YOUR MOMENT IS COMING. DON’T LET IT PASS YOU BY!
With NC College Connect, you will be directly admitted to participating colleges and universities where you already meet admissions requirements. No essays, test scores, or recommendation letters needed. Yes, it’s that easy.
NC College Connect is a program that directly admits North Carolina public high school seniors on track to graduate to participating UNC System universities, North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, and their local North Carolina community college where they already meet admissions requirements. Have a weighted GPA of 2.8 or higher? The higher your GPA, the more schools to which you’ll be directly admitted.
Questions? Email nccollegeconnect@dpi.nc.gov.
More info for current Juniors!
|
Calling North Carolina High School Juniors and Seniors!
- Are you interested in how government works in the State of North Carolina?
- Would you like to know more about future careers in government and benefits of public service?
Program Details
- Summer Sessions in 2026 - July 6-9 or August 3-6
- Tentative Schedule: Monday 2-4pm; Tuesday-Thursday 9am-4pm
- NOTE - It is the responsibility of the page and their guardians to make arrangements for necessary travel, accommodations, and meals
- Pages will receive a $200 stipend
- Program is based in OSA’s Raleigh headquarters office (325 N. Salisbury Street, Raleigh, NC 27699)
- For questions, contact osa_page_program@ncauditor.gov
- Deadline to apply: Thursday, April 30, 2026
Attach the following supplemental documents when replying to the submission email:
- Statement of Interest - a few notes on what interests you in this opportunity and why you would like to participate
- Letters of Recommendation - Two letters from a teacher, counselor, or faculty member at your high school
Students will be notified by June 1, 2026 if selected for a session
2026-27 NCCAT Honored Educator Scholarship Applications Open
Honored Educator Scholarships (HES) provide an opportunity for selected teachers to attend an NCCAT seminar of their choice. An HES covers all costs associated with participation in a NCCAT seminar, including program materials, instruction, food, lodging, transportation and a substitute teacher. The honored educator also receives $250 for use in the classroom.
Applications for the 2026-27 school year are due on Thursday, April 30.
Applications Now Open for 2026-27 NC Business Committee for Education (NCBCE) AI Fellows
Middle and High School Educators: Applications for the 2026-27 cohort of NCBCE AI Fellows are now open! Twenty outstanding middle and high school educators will be selected to serve as AI leaders and mentors in their school communities.
Selected Fellows will receive AI-related virtual and in-person trainings throughout the academic year, ongoing leadership support, a technology mini-grant and be among a strong community of like-minded educators.
Applicants may teach in any subject area. Learn more and apply here. The application closes May 15.
In Other News
EdNC - Mebane Rash | April 22, 2026
Dr. Javaid Siddiqi, the president and CEO of The Hunt Institute, kicked off the annual Holshouser Legislators Retreat this weekend ahead of the short session of the N.C. General Assembly, which convened on Tuesday, April 21. The institute is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.
This year’s retreat was co-chaired by Sen. Brad Overcash, R-Gaston; Sen. Sydney Batch, D-Wake; Rep. David Willis, R-Union; and Rep. Zack Hawkins, D-Durham.
The goal of the retreat is to inspire leadership and legislation and “strategic action for greater educational outcomes and student success.” More than 50 legislators attended the retreat and were provided with research on the issues discussed.
Governor Stein highlighted his partnership with Speaker Destin Hall and President Pro Tem Phil Berger to convene a Blue Ribbon Commission on Public Education. The commission will examine teacher training and student advancement, administrative operations, educational leadership, and accountability.
Superintendent Green outlined what he called his “long list of needs” to meet his strategic plan’s goal to be the best in the nation. He said the long list was warranted given the state’s investment in public education. But Green also narrowed his priorities for legislators, urging them if they only have the financial capacity to focus on one thing to focus on educator compensation.
WUNC News - Liz Schlemmer | April 23, 2026
The majority leader of the North Carolina House has filed a bill to withhold state funding from school districts or charter schools that violate the previously passed "Parents' Bill of Rights." That law bars public schools from teaching about gender identity, sexuality or sexual orientation or from keeping school materials about those subjects.
Representative Brenden Jones (R-Robeson) announced he was filing the new bill at the end of a hearing where lawmakers pressed Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) administrators about books in their elementary school libraries.
The new bill proposes these changes to the Parents' Bill of Rights:
- Parents can bring civil lawsuits against a school for violations of the Parents' Bill of Rights, seeking damages of up to $5,000
- The Department or Public Instruction or the Office of the State Auditor can investigate whether a district is complying with the Parents' Bill of Rights.
- A school district or charter school found to be in violation of the Parents' Bill of Rights will have 45 days to provide evidence to the state auditor that they have "cured" the compliance issue, or face the withholding of state funds for its central office.
- A new provision clarifies that a school cannot change a student's name, gender designation, or identity within school records until after first receiving consent from a parent.
- Schools must provide written notice to parents before referring their child to counseling services or outside service providers.
- Schools must provide written notice to parents before classroom or school-wide discussions of gender identity.
EducationWeek - Mark Lieberman | April 21, 2026
State and local education leaders worried key funds, like Title I, might not arrive on time this summer
Despite ongoing efforts to transition federal education programs to other agencies, billions of federal dollars for K-12 schools will continue to flow through the U.S. Department of Education’s grant portal this summer, the nation’s top K-12 official told states last week.
Programs like Title I aid for disadvantaged students and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act for special education allocate funds for school districts, but by law the money flows first to states in two batches: one on July 1 and another three months later.
In a statement, an Education Department spokesperson said the agency is “committed to delivering formula funding by the July 1 deadline.”
The Carolina Journal - Mitch Kokai | April 21, 2026
There’s a clear clash of opinions about the recent end of North Carolina’s three-decade-old Leandro education funding lawsuit.
On one side, the state Supreme Court’s April 2 decision to void every Leandro ruling since 2017 has been labeled a glaring failure. Critics claim the decision will harm schoolchildren across North Carolina. On the other side, the high court earned praise for respecting the judiciary’s traditional constitutional role. The court’s majority recognized that judges are not elected to write education policy.
Of all responses to the Leandro decision, perhaps the most interesting is former Chief Justice Burley Mitchell’s analysis. Now 85 years old, Mitchell wrote the original Leandro decision back in 1997. Twenty-nine years later, he offered Raleigh News and Observer readers his assessment of his successors’ work.
“Education must not be a partisan matter,” Mitchell wrote. He urged North Carolinians to “encourage and inspire the legislative and executive branches of our government to rise to the challenge providing all the children of the state the opportunity to achieve a sound basic education as guaranteed by Leandro.”
That outcome likely depends on policymakers’ willingness to focus on facts, not partisan rhetoric. They would be wise to model the measured approach offered by the original Leandro ruling’s author.
Click here to subscribe to the weekly legislative update or other NC Department of Public Instruction topics.
To view previous K-12 Education Legislative Updates, click here.
NCDPI Office of Government Affairs: Anne Murtha – Legislative Specialist
|
