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Number 10
National Lieutenant Governor's Association (NLGA) STEM Scholarship Program Accepting Applications 🧪
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Rachel Hunt encourages schools to apply for the 2026 Lt. Governors’ STEM Scholarship Program, which will award up to $1,000 to 12 schools nationwide to support STEM learning.
Applications are open through March 6. Learn more and apply here.
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Number 9
Resource: Free Privacy Training Options for Students and Families
Student privacy starts with informed parents. Check out the below resources, including videos that explain the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which safeguards student privacy and helps families make informed choices about shared information.
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Number 8
District Highlight: Nash County Public Schools - EdNC Perspective Piece: "From Plan to Practice: How Nash County Schools is Aligning Time, Materials and People to Strengthen Early Literacy" 📖
"When state law required every North Carolina school district to submit an annual Literacy Intervention Plan (LIP) by Oct. 1, the mandate was clear. What has been less clear until recently is what strong implementation actually looks like once the paperwork is submitted.
That question came into focus during a recent report to the North Carolina State Board of Education, where one district’s work was spotlighted as having moved well beyond compliance.
Rather than assuming understanding, Nash County Public Schools verifies it by intentionally moving the plan from a district expectation to classroom action. Each spring, district leaders review the effectiveness of current resources and structures, then begin developing the LIP for the following school year.
The plan is shared with principals through monthly recorded presentations and distributed in advance of leadership meetings. During those meetings, leaders pause to check for understanding, clarify expectations, and surface questions. School leaders then share the LIP with teachers, staff, and families and use it to develop an aligned school improvement plan (SIP) grounded in their own data."
Read the full perspective piece from Amy Rhyne, former senior director of NCDPI's Office of Early Learning, here.
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Number 7
Weekly NC Teacher Working Conditions (TWC) Survey Office Hours
Have questions about the 2026 NC Teacher Working Conditions Survey? NCDPI is hosting TWC Survey Lunch Hour virtual sessions every Thursday through March 31, from 12:30–1 p.m., giving educators and staff a convenient drop-in opportunity to ask questions and share feedback about the TWC Survey.
Participants may join at any time during the session at this link. Additional information on the 2026 NC TWC Survey can be found at nctwcs.org.
As a reminder, this year's survey will be administered from March 2-31.
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Number 6
District Highlight: Durham Public Schools - "Global Classrooms: International Teachers Enhance Learning Through Cultural Exchange" 🌏
Riverside High School's Alvin De Leon, one of 271 international educators in Durham Public Schools, brings global perspectives from the Philippines into his biology classroom. Through cultural exchange and virtual connections, international teachers and students learn from one another—expanding horizons and deepening global learning across DPS.
Read more about this global classroom here.
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Number 5
WCTI ABC News 12: "Rocky Mount Panel with Teach for America and Mo Green Explores Future of North Carolina Education"
"A panel discussion in Rocky Mount invited Teach for America (TFA) officials and State Superintendent Mo Green to discuss the future of education here in North Carolina.
How do you mark success in North Carolina’s students?
For state superintendent Mo Green, this is how.
'When a student walks across the graduation stage by 2030, that student will have taken and passed a college level course, while still in high school. And not or, the student will have taken a class in a career in technical education and not or, the student will have exhibited great character.'
At Monday's Teach for America panel discussion, Superintendent Green, alongside the 2025 TFA teacher of the year and executive director, discussed the future of education in our state."
Read the full article and watch the accompanying news clip here.
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Number 4
Inaugural North Carolina AI Solve-A-Thon Winners Named
Congratulations to 10 outstanding student teams who took on real community challenges in the inaugural North Carolina Artificial Intelligence (AI) Solve-A-Thon — demonstrating agency, collaboration, critical thinking and ethical AI use after months of preparation and rigorous evaluation.
This year's winners are:
🏆 First Place: Future Minds - Cox Mill High (Cabarrus County Schools) - for developing the NC Connect Link App. This app connects North Carolinians with food, housing and healthcare resources, especially in rural and low-income communities.
