Superintendent Maurice "Mo" Green's new strategic plan paints a vision of North Carolina public schools as becoming "the very best in the nation."
"We have to talk about it that way," Green said. "To then have an entire state say we're focused on being best in the nation, not second best, not 'we want incremental improvement.' "
Green presented his final strategic plan to the State Board of Education Wednesday. Board members will vote on approval of the plan Thursday.
The plan comes after a listening tour, billed the "Mo Wants To Know Tour," where Green traveled to schools around the state to hear from students, parents, educators and community members about their thoughts on improving public education. Green's initial draft of a strategic plan also received feedback from the governor's office, educator associations, members of the General Assembly, state health officials, and the public.
"Some feedback we got from folks around the state was, what do we mean by best in the nation? How do we think about what that means for our state?" said Geoff Coltrane, Senior Director of Government Affairs and Strategy at the Department of Public Instruction.
The final plan lays out criteria for determining whether North Carolina public schools are worthy of the title "best in the nation." Those criteria include:
- High school graduation rates
- Scores on ACT college entrance exams
- Participation and pass rates on Advanced Placement exams
- Participation in dual enrollment courses and career and technical education courses
- Performance in fourth and eighth grade reading and math on the national NAEP exam, commonly known as "the nation's report card"
participation in character education - Share of school-aged children in public schools (traditional, charter, regional or lab schools)
New mission statement
The state board will also vote Thursday on a new mission statement. The board is proposing a joint statement with the state superintendent and DPI, rather than having separate mission statements, as has been done in the past. The revised statement adds the phrase "and to support public school units in providing every student an excellent education that prepares them for success in their next phase of life."
"I really love that we moved from just a 'sound, basic education' to an 'excellent education' for our students," said Rachel Candaso, who was named the 2025 NC Teacher of the Year.
Strategic plan's eight pillars and actions
The strategic plan outlines eight "pillars" with each one defining actions state education officials will take. Some of the specific actions include:
- Developing a teacher training program for elementary math, parallel to the existing "science of reading" initiative
- Advocate for competitive pay for teachers, principals and staff including pay for advanced degrees
- Begin a task force to recommend improvements to teacher licensure
- Launch a virtual NCDPI Family Academy to offer webinars for families
- Partner with community and health service organizations to expand school-based health
services for students and staff - Launch a statewide reading campaign where students will collectively read 10 million books annually
State Board members respond to plan
Board member Catty Moore, former superintendent of Wake County Schools and interim superintendent of Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools, said the way that Green's plan is resonating with principals and educators in schools is "no small feat."
"I can see students looking at these pillars, teachers looking at these pillars, all levels of the folks that are part of our public schools and they can see themselves and see their needs reflected there," Moore said.
"I believe these eight pillars read the room when it comes to our state and what we need," said Candaso, North Carolina Teacher of the Year.
Board member Olivia Oxendine called for more specific launch dates and interim metrics of success.
"The whole concept is real exciting, but I would like to see start dates and end dates," Oxendine said.
Board member Jill Camnitz praised the plan for outlining actions that are within the Department of Public Instruction's control.
"That makes me more and more optimistic that we're going to be able to do this," Camnitz said.
Other board members also pointed to the obstacles, including the state's middle-of-the pack benchmarks on many national measures — like scores on the nation's report card — and a state legislature that has supported funding for private schools, while not yet passing a biennial state budget to fund the annual needs of public schools.
"This plan does not deny the reality of challenges, and it faces them head on with creativity, commitment and the unwavering belief in our teachers and that our students deserve nothing less than our full commitment in excellence," said the board's chair Eric Davis.
In his opening comments to the board Wednesday, Davis thanked the General Assembly for recently passing a mini-budget that funds school enrollment growth and the annual salary step increases educators routinely receive for another year of experience. Davis also drew attention to the continually delayed passage of a full budget.
"We must also speak the truth that this (mini) budget stopped short of providing the resources our public schools and our public school educators so desperately need," Davis said. "There are no new raises for educators, and it cuts or reallocates funds in ways that reduces our Department of Public Instruction's flexibility."
