Dear parents and families of the class of 2026,
Graduation season is when North Carolina’s public schools come into their fullest light. From the small auditoriums to large arenas across our state, families are gathering to watch their graduate stride across a stage and into a future they have spent 13 years building. There is no moment quite like it.
Thank you for allowing North Carolina public schools to help educate your child. It has been our honor to be part of you and your child’s educational journey, from the first time your child climbed onto a yellow school bus or was dropped off at school by you, through the times your child made you proud, worried you sick and surprised you in ways you could not have imagined.
Thank you for doing your part in this journey, from packing lunches, signing permission slips, staying up late to help with projects, reviewing homework, reading with your child, being sure they caught the bus, attending parent-teacher conferences, applauding at ball games and band concerts and on and on.
It has been an incredible journey for North Carolina public schools, you and your child.
Graduation season is also a moment to look at what we have accomplished together in North Carolina’s public schools.
While we will be compiling information about the class of 2026 during the next few months, it is worth noting that last year’s senior class graduated at a rate of 87.7%, the highest in our state’s history.
In 2025, more students than ever before took Advanced Placement exams, with 72.1% of the student’s scores qualified for college credit, the highest percentage in our state’s history, and exceeding the national average.
Last year, our students earned 382,964 career and technical education credentials, the most in our state’s history. And 54% of last year’s graduates passed at least one college-level course before they even crossed their high school graduation stage, again the highest percentage in our state’s history.
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Results like these do not happen by accident. They happen because public schools are working. They happen because students show up, because educators teach with skill and heart, and because parents like you keep believing.
Your child’s accomplishments are worthy of celebration. Congratulations to you and your child.
With deep gratitude and enormous pride,
Maurice “Mo” Green
North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction
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