🥈 Second Place: The Pine Lakers – Pine Lake Preparatory, Mooresville. The Pine Lakers created an app to help drivers navigate the NC DMV more efficiently.
🥉 Third Place: The Byrd Brains – Douglas Byrd High (Cumberland County Schools). The Byrd Brains built The Jade Book, a website and app connecting individuals experiencing homelessness with critical resources.
Kudos to all the teams whose community-centered innovations exemplify what it means to build durable skills in the age of AI!
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Number 3
EdNC: "Superintendent Green Visits Agricultural CTE Program in Guilford County During Public School Choice Tour" 🚜🐄
"State Superintendent Maurice 'Mo' Green visited a Guilford County Schools’ (GCS) Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter on Feb. 11 as a part of the state’s 'Find Your Fit, Build Your Future' initiative.
The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) began the six-week public awareness initiative in January to showcase the different options students have within North Carolina’s public schools.
'We want to be sure that families across the state understand the incredible options that are available for them within public education,' Green said during the visit.
Among the options highlighted by DPI are Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, which had a chance to shine during Green’s visit last week.
During the visit, student members of Southern Guilford High School’s FFA chapter presented three components of their school’s Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (AGNR) programming: horticulture, animal science, and agricultural engineering. Green was able to view a CNC machine, which allows students to create designs for products through a computer software. The group also visited a greenhouse, where students grow plants to sell in the spring, along with a tour of the barn where students raise goats and chickens."
Read the full article here.
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Number 2
NC Principal of the Year Finalists Announced
"Nine public school leaders from across the state have been recognized as regional Principals of the Year.
On May 15, one will be named the 2026 Wells Fargo North Carolina Principal of the Year at a ceremony hosted at The Umstead Hotel & Spa in Cary.
'Being a principal is a unique role that combines leadership, management and people skills, pedagogical knowledge and a lot of hard work,' said North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction Maurice 'Mo' Green. 'These finalists are skilled professionals who help others succeed. They create programs to meet the needs of students and their families, deliver professional development and support to teachers and other educators and establish community partnerships that bring real-world learning to students.'"
Read the full press release here.
Congratulations to the 2026 NC Principal of the Year Finalists!
🌟Northeast: Kelly E. Flora, Nags Head Elementary School (Dare County Schools)
🌟Northwest: Dustin Farmer, Ashe County High School (Ashe County Schools)
🌟North Central: Dr. Mariah Walker, Wake Young Women's Leadership Academy (Wake County Public School System)
🌟Piedmont Triad: Dr. Darrell A. Harris, Jr., Eastern Guilford High School (Guilford County Schools)
🌟Sandhills: Dr. Latreicia Allen, John Griffin Middle School (Cumberland County Schools)
🌟Southeast: Dr. Marlow Artis, Craven Early College High School (Craven County Schools)
🌟Southwest: LaTresha Wilson, Tuckaseegee Elementary School (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools)
🌟Western: Jennifer McBrayer, CHASE Middle School (Rutherford County Schools)
🌟Charter: Deborah Brown, The Exploris School (Raleigh)
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Number 1
NC Public Schools Awarded More Than $11 Million to Expand School-Based Mental Health Services
"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.
The funding is part of more than $208 million awarded nationwide through the Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Program and the School-Based Mental Health Services Program.
'It is clear that mental health support is crucial for North Carolina’s public schools to fully support and nurture students,' said State Superintendent Maurice 'Mo' Green. 'These funds will allow our state to not only better serve our students, but also strengthen this essential talent pipeline.'
The Mental Health Service Professional Demonstration Grant will provide $4.8 million over four years for the NC School Psychology Internship Program, known as NC SPIn. The project is designed to expand access to school psychologists by funding salary and housing stipends for school psychologist interns serving in high-need, primarily rural school districts. The grant also supports high-quality supervision for interns and provides training for interns and practicing school psychologists to implement both preventative and intensive mental health interventions for students."
Read the full press release here. All LEAs that are included have been contacted.
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