The Surry-Yadkin Works Playbook is a regional, cross-sector approach to driving your future workforce.

This playbook explores an innovative work-based learning program called Surry-Yadkin Works, summarizing the conditions that primed the program for success and detailing the specific steps taken by a group of cross-sector stakeholders to bring the program to life. It is our hope that this playbook will guide others in adapting and replicating the Surry-Yadkin Works model to meet their local and regional needs.

The Belk Center is dedicated to developing tools and resources that help leaders make timely, well-informed, evidence-based decisions.

UNC Chapel Hill Public Policy Capstone Final Portfolio: myFutureNC by Michael Grigsby, Ashley Huff, Isabel Cosby, America Juarez-Maldonado, Lauren Collins, and Katie Hopkins

• Infographic: Barriers to Higher Education: Closing the Educational Attainment Gap in North Carolina

Find out more about setting local attainment goals here

Visit our policy briefs page here

An investment in myFutureNC is an investment in North Carolina’s future. It is an investment in its people, its communities and its economy. Support toward meeting this goal is critical and lifechanging. 2 Million by 2030 will benefit all North Carolinians. An investment in myFutureNC is an investment in a stronger North Carolina.

• Case for Support
  • Download the full report

This Plan is a result of input from the myFutureNC Strategic Plan Working Group, which included myFutureNC Board members and partners from the Belk Center, Carolina Demography, EdNC, former Executive Director of Tennessee Score, NC Chamber, NC Community Colleges, NCICU, State Board of Education, The Hunt Institute, The Friday Institute, and UNC System.  We worked to make sure the vision, goals, and five strategic responsibilities are grounded in the Call to Action report (link).  These also provide a strong, action-oriented foundation upon which to build, while allowing for enough flexibility that myFutureNC can adapt to meet the most current state and local needs. We tried to make sure there was enough distinction between each of the strategic responsibilities, separating out the work around the general public, state and sector leaders, local initiatives, research, and measuring progress toward our goal.

• Strategic  Plan
  • Download the full plan
  • Executive Summary

Postsecondary education is a critical path forward for post-COVID economic recovery.  The pandemic has brought many challenges and highlights the importance of education after high school.  The state must capitalize on one of the best education infrastructures in the nation by working during this time to improve the delivery of education and support to students to result in better college readiness, and higher college enrollment and completion rates with degrees and credentials that align with business and industry needs.

All people have been affected greatly by the pandemic, but those without postsecondary degrees or high-quality credentials have been hit especially hard economically. Data from Georgetown University shows that in April 2020, 19.2% of workers with a high school education level or less were unemployed as compared to just 8.5% of workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher. Education is both a short-term recovery approach and a long-term strategy to ensure our residents have the required skills and education to navigate a fluctuating economy. North Carolina leaders have a deep commitment and history of working collaboratively to support educational opportunities for all.

August 2020 Policy Recommendations

Revised February 2021 Policy Recommendations

In February 2019, myFutureNC embarked on one of the most ambitious education attainment goals in the country: 2 million high-quality credentials or postsecondary degrees by 2030. We’re on a mission to completely close the educational attainment gap in North Carolina, but we must act now. If we do nothing, by 2030 our state will fall short 400,000 individuals with the skills needed to fill our future jobs.

To update stakeholders on this goal, and to provide strategies for community and business leaders to facilitate education attainment in their region, myFutureNC hosted its 2020-2030: A Vision for Attainment event February 10, 2020.  Livestream Link

We’re on a mission to completely close the educational attainment gap in North Carolina. Our ambitious goal: Ensuring that by 2030, 2 million North Carolinians have a high-quality credential or postsecondary degree or credential. myFutureNC Mission and Goals 2019

The following documents were published on February 20, 2019, when myFutureNC officially announced its recommendation for North Carolina’s educational attainment goal.

• Two-pager on myFutureNC
• Call to Action Final Report
  • Download the full report
  • Executive Summary
  • A Call to Action for the State of North Carolina
  • What Motivates Our Work
  • Where Do We Want to Go?
  • Framing the Work Ahead
  • Building & Sustaining Momentum
  • Appendix A: How the Commission Developed this Report
  • Appendix B: Attainment & Performance Indicators
  • Appendix C: Connections Between Priorities & Indicators
  • Appendix D: Current & Recent N.C. Education Commissions
  • Appendix E: Commissioned Data Sources
  • Appendix F: Policy Brief Summaries
  • Appendix G: EducationNC Survey Results
  • Appendix H: Listening Tour Summary
  • Appendix I: Strategies Archive
  • Appendix J: Recommendations & Commission Priorities
  • Appendix K: Caveats & Limitations
  • Glossary, References, and Acknowledgements

Six documents summarize the Challenges and Barriers identified during the Listening Tour (one for each of the different themes), as well as the related Recommendations provided by Listening Tour participants. Where appropriate, we have supplemented participant comments with relevant data from the statewide EducationNC and Gallup surveys.

