myFutureNC

Listening Session locations

myFutureNC, a statewide education commission focusing on educational attainment for all North Carolinians, is holding a series of nine listening sessions throughout the state, beginning at the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering in Greensboro on February 28, 2018. The listening sessions are designed to hear from communities about what they perceive as their region’s economic strengths and identify the education opportunities that are most needed to capitalize on those strengths.

Working in partnership with the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, the University of North Carolina School of Government and EducationNC, the listening sessions will generate public ideas to complement the work of the myFutureNC Commission and provide recommendations to help guide the process. In addition to this event at the Joint School, future listening sessions will be held in Lenoir, Raleigh, Elizabeth City, Pinehurst, Jacksonville and Kannapolis with the final session in July in the Qualla Boundary. Participants in the listening session will include local education, business and political leaders, as well as current students and their parents.

The goal of the myFutureNC Commission is to create a multi-year education plan, from early childhood through postsecondary education, which recommends clear attainment goals, identifies key benchmarks and proposes promising reforms to guide the future of education in North Carolina. In addition to the nine statewide listening sessions, the myFutureNC Commission will meet quarterly throughout the year.

The effort is led by a team of co-chairs: Dale Jenkins, CEO of Medical Mutual Holdings; Andrea Smith, Chief Administrative Officer of Bank of America; and Margaret Spellings, President of the University of North Carolina system. The Commission’s work is underwritten by grants from the John M. Belk Endowment, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Goodnight Education Foundation.

For more information visit the myFutureNC website.

The following listening sessions will be held from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. Drop in at any time. We will be talking to participants 1:1 starting at 2:30, meeting in small groups at 3:00, and hosting a community conversation with local education thought leaders at 4:15.

1. Piedmont Triad – February 28
The Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (NC A&T; Greensboro)
Local Focus: The community organization perspective: Winston McGregor (Guilford Ed Alliance)

2. Northwest – March 7
J.E. Broyhill Civic Center (Lenoir)
Local Focus: The community college perspective: Dr. Garrett Hinshaw (CVCC); Dr. Michael Helmick (WPCC); Dr. Mark Poarch CCC&TI; Deborah Murray (Caldwell Co EDC Director)

3. North-Central/Triangle – March 22
NC Rural Economic Development Center (Raleigh)
Local Focus: The HBCU perspective: Donald Barringer, North Carolina Central University School of Education & Former Teacher Advisor to Governor Bev Perdue and Anthony Brooks, Shaw University

4. Northeast – April 19
Museum of the Albemarle (Elizabeth City)
Local Focus: The principals’ perspective: Michelle White (Region 1 Principal of the Year; D. F. Walker Elementary, Edenton-Chowan County); Laura Moreland (Perquimans County Middle School); Andrew Harris (Northeast Academy of Aerospace and Advanced Technology)

5. Sandhills – May 3
Owens Auditorium, Sandhills Community College (Pinehurst)

6. Southeast – May 16
Jacksonville City Offices (Jacksonville)
Local Focus: The military family perspective

7. Southwest – June 14
Kannapolis City Hall (Kannapolis)
Local Focus: The cross-sector partnership perspective: Dr. Carol Spalding (R-CCC); Kelli Antonides (R-CCC); Dr. Chip Buckwell  (Kannapolis City Schools); Rusty Parker (Cabarrus County Schools)

8. West – July 12
Cherokee Central School (Qualla Boundary)
Local Focus: The native perspective: Dr. Beverly Payne (Assistant Superintendent, Cherokee Central School); Yona Wade (Director of PR, Development, and CJDCAC, Cherokee Central School); Joel Creasman, Principal, Central Cherokee Middle School); Dr. Deb Foerst (Principal, Central Cherokee High School); Dan Martin (Cherokee Preservation Foundation); Dr. Mike Murray (Superintendent, Cherokee Central School)

9. Piedmont Triad- July 18
Randolph Community College Continuing Education and Industrial Center (Asheboro)
Local focus: Bringing it all together: the PreK-K12-CC-IHE continuum: Dr. Robert Shackleford (President, Randolph Community College); Dr. Dana Dunn (Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, UNCG); Dr. Angela Kern (Associate Professor of Elementary Education, Pfeiffer University); Dr. Terry Worrell (Superintendent, Asheboro City Schools); Dr. Catherine Berry (Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Randolph County School System); Holly White (Early Childhood Development Center Director, Asheboro City Schools); Rick Powell (President, PEMMCO Manufacturing)