From the Race to the Top Weekly Update

USED Report: NC is Ahead in the Race to the Top

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education issued the news that North Carolina is at the head of the pack at the halfway point of our Race to the Top initiative. “North Carolina has set a clear path forward on comprehensive education reform that will better support teachers and principals and enable student growth for years to come,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “They have overcome challenges and proved what’s possible when everyone works together. We look forward to seeing their continued progress and strong execution of key efforts that will empower educators to transform their classrooms into models of 21st century learning.”

The report cites a number of areas where the state has been especially successful:

·      Transitioning to College and Career-Ready Standards through professional development and diagnostic assessments for teachers.

·      Supporting Great Teachers and School Leaders by adopting a statewide growth model for tested subjects and online evaluation across all districts, engaging educators in developing statewide growth measures, training teachers through the new Teacher Corps program, and completing training for principals in Leadership Academies.

·      Turning Around Low-Performing Schools. Since the beginning of the grant, 84 percent of NC's low-performing schools have increased their performance, 39 are performing above the target of 60 percent proficiency, and five of seven that had graduation rates below 60 percent are now above that mark. This has been accomplished in part by 72 coaches dispatched to these schools.

·     Building Better Data Systems through the design and shared services via the NC    Education Cloud and through the development of Home Base, the state's new technology-based tool to manage all professional resources and student data.

·     Enhancing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education through serving students in three anchor and 12 affinity STEM schools across the state, along with the development of new, virtual STEM courses.

Visit www.ncpublicschools.org to read a News Release on the report.  The release includes a link to the report itself.  Also, check out this article on the USED’s take on North Carolina as a leader among RttT states.