SEARCH THE SITE: Educational Accomplishments	North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley's top priority is reforming public education in North Carolina so students are ready to succeed either in college or in meeting the workforce demands of the global economy. He is restructuring high schools so students are engaged and stay in school, he has added literacy coaches in the middle schools so students have the tools they need to learn in high schools and he has established a statewide pre-kindergarten program so at-risk youngsters are ready to learn when they start school.     The key component of North Carolina's high school reform is Gov. Easley's Learn and Earn high schools. There are 33 Learn and Earn schools currently in operation on university and community college campuses around the state and plans for another 42 to open by the fall of 2008. These schools allow students to obtain a high school diploma plus an associate's degree or two years of transferable university credit with just one additional year of study.     Economic development themed schools, which are being created with planning dollars from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, are smaller schools that focus on emerging industries such as health care, biotech, information technology and international commerce. These schools are sometimes a school within a school, and have no more than 400 students. The themed focus nables students to make the connection between their courses and their desired career field. Local businesses provide cooperative educational opportunities and internships that are directly integrated with the students' academic requirements. There are 25 schools around the state now and plans to open 10 more in the fall of 2007 that will focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics.     Gov. Easley has proposed EARN scholarships, about $4,000 a year, so that students from low and moderate income families have the opportunity to finish an undergraduate education at a University of North Carolina campus debt free. Students who could get the scholarships would have to work at least 10 hours a week and keep their grades up.     North Carolina is the first state in the nation to provide a Center for 21st Century Skills to redesign the curriculum, assessments and professional development in high school to prepare students to meet the demands of the 21st century. North Carolina is one of nine states that has adopted a rigorous curriculum designed to make sure that every high school graduate is prepared to enter a state university, whether or not they intend to do so. Gov. Easley has also worked to keep and recruit the best teachers. His budgets have increased starting salaries and the state is on track to increase teacher pay to surpass the national average by the end of 2008.     But Gov. Easley recognizes that reform doesn't start at the high school level. His More at Four pre-kindergarten program is a community-based academic initiative designed to prepare at-risk 4-year-olds in North Carolina to be successful in school. Programs meet high-quality standards with a specific curriculum emphasizing literacy, physical/fine-motor development and problem solving/thinking. More at Four currently serves 18,653 children in all 100 of the state's counties at a cost of $84.6 million for 2006-07. In addition to a 10 percent increase in funding per slot, Gov. Easley has recommended adding an additional 10,000 slots for next year.     Press Releases     July 31, 2007   Gov. Easley Signs Budget That Makes North Carolina Nation's Clear Leader In Education Innovation     July 31, 2007   Gov. Easley's High School Reform and EARN Scholarships     May 9, 2007   Gov. Easley’s Learn And Earn High School Reform Efforts Featured At National Summit On Dropout Prevention Watch the Video - Real Player Watch the Video - Windows Media Player     April 12, 2007   Gov. Easley Urges Business Leaders to Back More Education Reforms     February 22, 2007   Gov. Easley Proposes Nation’s Most Ambitious Education Budget     February 19, 2007   Gov. Easley Calls on N.C. to Blaze New Trail to Prosperity     January 19, 2007   Gov. Easley to Lead Nation’s Top Education Organization     December 29, 2006   CBS News Calls Gov. Easley’s High School Reform Efforts ‘Revoluntionary     November 22, 2006   Gov. Easley Announces $1.8 Million Gates Foundation Grant for School Turnaround Initiative     September 19, 2006   Gov. Easley Orders Financial Performance Audit of High Schools     July 10, 2006   Gov. Easley Signs Budget that Keeps Education as N.C.’s Top Priority     June 19, 2006   Gov. Easley Addresses Educators on High School Reform Efforts     June 13, 2006   Gov. Easley Unveils Agenda to Improve Low-Performing High Schools     May 23, 2006   Gov. Easley Announces $10.4 Million Grant to Continue High School Reform Efforts     May 22, 2006   Gov. Easley Awards UNC-G $40,000 to Create North Carolina’s First Virtual Learn and Earn High School     August 30, 2005   Gov. Easley Announces N.C. SAT Gains Outpace The Nation     April 21, 2005   Gov. Easley Announces Nation’s First Center for 21st Century Skills     April 6, 2006   Gov. Easley Briefs Legislators On 2006 Education Agenda     March 15, 2006   Gov. Easley Calls On Business Leaders To Partner With State On High School Reform Efforts     February 28, 2006   Gov. Easley Highlights North Carolina’s High School Reform Efforts     October 18, 2005   Gov. Easley Announces More Than $1 Million In Grants For 23 New ‘Learn and Earn’ High Schools     October 10, 2005   Gov. Easley Announces Creation Of Thematically-Focused High Schools     August 3, 2005   Gov. Easley Requests ‘Turnaround Teams’ For Low-Performing High Schools     June 24, 2005   Gov. Easley Announces New Health And Life Sciences-Themed High Schools Will Open This Fall       September 8, 2004   Gov. Easley Announces ‘Learn and Earn’ High School Program     February 5, 2004   Gov. Easley Announces Grants For High School Innovation     August 27, 2003   Gov. Easley Announces $30 Million Effort To Create New High Schools       04/12/07 Gov. Mike Easley urged members of the North Carolina Business Committee for Education to support the education reforms he has proposed in his budget. He thanked them for their efforts to improve public schools at the annual Business Committee for Education meeting at the Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord.       09/19/06 Gov. Mike Easley launched a statewide effort to conduct performance audits in all 115 school districts to ensure accountability and the smart, targeted use of resources in the state's public high schools.       3/20/06 Gov. Easley visited with students and teachers in the Learn and Earn program at the Early/Middle College at Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown.       02/28/06 Gov. Mike Easley highlighted North Carolina's high school reform efforts at the National Governors' Association meeting in Washington, D.C. Easley participated in a panel discussion about successful high school reform efforts across the United States.       05/18/05 Gov. Mike Easley announced that seven school districts in North Carolina will receive grants to create technology themed high schools aimed at better preparing students for the workforce and college. These grants are a part of Easley's 21st Century High Schools initiative to reform high schools across the state.       05/04/05 Gov. Easley met with education officials and held a press conference to discuss Learn and Earn high schools and other education initiatives at the Teachers Legacy Hall at the UNC Wilmington Watson School of Education in Wilmington.       09/08/04 Gov. Mike Easley announced a new program designed to provide incentive for high school students to remain in school, earn an associate's degree and prepare them for high skill jobs in new and emerging industries. Learn and Earn will provide students with the option of a five-year high school program that enables them to earn a high school diploma and a community college associate degree while gaining necessary skills to pursue a career in the new economy.
	2004 - State of North Carolina Office of the Governor
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