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Applications open for rural middle schools to join Golden LEAF Schools Initiative

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Scott Hamilton, left, at the gathering of the Golden LEAF Schools Initiative in July 2025. Courtesy of N.C. DPI

Schools can now apply to join the next cohort of the Golden LEAF Schools Initiative, designed to improve school performance, according to a Request for Proposals (RFP) from the Department of Public Instruction (DPI). 

Launched in January 2025 with funding from the Golden LEAF Foundation, the initiative will award up to five additional rural middle schools the opportunity to participate in the Personalized Competency-Based Education (PCBE) cohort. The team previously selected 10 schools for its Transformative Schools cohort and five schools for the PCBE cohort in June 2025.

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The cohort provides “support to institutionalize personalized learning approaches, fostering innovation and student-centered education that aligns with future-ready competencies.”

Participating schools will receive professional development, coaching, math instructional resources, travel funding, and financial incentives totaling more than $300,000 in resources per school over four years — from the upcoming school year to 2029-2030.

Resources for districts: The Golden LEAF Schools Initiative

Schools in the cohort will work with DPI coaches to meet the initiative’s expectations. Those include creating data collection plans, having monthly meetings with DPI staff, and engaging regularly with coaches from Marzano’s High Reliability Schools. Marzano’s framework is the school improvement approach underpinning the initiative.

Cohort members also attend the initiative’s annual convening and are expected to progress through the Marzano method’s five progressive levels. 

Eligible middle schools must be traditional public schools in rural counties with persistent Tier 1 or Tier 2 status. These schools cannot be designated as low-performing schools for the 2024-25 school year. 

Applying schools must also demonstrate the superintendent’s support for the initiative and the principal’s commitment to serve in that role throughout the grant period. 

Submissions are open through Feb. 18 at 5 p.m. The initiative will host an informational webinar for applicants on Feb. 5 at 10 a.m. (registration required). Applications will undergo three rounds of reviews, including an interview between March 9 and 20. The State Board of Education will approve the winners on May 6. 

The $25 million in funding for the initiative comes from the Golden LEAF Foundation, a private nonprofit established in 1999 using a portion of North Carolina’s tobacco settlement funds. The organization works to promote economic opportunity in rural and tobacco-dependent areas.

Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green has described the initiative as “an incredible investment in North Carolina’s public schools.” He has said the initiative is intended to serve as a blueprint for schools across North Carolina, launching in rural middle schools and continuing through high school to monitor students’ career readiness and postsecondary outcomes.

You can read the full RFP document here.