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As Students Head Back to School, Workforce and Educational Organizations Charge Forward to Close the 400,000-Person Attainment Gap

NC School Boards Association, Association of Workforce Development Boards, and School Superintendents’ Association among 18 organizations committed to 2 million by 2030 

RALEIGH, NC [October 8, 2019] — With students across North Carolina heading back to the classroom and a new school year in full swing, statewide workforce and educational organizations are also moving ahead with commitments to help myFutureNC realize the state’s bold educational attainment goal. Through their endorsements of the goal, North Carolina School Boards Association (NCSBA), North Carolina Association of Workforce Development Boards (NCAWDB), and the North Carolina School Superintendents’ Association have pledged to help 2 million North Carolinians obtain a high-quality post-secondary degree or credential by 2030.

“The broad support myFutureNC has generated across leaders in our communities, education, and business is critical to preparing North Carolina’s workforce of tomorrow,” said Edwin Dunlap Jr., executive director of NCSBA. “Given NCSBA’s commitment to ensuring all North Carolina students are prepared for life beyond the high school classroom, we are eager to join myFutureNC and groups across the state in easing access to postsecondary attainment for all.”

On September 13, 2019, NCSBA passed a resolution codifying its commitment to the statewide educational attainment goal. The organization highlighted that myFutureNC’s efforts “to realize its ambitious and rigorous goals by 2030 will benefit the students, educators, families, communities, and businesses of our great state.”

“North Carolina is at an important crossroad,” said Jeff Frederick, president of the NCAWDB. “To expand economic opportunity for our people and build a more prosperous future for our state, we must dramatically increase educational attainment. We’re eager to be part of this critical cross-sector effort and will continue to encourage partnerships between workforce development boards and educators to achieve the goal of 2 million by 2030.”

On August 14, 2019, the NCAWDB passed a resolution to support the statewide educational attainment goal. Local workforce development boards, including those from Mountain Area, Western Piedmont, Piedmont Triad, Triangle South, Kerr-Tar, and Northeast regions, have also passed resolutions committing to helping 2 million North Carolinians achieve postsecondary attainment by 2030.

“Superintendents across North Carolina are committed to making sure every student in our public school system graduates high school prepared for work, further education, and citizenship,” said Jack Hoke, executive director of the North Carolina School Superintendents’ Association. “We’re looking forward to working with stakeholders across the education continuum to provide equitable opportunities for North Carolinians to achieve postsecondary attainment.”

The North Carolina School Superintendents’ Association passed a resolution committing to the statewide educational attainment goal on August 8, 2019. The organization supports the work of myFutureNC, whose efforts, it said, “make use of educational and financial resources to fully benefit North Carolina’s public school students, educators, and administrators.”

To view a comprehensive list of organizations that have endorsed the statewide educational attainment goal, visit https://www.myfuturenc.org/who-we-are/funders-partners/.

About myFutureNC

myFutureNC is a statewide nonprofit focused on educational attainment that includes some of North Carolina’s most influential education, business, and civic leaders. The organization was formed with the goal to create a stronger, more competitive North Carolina. To learn more about myFutureNC, visit www.myfuturenc.org.