Number 10

District Highlight: Asheboro City Schools - "‘A Path to Success’: Toyota Opens Experience Lab for Asheboro City School Students"

"Ever since Toyota announced plans to build a manufacturing facility at the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite, community leaders have focused on growing the region’s future workforce.

Now, Asheboro City Schools is taking another step toward that goal with the opening of Toyota’s new Experience Lab.

The lab gives students hands-on opportunities to learn about STEM and manufacturing careers through activities centered around Toyota vehicles and technology. Students can work with mock circuit panels and explore the mechanics behind automotive manufacturing.

'It provides like a path to success and like, a future for a lot of kids that may not know what they want to do,' Asheboro High School sophomore Jackson Thill said.

Thill said the experience may even help shape his own future career plans."

Read the full article here. 

Number 9

EdNC Perspective Piece: "From Books to College to Life, How One Educator Motivates Students"

"Hannah Moon is the kind of teacher who attracts students looking for an inviting place to hang out during free class periods. 'Can I come sit in your classroom? calls out a senior looking for refuge during a study period. 'Of course,' Moon tells her. 'We’re just talking today.'

Moon, who teaches English at Wilmington’s sprawling E.A. Laney High School, is big on getting her students to talk. In AP English Literature, she walks around with a stack of cards bearing each student’s name, shuffling them during the class period and calling on students at random. 'You’ve really got to be paying attention,' one of her students tells me. 'And you’ve got to know what you’re talking about.'

I visited Moon’s class earlier this month, a few days after students took the AP exam, to hear about their college plans, their career anxieties, and to get their view on what has made Moon an award-winning teacher and a student-favorite at Laney. Several of the AP students said they were persuaded to take the challenging, reading-intensive class because they trusted Moon to make it worthwhile."

Read the full article on Southeast Regional Teacher of the Year Hannah Moon here. 

Number 8

District Highlight: Union County Public Schools - "Class of 2026: Cuthbertson Senior Turns Heritage into
Global Nonprofit Mission"

"For Cathan Yap, understanding his future started with understanding his identity.

'I’m a first-generation American,' he said. 'I have a lot of my American identity, but my Indonesian side wasn’t really shown as much.'

At Cuthbertson High School, Cathan said he was developing academic and leadership experiences while also continuing to reflect on his identity. That reflection deepened during a trip to Indonesia the summer of his sophomore year. ...

'They don’t really know when they’re going to eat next,' Cathan said. 'I just realized there was something that needed to be done.'

Back home, he decided to act, turning to relatives in Indonesia and friends from his personal network to help build a team, including a classmate who now serves as vice president of his North Carolina chapter.

“I knew I couldn’t do it by myself,” he said.

That effort became HarYanny, a nonprofit Cathan founded to support orphans in Indonesia.

“We calculated that $4 could feed a child three meals a day,” he said. “That’s something small here, but it means everything there.”

Today, the organization supports more than 200 children across multiple cities, providing food, medical supplies and essential resources through donations and partnerships. A new chapter has also launched in California, expanding its network of student leaders.”

Read the full article here. 

Number 7

BEST NC Facts & Figures Education In North Carolina 2026 Now Available

"For years, education stakeholders from across the state have relied on the accurate, timely, and easily accessible information found in Facts & Figures: Education in North Carolina to make data-driven decisions and develop meaningful solutions to our state’s most pressing education issues.

This handy guide is designed to give you quick and easy access to key data that will support your work to improve North Carolina’s education system. Each edition of Facts & Figures is developed in partnership with dozens of stakeholders and represents the collected efforts of hundreds of hours of research, reporting, and review."

Learn more and see the full report here. 

Number 6

Registration Open for 2026 North Carolina Comprehensive Arts Education Conference

Join the NCDPI Arts Education Team at the North Carolina Comprehensive Arts Education Conference (CAEC) on Saturday, September 26 in Greensboro.

This day-long conference serves as a statewide professional development opportunity for dance, music, theatre and visual arts educators, district arts education leaders, teaching artists, arts integration specialists and pre-service teachers from across North Carolina working in K-12 programs, independent studios, performing arts organizations and higher education institutions.

