov. If your board/school has an innovative or exciting program you'd like to showcase, let us know! We are always happy to have schools present to the board.
The Regular Session of the 2023 General Assembly adjourned October 25, 2023, and will reconvene on the following dates: Wednesday, March 13, 2024, at 12:00 P.M.; and Wednesday, April 10, 2024 at 12:00 P.M. (S.J.R. 760).
The Short Session of the 2023-2024 legislative biennium will convene on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at 12:00 P.M. See this MEMORANDUM for matters that may be considered for the 2024 Short Session.
Our Purple Up! Toolkit is ready and has all you need to promote Purple Up! for Military Kids. The toolkit includes letter templates, celebration ideas, posters, social media posts with captions, and more to show your support.
Be sure to tag MIC3 on X, Instagram, and Facebook @MIC3Compact! Use - #MIC3Compact #purpleup4militarykids to be featured. Email any event highlights and pictures to mic3info@csg.org | Read More
The Cohort 17 grant competition opened in CCIP on March 7, 2024, at 08:00AM EST and will close on April 23, 2024, at 12:00PM (NOON) EDT. The funding application must be submitted at least through ‘Draft Completed’ (i.e., error-free) by the closing deadline for review and/or evaluation. CCIP will not allow submissions after 12:00:01 PM (NOON) EDT on April 23, 2024.
If you would like assistance working on your grant application to sustain your high quality afterschool and/or summer programs, please reach out to the OLR team at olr-esser-support@dpi.nc.gov.
NC AI Guidelines: The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction invites educators, school leaders, and stakeholders to explore "Generative AI Implementation Recommendations and Considerations for PK-13 Public Schools" by visiting this link: https://go.ncdpi.gov/AI_Guidelines.
NC AI Collaborative: To help guide the responsible implementation by building AI leaders in your PSUs, NCDPI will be offering two AI Collaboratives, one for the East and one for the West. Please refer to the official ANNOUNCEMENT for details, dates, and link to the and share with those in your PSU who may be interested.
NC AI Summit: NCDPI is also hosting two AI Summits, one for the east and one for the west. These are intended for district leadership teams, AI steering committees, and those who will help guide your PSUs AI implementation.
Daily Advance - Kesha Williams | April 16, 2024 - The Perquimans County Schools has received two grants totaling nearly $300,000 that officials say will improve schools’ ability to detect weapons on campus and construct a new greenhouse facility at the high school. School officials discussed the $186,500 grant from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s Center for Safer Schools and a $98,797 Career and Technical Education agriculture grant during a recent joint work session of the Perquimans Board of Commissioners and Board of Education.
NC SPIN - Beverly Perdue | April 18, 2024: Student achievement in NC isn’t getting the attention it needs - In a recent national survey, high school students said they valued on-the-job training over other post-secondary options like earning a college degree. We need to step up efforts to make future-ready work opportunities and apprenticeship programs available during the K-12 years. This is in line with what governors say they want to focus on, and I hope that consensus drives innovation and progress. North Carolina has made strong strides in this area, increasing the number and rigor of career and technical programs offered in middle and high schools. Outcomes matter, and N.C. students in these programs are more likely to have a post-high school plan, including college. College-readiness is still important. When I was governor, we launched the Career and College Promise Program that allows students to take college credits while enrolled in high school for free. It’s had a huge impact on helping students figure out what they want to study in college and lowering the sky-rocketing cost of higher education. I hope today’s policymakers deepen their investment.
NCDPI Chief Information Officer on Education Matters: Embracing the Future of Education Today - In the latest episode of Education Matters, NCDPI's Chief Information Officer Vanessa Wrenn joins StrategicEDU Consulting President Adam Garry to discuss the future of generative AI in education and how NCDPI is approaching the use of AI in schools. Watch the episode here.
Farm to School Coalition of North Carolina - Farm to school connects local agriculture, schools, and partners to benefit students, educators, farmers, and families, and communities.
NC STEM Center - The NC STEM Center is a Web Portal for All Things Related to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education in North Carolina.
myFutureNC - Statewide nonprofit organization focused on educational attainment and is the result of cross-sector collaboration between North Carolina leaders in education, business, and government.
EDDIE (Educational Directory and Demographical Information Exchange) is the authoritative source for NC public school numbers and demographic information, is used by multiple NCDPI technology systems including: Accountability, PowerSchool, NC School Report Cards, and is used to meet federal reporting requirements.
LEAs and charter schools are responsible for ensuring their data in EDDIE are complete, accurate, and current. EDDIE is located at: http://apps.schools.nc.gov/eddie
