The North Carolina New Schools Project: Press Releases | 2012

North Carolina’s Early College High Schools Graduate 1,800 Students

May 16, 2012 - Some 900 students graduating from high school in North Carolina this spring have something extra to show for the effort: an associate degree from community college. Many of them are the first in their families to attend college.

In all this year, 54 of the state's 74 early colleges are graduating full cohorts of students.

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Grant from GlaxoSmithKline Supports STEM Education for NC Students

March 19, 2012 - Funding Helps Network of Schools Focusing on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

North Carolina’s growing network of innovative STEM-focused schools is getting a boost from a three-year, $750,000 grant from GlaxoSmithKline. The funding from GSK will support the professional development of teachers and principals in the schools, which emphasize science, technology, engineering and math. These schools are part of a statewide STEM network, developed by the North Carolina New Schools Project in partnership with local districts, the State Board of Education, the Department of Public Instruction, higher education and businesses and industry. Mary Linda Andrews, director of community partnerships for GSK, said the STEM schools play a critical role in helping students graduate well prepared for the demands of a new economy.

National Conference Brings STEM Experts to the Triangle

February 24, 2012 - Hundreds of educators, students, innovators and leaders from business and government will converge on the Triangle this spring for the “Scaling STEM: Transforming Education Matters” Conference. The event, focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), is set for April 16-18, 201 at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel & Convention Center in RTP, NC.

Early registration rates end Feb. 28. Visit http://newschoolsproject.org/2012stemconference.

Participants from North Carolina and across the nation will share strategies to implement STEM practices and demonstrate STEM impacts in the community. The conference will include student model sessions, project-based learning symposium and innovative school visits, as well as 40 concurrent sessions about a range of STEM topics. The complete listing of concurrent sessions is available at http://newschoolsproject.org/2012stemconference/sessions.html.

Keynote speakers include:

• Tony Wagner, Education Innovation Fellow at Harvard University and author of The Global Achievement Gap and Creating Innovators, which will be released the week of the conference.
• Brett Carter, President, Duke Energy North Carolina
• Jan Morrison, President, Teaching Institute for Excellence in STEM (TIES)
• June Atkinson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction
• Eric Becoats, Durham County Superintendent

Dropout rates fall in NCNSP-partner schools

February 14, 2012 - North Carolina’s growing number of innovative secondary schools continues to demonstrate strong results by ensuring that students want to stay in school.

The latest dropout data released this month by the State Board of Education show that schools developed in partnerships with the NC New Schools Project lost comparatively few students last school year. More than a third of the 106 schools affiliated with NCNSP had no dropouts from any grade, and nearly three quarters of the schools had no dropouts from 9th grade, when students are most susceptible to quitting school.

Grants from BB&T and Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation Support Leadership Development Efforts for Innovative Secondary Schools

February 10, 2012 - RALEIGH  -- Grants from BB&T and the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation are helping support efforts led by the North Carolina New Schools Project to hone the skills of leaders of innovative secondary schools across the state. BB&T is providing $300,000 over three years for leadership development; the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation is giving $130,000 over two years for the same effort.

“These funds will help us provide the kind of coaching and support that principals want and need to be top-notch instructional leaders for their schools,” said Jodi Anderson, director of the North Carolina Center for Education Leadership, a part of the NC New Schools Project.

The funding from BB&T will allow NCNSP to continue to strengthen its leadership development efforts with principals through a number of approaches, including direct support and guidance from trained leadership coaches and through structured professional development.

The grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation will help fund a new initiative to train and certify NCNSP leadership coaches through the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro to administer 360-degree assessments, a feedback tool to help school administrators better understand their approaches to leadership and hone their skills as leaders. The results will be used for professional development purposes, not for evaluating job performance. The assessments cover 16 separate leadership competencies, including change management, building collaborative relationships, strategic perspective and leading employees. The results will also allow NCNSP leadership coaches to tailor their professional development to the specific needs of principals.

The grant from BB&T will also help cover the cost of NCNSP’s first Summer Leadership Institute, a 3-day event designed to provide principals with intensive leadership development support.

A portion of the grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation is designated to support leadership development in a number of traditional high schools that are included in a new initiative to expand successful approaches used by the state’s early college high schools.

The North Carolina New Schools Project is a statewide public-private partnership that sparks sustainable innovation in North Carolina secondary schools. Its vision is to ensure every student graduates ready for college, careers and life. The North Carolina New Schools Project partners with school districts, businesses and higher education to link innovation in education to the emerging economy.

Alternative Certification Program for STEM Teachers Wins State Approval

January 18, 2012 - College graduates interested in becoming high school science, math and technology teachers now have a new option for certification. The State Board of Education approved the North Carolina New Schools Project’s STEM Teacher Education Program (STEP) this month, and applications are now available for the lateral-entry teacher certification program.

An initiative of NCNSP, the non-traditional teacher education program is supported by the federal Transitions to Teaching grant program, which supports efforts to recruit and retain highly qualified mid-career professionals and recent college graduates interested in earning a teaching license through an alternative route. NCNSP is one of 30 organizations nationwide awarded five-year grants from the U.S. Department of Education to train non-education graduates to teach in high-needs schools.

Grants Support Network of Energy & Sustainability Schools

January 5, 2012 - Secondary education focused on the theme of energy and sustainability is getting a significant boost from Progress Energy through a challenge grant to the North Carolina New Schools Project (NCNSP). This year’s challenge to support science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education was met by gifts from Duke Energy, ABB Inc. and North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives with donations totaling $165,000.

This year represents the second of a three-year challenge grant from Progress Energy. Under the terms of the grant, NCNSP raises $100,000 each year from other donors to qualify for a $50,000 annual match from Progress Energy. These funds support an NCNSP-affiliated network of STEM secondary schools with a thematic focus on energy and sustainability. The network includes Avery County High School STEM Academy, Charlotte STEM High School (in planning), Edgecombe Early College High School, Durham’s Southern School of Engineering, Tri-County Early College High School in Cherokee County and Wake NC State University STEM Early College High School.