Governor McCrory Announces Federal Approval For North Carolina's Equitable Access To Excellent Educators Plan | Eastern North Carolina Now

 Raleigh, NC     Governor Pat McCrory announced today that North Carolina is among nine states to win approval of its Excellent Educators for All plan by the U.S. Department of Education.

 "This plan will give our teachers the support and administrators the data they need to deliver higher quality classroom instruction for our students," Governor McCrory said.

 The other states that won approval today are Idaho, Illinois, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio, Utah and Wyoming.

 Better teacher preparation programs are a major element of North Carolina's plan. These programs will help educators provide higher-quality instruction and prepare them for success in high-need schools.

 Additionally, the North Carolina plan includes incentives designed to reward teachers for exceptional work and to encourage excellent educators to remain in the high-need schools.

 The North Carolina plan also emphasizes data-driven decision-making. A Human Capital Dashboard will be developed to help principals, human resource managers and administrators analyze the effectiveness of teachers moving in and out of districts and schools.

 This plan continues Governor McCrory's commitment to teacher excellence and providing educators the tools that will lead to higher student achievement.

 Shortly after taking office in 2013, Governor McCrory helped pass and signed one of the largest teacher raises in North Carolina history. The new pay plan allows talented, but low experience, teachers to earn more money sooner so they stay in the profession and develop into the next generation of education leaders.

 Since Governor McCrory took office, the overall increase in teacher salaries will soon exceed $1 billion. This increase includes base pay of $35,000 for every North Carolina teacher as well as providing a nearly 10 percent tier-based increase for teachers with 19 years or more experience.

 Additionally, Governor McCrory won a $23 million federal grant to expand Wi-Fi access to K-12 classrooms throughout the state. This grant will extend high performance Wi-Fi to more than 20,000 classrooms, benefiting more than 375,000 students.

 Per pupil spending in North Carolina continues to grow. It has increased each year since 2011, growing from $5,161.73 to $5,638.39 per pupil in 2015.

 The governor also strengthened North Carolina's end of grade tests. The new standards align with the national metrics used in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which is better known as the Nation's Report Card.

 The improvements in K-12 education appear to be paying off. The percentage of North Carolina students enrolled in public universities requiring remediation fell from 9.54 percent in 2012 to 4.96 percent in 2014.

 "Providing our students and educators the tools they need to reach their potential will continue to be among my highest priorities," Governor McCrory said.

• Contact: Crystal Feldman
•     govpress@nc.gov