Number 10

Celebrate the Good Blog: "BCS Parent University Helps Families Learn the ABCs of School Operations"

"Buncombe County Schools is sending families and community members back to school - to Parent University, that is.

BCS’ communications team created a series of short videos for their website to educate the public about student opportunities and school system operations. Parent University rolled out in August in response to requests from Board of Education members for a new way to engage with parents.

The first video, which has already racked up more than 15,000 views, features district leaders talking about the 2025-26 school year’s theme – #LeadTheClimb. Chief Communications Officer Ken Ulmer said the production included coordinating a few wardrobe changes and assembling a supporting cast of student athletes and musicians."

Read the full blog post here. 

Number 9

Register for NCED Connect Symposium - Feb. 2026

Registration is now open for the next NCED Connect Symposium, which will be held in Greensboro in February 2026! This event brings together digital teaching and learning leaders, technology directors, central office leadership, instructional coaches, NCSIS data managers and leads and other innovators for three days of powerful collaboration.

Learn more and register here.

Number 8

Jr. Chef Competition - Submission Deadline Extended to Nov. 13

For the NC Jr. Chef Competition, teams of 2-4 high school students work with their teachers and local School Nutrition Program to create a school lunch recipe that adheres to National School Lunch Program requirements, includes at least two NC-grown ingredients and one USDA Foods item, and appeals to students.

Based on applications and recipes submitted, up to 8 finalist teams are selected to participate in a statewide cook-off. The first-place team advances to compete in the Southeast Jr. Chef Competition. Student members of the top three teams at the state and regional level are offered scholarships to attend Sullivan University.

The deadline for teams to submit applications, recipe and permission forms has been extended to November 13. Action steps and dates, materials, and recipes and photos from previous years are available at https://go.ncdpi.gov/ncjrchef.

Number 7

Annual Statewide NC Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) Convening

Join the Integrated Academic and Behavior Systems (IABS) team for the Annual Statewide Fall NC MTSS Convening on Friday, November 14 from 8:30-10 a.m. This virtual event will be a collaborative opportunity for district, school and non-traditional program MTSS implementers and leaders across North Carolina to connect, learn and plan NC MTSS Implementation and sustainability.

An MTSS Implementer is a member of a MTSS team that supports the implementation of the NC MTSS school improvement framework designed to improve student outcomes. MTSS Implementers may include classroom teachers, school and district leadership team members, instructional coaches, interventionists, or regional and district leaders. If this sounds like you, the IABS team hopes to see you on November 14! 

Learn more and register here. Please register by Nov. 10. 

If you have any questions, please contact integratedsystems@dpi.nc.gov or IABS State Team Lead, Angel Goodwine Batts at angel.batts@dpi.nc.gov.

Number 6

Public School Matters Podcast: "A Conversation With Dr. Rodney Peterson, Superintendent Of Person County Schools, and 2026 NC Superintendent Of The Year"

In this most recent episode of the Public School Matters podcast, the NC Association of School Administrators (NCASA) Advocacy Team speaks with Dr. Rodney Peterson, Superintendent of Person County Schools and the 2026 Burroughs Wellcome Fund A. Craig Phillips North Carolina Superintendent of the Year, about challenges he and other superintendents are facing in leading public schools.

Listen to the podcast episode here or stream on your preferred podcast platform (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc.). 

Number 5

EdNC: "14 NC School Districts Receive National Awards for Making School Meals Healthier"

"School districts across the state are implementing changes to improve the nutritional quality of meals served to students. In October, 14 North Carolina school districts received Healthy Meals Incentives (HMI) recognition awards from Action for Healthy Kids as part of a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The awards honor school food authorities (SFAs) — also known as school nutrition departments — that have made operational changes to improve the nutritional quality of school meals or that have engaged students and families in nutrition education and in the planning and preparation of school meals, according to the award website.

This includes introducing new scratch-made menu items, engaging students in taste-test events, swapping in new products that are lower in added sugar or sodium, providing nutrition education to students, and more. Districts have seen a range of impacts from the efforts recognized by these awards, including positive feedback from students and increases in school meals participation."

Read the full article here. Congratulations to the 14 districts who earned this honor! 

Number 4

EdTech Innovation Hub: "OpenAI Partners with North Carolina Department of Public Instruction for Hands-on AI Workshop"

"The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) recently hosted a workshop in partnership with OpenAI, focusing on practical applications of ChatGPT across the state’s public schools.

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT and other generative AI models, worked with NCDPI to deliver a hands-on session designed to explore classroom use cases and promote safe and effective AI adoption.

Joe Casson, Solutions Engineering Leader at OpenAI, said in a LinkedIn post that collaboration and direct engagement were key to the event’s success. 'Hands on keyboard. Working alongside your colleagues. Brainstorming use cases. Digging in,' he wrote.

Casson noted that he and his colleague Sam were 'extremely lucky to partner with Dr. Vanessa Wrenn and Vera Cubero from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction,' explaining that the day brought together 'many of the brightest minds in NC's public schools for a day long workshop in ChatGPT.'”

Read the full story here.

Number 3

Celebrate the Good Blog: "Meet the High School Senior Helping Shape NC’s Education Policy"

The latest Celebrate the Good blog post features a Q&A highlighting Ian House, a North Carolina high school senior helping shape education policy as a student advisor to the State Board of Education.

Read the full blog post here. 

Number 2

Advanced Placement Growth in NC Continues to Outpace the Nation, Makes State History

"For the fourth year in a row, North Carolina students increased their scores and participation in Advanced Placement exams, outpacing the national average and setting a new record for the state.

According to data presented to the State Board of Education on Wednesday, more than 90,000 students took over 171,000 AP tests during the 2024-25 school year. That represents a 7.3% increase in test takers and a 9.8% increase in total tests taken over the prior year.

Of all tests taken, 72.1% were scored a 3, 4 or 5 – demonstrating that a student is qualified to receive college-level credit for that subject. Since 2021, the number of exams with qualifying scores has roughly doubled to an all-time high of 123,394 qualifying scores in 2024-25."

Read the full press release here.

Number 1

Four North Carolina Schools Honored with State Blue Ribbon Recognition

"Four North Carolina public schools were announced today as inaugural statewide Blue Ribbon Schools award winners, a program created by North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) to continue the tradition of recognizing and highlighting schools that are excelling in academic success.

'This recognition reflects the hard work of educators, students, families and communities working together to ensure every child has access to high-quality learning,' said State Superintendent Maurice 'Mo' Green. 'We celebrate these schools for their growth, achievement and commitment to student success as North Carolina’s inaugural Blue Ribbon Schools award recipients.'”

The 2025 State Blue Ribbon recipients are: 

• Apex Friendship Middle School (Wake County Public Schools)
• Henderson County Early College (Henderson County Public Schools)
• Mills Park Middle School (Wake County Public Schools)
• Pinehurst Elementary (Moore County Schools)

Congratulations to these four schools on this incredible accomplishment! Read the full press release here.