Recognitions & Celebrations
NC Superintendent Green Welcomes School & District Staff Back for the 2026-27 School Year
North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction Maurice "Mo" Green greets educators, school and district staff as they prepare to welcome students and families for a new school year. Superintendent Green reflects on the promise of public education, thanks the educators and school staff whose work changes lives, and celebrates North Carolina's continued progress in graduation rates, college-level opportunities and industry-recognized credentials. He encourages every member of the public school community to begin the year with optimism, purpose and a shared commitment to student success.
Watch the video here
Policy, Practice & Legislative Updates
Abbreviated Evaluations Approved for School Counselors
In July the State Board of Education (SBE) approved the updated Policy EVAL-004, which provides all instructional support roles with the opportunity to be assigned to an abbreviated evaluation cycle using two standards. School counselors will be evaluated on standards 1 & 3 for the abbreviated evaluations. Evaluation trainings for administrators, district leaders and school counselor will be offered:
August 13th, 10:00am -12:00pm, Evaluating Impact: Guide for Administrators Supervising Student Service Personnel
Evaluating student support personnel can be challenging when their critical work happens outside traditional classrooms. Hosted by NCDPI State Consultants, this webinar is designed specifically for administrators and evaluators looking to approach the evaluation process for school social workers, counselors, and psychologists with greater clarity and confidence. Participants will explore recent updates to evaluator options, unpack the distinct standards for each discipline, and learn to identify meaningful evidence in areas like crisis response, mental health support, and family engagement. You will leave with practical tools to dispel common misconceptions, lead productive evaluation conversations, and accurately recognize the essential impact of your student support team.
Target Audience: Administrators who evaluate Instructional Support Roles
September 16, 10:00am - 11:00am, Understanding Your Evaluation: A Guide for School Counselors
This session is designed for school counselors who want to strengthen their understanding of the evaluation tool, updated evaluator options, and recent changes to the evaluation process. Participants will examine how the standards align with school counseling practice, explore examples of meaningful evidence and artifacts, and learn how to build a professional portfolio that demonstrates their work in academic, career, and social-emotional development.
Target Audience: School Counselors and those that evaluate School Counselors
NC College Connect Program Updates
We are excited to be entering year three with offering NC College Connect to our eligible NC high school seniors. Eligible seniors who are on track to graduate, have a 2.8 weighted GPA, fourth level math and meet program requirements will receive direct admissions to participating NC public and independent institutions and local community colleges. The portal will launch September 15th and application deadline is January 8, 2027. You may review NC College Connect one-pager for the list of participation institutions stay abreast of updates on NC College Connect website.
Resources
Inside the NC College Connect Resources Folder is a host of resources you can use. Here is the link to the explainer slides for you to use and share with students and families. Please click on this link to access the pre-recorded overview.
School Mental Health Plan Reporting
All LEAs are required to report their progress on meeting the guidelines set forth by the NC State Board of Education’s (SBE) Healthy Active Children (HAC) Policy, SHLT-000, and in accordance with North Carolina SL 2019-245, SL 2020-7, and SBE SHLT-003 for School-Based Mental Health (SMH) Policies. The deadline to submit final responses for the HAC and SMH policy surveys is September 15, 2026.
Click here for information outlines the process for completing the HAC and SMH policy survey questions. In addition to the survey questions, each K-12 school unit (includes Charter school, lab school, LEA, etc.) is required to upload a copy of their School Mental Health Plan for the upcoming school year.
If you have questions or challenges in completing the survey, please reach out to at Ellen.Essick@dpi.nc.gov.
New Updated School Mental Health Training Courses
The purpose of this Canvas LMS Course Training Package is to assist North Carolina Public School Units (PSUs) in providing a Mental Health Training Program as required in SHLT-003:School-Based Mental Health Policy and, more importantly, to promote student mental health and well-being across North Carolina. This training package meets the guidelines of the Model Mental Health Training Program and is a crucial component of the required PSU School Mental Health plans. This is a no-cost, optional training package that PSUs may utilize as they deem appropriate. This training package currently includes all 6 required training areas within SHLT-003:School-Based Mental Health Policy. PSU training teams have the option of utilizing any or all of the courses within the package.
2026-2027 Course Guide
Upcoming Professional Development Opportunities
Regional NC Student Success Standards Training Opportunities
Join us this fall for a half-day regional training designed to help school counselors move from understanding the NC Student Success Standards to putting them into practice. This interactive training will deepen school counselors’ understanding and application of the NC Student Success Standards, while infusing key updates from the ASCA National Model, 5th Edition. Participants will explore how to use data to prioritize student needs, align comprehensive school counseling programming and delivery to the standards, and identify practical strategies to strengthen implementation within their schools.
September 28th, 9-12:30pm, Bill Harrison Education Resource Center, Fayetteville NC
Register here
Every Adult, Every Child: Abuse & Trafficking Prevention Training for School Personnel
NC Student Success Standards Webinar Series
Join us for the 2026-2027 NC Student Success Standard Webinar Series that will provide a variety of ways to integrate into your program delivery as a school counselor. Click here for all dates, session descriptions and webinar links. Hope to see you for our September kickoff
September 11th, 10:30-11:30, Cross Walking Academic Curriculum with the NC Student Success Standards
October 2nd, 10:30-11:30, Annual Outcome Goalsetting Plans for Standards Program Delivery
November 3rd, 10:30-12noon, The Character Continuum: Integrating NC Student Success Standards into Character Education
CFNC Countdown to College (C2C) Fall Regional Training Dates
Mark your calendars with the save the date to get the latest on state and federal financial aid and other important C2C updates during the fall regional trainings. Click here to find the location nearest you to plan to attend in September or October.
Better Together: School Mental Health Summit
Join this exciting new opportunity from the Healthy Schools section at NCDPI, December 8th & 9th for 2 full days of professional development exclusively for school counselors, school social workers, school psychologists, school-based mental health clinicians, and their supervisors and directors. All of these positions will be invited to register soon. This event will be held in Concord, NC. Make plans now to attend and stay tuned for more information.
Resources
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