North Carolina leaders welcome students to a new school year
As the new academic year kicks off, Gov. Josh Stein and State Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green visited campuses to welcome students, parents, and teachers back to school.
On Monday, they visited Conn Magnet Elementary School in Raleigh where they stood outside the building shaking hands, doling out high-fives, and wishing the students a great year. Green told reporters that he got to the school “bright and early” to greet the teachers, as well.
“Now, as we start this school year and having the students come in, I can only imagine the wonderful things that will happen this school year,” Green said outside the elementary school on Monday. “(Teachers are) so excited, waiting for the students to arrive. And now that they’re coming in, I am excited as well.”
Green also visited The Exploris School’s middle school campus in Raleigh on Wednesday. Green stood outside the doors of the charter school greeting students, welcoming teachers, and learning about stories. Principal Deborah Brown — the 2026 Charter School Principal of the Year — told EdNC that it meant a lot to have Green “paying attention to those small arrival moments.”
“We want to start every day with every student being greeted by name, having those connections and that check-in,” said Brown. “So having him here to model that from the top of the state — it really just ties so nicely to our core values and to everything we want for our students.”
Across the state, 1.5 million students will attend public schools this year, about 84% of North Carolinian children, according to previous reporting by EdNC. At the visit to Conn Elementary, Stein thanked parents who chose to send their children to N.C. public schools.
“I’m going to start this way — with a sincere thank you to each and every parent for choosing a North Carolina public school,” said Stein. “You have honored us by making that choice, and in so doing, now we get to be able to educate your child, which we will do at an extremely high level.”
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Green also highlighted “historic results” of the previous school year, including record levels for overall graduation rates, the number of students taking and passing college-level courses or exams, and the number of students who are able to earn industry-recognized credentials.
“Expect excellence from each and every one of our schools, so that we can deliver at the highest levels for each and every one,” said Stein on Monday.
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‘A launching pad’: reflections on the budget
While kids were at home on summer break, Stein was able to sign North Carolina’s first budget in the last three years into law.
“I’m really gratified that the budget that I signed under law last month made a meaningful investment in our public schools. The largest teacher pay increase in about 20 years. The largest starting teacher pay increase in about 50 years,” said Stein on Monday.
However, last week, Stein held an NC Strong Update, where he discussed the need for continued improvements to teacher support.
“Even with these much needed pay raises, we still rank 40th in the country in teacher pay. If I told you that we started out 40th, none of you would have found that acceptable. So we have more work to do. I see this budget as a launching pad, not a landing spot,” said Stein.
Stein also said that the state needs to work together to better value veteran teachers. His sentiments were echoed by Jeremiah Tucker, student body president at Broughton Magnet High School in Raleigh, who said that the budget did not accurately reflect the work that veteran teachers, like his mom, have put in. The new budget did not eliminate the teacher pay plateau, restore master’s pay, or adjust salary schedules so that teachers with more than 25 years of experience receive pay increases with time.
“(Veteran teachers) know what they’re doing, and we want them to keep teaching our kids,” Stein told EdNC. “All these new teachers that we’re getting into the field, we want them to see this as an attractive option for them, not only in years one, two, and three, but over an entire career.”
During Green’s visit to Exploris, Brown also said that often people focus too much on recruiting teachers but not enough on sustaining and retaining experienced teachers. She said that when her school has lost teachers, it’s because they’re leaving the education field entirely.
“We’re losing all of that institutional knowledge, all of the people who really have that experience,” said Brown.
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Screens in the schools and student mental health
During the NC Strong Update last week and on Monday, Stein highlighted the issue of technology use in schools.
This month, DPI released the results of a student well-being survey, where student mental health was marked as an “area of concern.” According to the survey, 29.7% of high school students felt sad or hopeless all the time. When asked about those results, Stein cited cellphone use as a contributing factor to student mental health.
He also described the importance of minimizing distractions in the classroom.
“We took a measure last year here in North Carolina, grateful to the legislature’s partnership on this, to shut down personal cellphones during school day,” said Stein, “because when teachers are competing with TikTok for student attention, they’re going to lose.”
Green spoke on the issue at Conn Elementary as well, directing teachers and guardians to consult statewide guidance from the Department of Public Instruction for when to use technology.
“Not every time is a time to put a screen in front of a child, but there are times when it is instructionally appropriate for that to happen,” said Green.
Back-to-school messages
Throughout the month, the governor has encouraged North Carolinians to support schools as they kick back off again. Last week, he delivered donated school supplies to W.M. Irvin Elementary School in Concord, where he said how N.C. teachers “spend more than $1,600 of their own money on classroom supplies each year” on average.
This summer, the governor also encouraged communities to donate school supplies to local classrooms, and the drive collected more than 110,000 unique school supplies, according to a press release.
Stein also spoke directly to the students of Conn Elementary over the PA system on Monday.
“And for you students, this is your year — your year for the taking,” said Stein. “Work hard, listen to your teachers, ask them questions, and be a good friend to each other. I know you’re going to be wonderful this year. Make it a great one. Good luck, everybody.”
Also check out this video message from State Board of Education Chair Eric Davis, encouraging North Carolina students to remember that learning is a journey.
“This year is filled with opportunities,” Davis said.