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Education
News
Other stories below:
New
scholarship program to help students in three western counties
Sponsors
needed for teacher technology scholarships
Public
schools celebrate several major gains
An
avalanche of good news about North Carolina public schools
came tumbling into Raleigh last month. Four developments stand
out and are summarized below:
Education
Week magazine ranks North Carolina first in teacher quality
The state-by-state report found that North Carolina:
 continues to
lead the nation in its initiatives to improve teacher quality.
was one of two
states to receive the highest grade (B+) for its efforts to
improve teacher quality. This is the second year in a
row North Carolina has achieved this honor.
received a B on Standards and Accountability.
is a pioneer state in early-childhood efforts, thanks to Smart
Start, the TEACH program, and the Governor's new More at Four
program.
had very high percentages of fourth and eighth graders
reporting that they felt very or moderately safe in school.
National
Education Goals Panel cites North Carolina for closing math
gaps
A new report based on an analysis of National Assessment
of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2000 mathematics data found
that:
at the fourth
grade, North Carolina was one of only two states to reduce the
gap between white and minority scores (black and Hispanic)
from 1992 - 2000. North Carolina's and Connecticut's
public school fourth graders showed the most improvement in
six of seven categories examined.
North Carolina ranked among the five states showing the most
improvement at both fourth and eighth grade, improving in five
of the seven categories of data analyzed.
North Carolina's eighth graders and those of seven other
states showed improvement in five of seven categories
examined.
North
Carolina dropout rate decreases
The number
of North Carolina students dropping out of school for 2000-01
in grades 7 - 12 decreased 9 percent from the previous year.
The number of
students dropping out of school for 2000-01 in grades 7-12
fell to 22,365 from 24,585 in 1999-2000.
The decrease in
the dropout rate occurred despite higher standards for
students and may be due in part to holding high schools
accountable for dropouts in the ABCs.
Federal
education legislation trades on North Carolina and Texas plans
The "No
Child Left Behind Act of 2001," signed into law by
President Bush last week, closely tracks North Carolina's
efforts to improve public schools.
The bill requires annual testing in reading and mathematics in
grades 3-8 with schools being required to show progress each
year in the percentage of students proficient in these areas.
North Carolina has required end-of-grade tests since 1993 and
has held schools accountable
for testing results since
1996.
North Carolina expects to receive approximately $80 million in
additional resources to help at-risk, exceptional children and
Limited English Proficient students.
New
scholarship program to help students in three western counties
Gov.
Mike Easley announced a $200,000 grant for the New Century
Scholars program from the Appalachian Regional Commission. The
program will provide the assistance and support needed to
create greater access to post secondary educational
opportunities for students in Western North Carolina.
The New
Century Scholars Program was developed by Southwestern
Community College (SCC) and currently operates in Jackson,
Macon, and Swain counties. It is a partnership among SCC,
Jackson, Macon and Swain county school systems, Western
Carolina University, and the civic and business communities in
the three counties.
The private partners pledge scholarship funding which is
offered to selected rising 7th graders who, with their
parents’ involvement, agree to maintain academic and
behavioral standards throughout the rest of their public
school career. If they meet these conditions, the students
have a guaranteed last-dollar scholarship at SCC. For those
students who wish to continue their education and obtain a
four-year degree after successfully completing work at SCC,
Western Carolina University has pledged to provide a
scholarship.
The Governor’s Office will work with SCC to replicate and
expand this program in other parts of Western North Carolina.
Over the next 18 months, the project staff will lay the
foundation for and build new partnerships among community
colleges, four-year institutions, the public schools and the
business community in order to offer the program to students
in additional areas of the region. The Governor’s New
Century Scholars Program expects to bring new partnerships on
board this spring and select new classes of 7th grade scholars
to begin next fall.
Sponsors
needed for teacher technology scholarships
For
only $99.95 you, your business or your community organization
can provide valuable professional development support to a
teacher in your local schools. That’s the price of a
one-year scholarship that will allow a teacher, principal or
other educator to enroll in as many as 139 online technology
courses through the NCwin Scholarship Program for Educators.
This scholarship program was organized through a cooperative
effort of the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, the N.C.
Business Committee for Education and the Training and
Education in the 21st Century (TE21) Co. to help local
educators meet technology competencies.
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