North Carolina has placed a high priority on education since its founding. We were one of the first states to lay the groundwork for public education in the nineteenth century, and we have one of the strongest legal foundations for public education in the nation. In the state’s Reconstruction Constitution of 1868, we recognized that...

Early College High Schools (ECHS) blend high schools and colleges to create an academically rigorous and supportive environment where students can attain a high school diploma and two years of college credit within five years. The school model typically targets students who are traditionally underrepresented in college, including students from low-income backgrounds, first generation college...

In 2012, North Carolina’s public schools tied for fourth in the nation in relative school finance equity – a measure of funding fairness across K-12 public school districts in an economically diverse state. Variations in state per-pupil spending across districts were, on average, nine percent above or below the state average. That year, the gap...

North Carolina is home to the oldest public university in the nation, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Chartered by the General Assembly in 1789, the University of North Carolina was the first public university in the United States to open its doors and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth...

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) was established in 1987 with the goal of setting high standards for the teaching profession. North Carolina’s Governor Hunt served as the first chair of the NBPTS Board of Directors, and today, the state has the largest number of National Board Certified teachers in the country. Today,...

North Carolina has a track record of innovation and nation-leading success in early care and education. Our state pioneered the nation’s first comprehensive early childhood initiative (Smart Start) to improve the quality of child care, provide access to health screenings and offer support to families. Since 2001, North Carolina has provided early childhood education through...

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) was established in 1987 with the goal of setting high standards for the teaching profession. North Carolina Governor Hunt served as the first chair of the NBPTS Board of Directors, and today, North Carolina has the largest number of National Board Certified teachers in the country, with...