The mission of this conference is to support the three essential components of the North Carolina Comprehensive Arts Education Model: Arts Education, Arts Integration, and Arts Exposure. Sessions will be centered on the four K-12 Arts Education Standards core strands of Connect, Create, Present and Respond.

Learn more and register for the 2026 CAEC here. 

Number 5

Needs Assessment Survey for 2024 Standard Course of Study for World Languages

NCDPI's World Languages team is asking educators to complete the Needs Assessment Survey for the 2024 Standard Course of Study for World Languages. Your input will help shape professional learning for the 2026-27 school year and strengthen statewide implementation efforts.

Take the survey here. The deadline to respond is Friday, June 5.

Number 4

EdNC Perspective Piece: "Where Teachers Become Leaders: Celebrating 26 Years of the Kenan Fellows Program"

"'I’m like the kid who graduated high school and never went away.'

This is my one-liner when introducing myself professionally and explaining my connection to the Kenan Fellows Program for Teacher Leadership (KFP). In 2011, I was a fourth-year science teacher at City of Medicine Academy, a health science magnet school in Durham Public Schools. That year, my instructional coach encouraged me to apply for a Kenan Fellowship.

In 2012, I received my fellowship and embarked on a journey that changed my understanding of myself and the trajectory of my career, culminating in July of 2022 when I was hired as the director of KFP. Across the decade between my fellowship and my hiring, KFP kept me engaged through offering opportunities to grow my leadership and to deliver meaningful programming for new fellows. More importantly, though, KFP cultivated my deep belief that teachers are changemakers who move society forward, and that teachers are professionals who are worthy of investment."

Read the full perspective piece from Dr. Vance Kite, director of the Kenan Fellows Program at NC State University, here. 

Number 3

The Charlotte Observer: "Meet the 8 Students Representing NC in the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee"

"Eight North Carolina middle schoolers will compete in the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee next week – in addition to two local spellers from just over the NC border.

This year’s contest in National Harbor, Maryland, marks the 101st anniversary of the national competition, which began in 1925 with nine spellers. In 2026, it includes 247 competitors from around the country. Five spellers will represent countries outside the U.S., including the Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates."

The students advancing to the national stage are:
🐝 Kushi Gottimukkala, Wake County Public School System
🐝 Phaneendra Bulusu, Cabarrus County Schools
🐝 Harini Jayakumar, Iredell-Statesville Schools
🐝 Sach Akella, Wake County Public Schools
🐝 Sophie Sung, Durham
🐝 Angelika Johnson, Cumberland County Schools
🐝 David Grooms, Harnett County Schools
🐝 Jacob Winfield, Johnston County Public Schools

Read the full article here. 

Number 2

Video: NC Superintendent Green Congratulates Class of 2026

North Carolina Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green congratulates the Class of 2026 for reaching this milestone through hard work, perseverance and determination. He thanks educators, families and communities for supporting graduates and encourages students to dream boldly as they begin the next exciting chapter in their lives.

Watch the video here. Congratulations to the class of 2026! 

Number 1

NC SUN Meals Programs Offer Free Food, Fitness, Farm to Summer, Fun for Youth

"More than 850,000 North Carolina students rely on the nutritious meals and snacks served during the school year through the School Breakfast, School Lunch and Afterschool Snack Programs. When school is out, North Carolina SUN Programs provide nutritious meals at no cost for youth ages 18 and under.

Through SUN Meals Programs, youth 18 and under can enjoy meals onsite together at school and community sites. SUN Meals help youth get the nutrition they need all summer long and enjoy time with other kids and teens. In some rural areas, SUN Meals To-Go may be available for pick-up or delivery. Also called non-congregate meals, SUN Meals To-Go sponsors may provide multiple days of meals at a time to youth 18 and under during the summer break.

To find nearby summer meals at no-cost for kids and teens:

• Use the USDA Site Finder Map at https://www.fns.usda.gov/summer/sitefinder
• Call the USDA National Hunger Hotline at 1-866-3-HUNGRY (English) or 1-877-8-HAMBRE (Spanish).
• Check your local school district website, social media or other communications.
• Learn more at https://go.ncdpi.gov/ncsummermeals."

Read the full press release here.