Education

North Carolina has won $70 million more in the federal government’s Race To The Top grant competition. The second award will go to early childhood education.

North Carolina is one of only 6 repeat winners. The U.S. Department of Education made the announcement this morning. North Carolina’s total grant award from Race to the Top is now around $470 million.

The latest grant will go to funding improvements to early childhood programs for at-risk kids. It will also be used to improve student and teacher assessments.

North Carolina’s high school graduation rate is inching up. For the first time last year, the state ranked better than the national average. But still, about 1 in 4 high school students in the state drops out. And in a knowledge-based economy, those without at least a high school diploma are highly likely to struggle the rest of their lives.

Yesterday the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering in Greensboro cut the ribbon to its brand new 64 million dollar facility. Students from UNC-Greensboro and North Carolina A&T State University have been using temporary facilities for the past year. Now, they have state-of-the-art technology as they research everything from diseases to the components of a cell phone.

The Durham Public Schools will delay a major overhaul of its magnet system. The announcement was made earlier today by Superintendent Eric Becoats.