1. Foundational Challenges & Barriers to Student Attainment & Related Recommendations
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2. Structural Challenges & Barriers to Student Attainment & Related Recommendations
   Download

3. Engagement Challenges & Barriers to Student Attainment & Related Recommendations
   Download

4. Social/Cultural Challenges & Barriers to Student Attainment & Related Recommendations
   Download

5. Place-Based Challenges & Barriers to Student Attainment & Related Recommendations
   Download

6. Fiscal Challenges & Barriers to Student Attainment & Related Recommendations
   Download

7. Recommendations for Moving the Work Forward
   Download

“Listening Tour: Mid-Point Summary Report”

• Trip Stallings, Director of Policy Research at the Friday Institute at North Carolina State University
• myFutureNC June 2018
• In 2018, we conducted a series of statewide listening sessions that were 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 generated public ideas to complement the work of the myFutureNC Commission and provided recommendations to help guide the process.  Participants in the listening sessions included local education, business, and political leaders, as well as current students and their parents.
• 2018 Listening Tour
  • Piedmont Triad – February 28
    • The Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (NC A&T, Greensboro)
  • Northwest – March 7
    • J.E. Broyhill Civic Center (Lenoir)
  • North-Central/Triangle – March 22
    • NC Rural Economic Development Center (Raleigh)
  • Northeast – April 19
    • Museum of the Albemarle (Elizabeth City)
  • Sandhills – May 3
    • Owens Auditorium, Sandhills Community College (Pinehurst)
  • Southeast – May 16
    • Jacksonville City Hall (Jacksonville)
  • Southwest – June 14
    • Kannapolis City Hall
  • West – July 12
    • Cherokee Central School (Qualla Boundary)
  • Piedmont Triad – July 18
    • Randolph Community College Continuing Education and Industrial Center (Asheboro)

myFutureNC collaborated with Gallup to conduct a statewide household mail survey of North Carolina residents during August 2018. The study measured residents’ opinions at each level of education available in the state, including early childhood education, K12 schools, two-year community colleges and four-year public and private colleges and universities.

• Download Gallup Survey (PDF)
• Download myFutureNC/Gallup Survey Press Release (PDF)

Through its listening sessions, the myFutureNC Commission heard from communities in the state engaged in impressive efforts to give residents the education and skills needed to thrive in today’s economy. ncIMPACT at the UNC School of Government and EdNC will present program profiles of these local innovations and explain how they support the five themes of the myFutureNC Commission.

1. Career Accelerator Program (Alamance County)
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2. STEP (Edgecombe & Nash Counties)
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3. K-64 (Catawba County)
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4. Project SECURE (Wake County)
   Download
5. Project Search (Buncombe County)
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6. Profound Gentlemen (Mecklenburg County)
   Download
7. Wilson 2020 Youth Master Plan (Wilson County)
   Download
8. Gold Rush Grant (Mecklenburg County)
   Download
9. Made in Durham (Durham County)
   Download
10. STEM East (12 Counties)
    Download

Carolina Demography, led by Dr. Rebecca Tippett, have compiled a series of four data briefs using the National Student Clearinghouse data to better understand key transition points and the college-going behaviors of North Carolina public high school graduates from 2009-2016.

1. Access: How many students are going to college? 
   • Download PDF report
   • Watch webinar
2. Persistence: How many students are still enrolled in postsecondary after their first year?
   • Download PDF report
   • Watch webinar
3. Success: How many students persist in the postsecondary enrollments to successfully complete a college degree or credential?
   • Download PDF report
   • Watch webinar
4. Postsecondary Pathways and Barriers to Opportunity: What are the most common pathways through postsecondary? What are the potential barriers to success suggested by pathways that end in stopout or dropout?
   • Download PDF Pathways report
   • Download PDF Supplement report
   • Watch webinar

• “Reaching a Postsecondary Attainment Goal: A Multistate Overview”
  • Patrick Sims, Policy Analyst, The Hunt Institute
  • An overview of how Tennessee, Virginia and Maine set about achieving an attainment goal, and recommendations for North Carolina policymakers.
  • Published by myFutureNC Commission 2018
• “Setting Productive, Attainable Education Goals for North Carolina”
  • ECONorthwest, June 2018
  • Presentation to myFutureNC Commission June 15, 2018

• “Advancing Student Achievement & Development in NC: Promising Policies & Practices for the Teaching Workforce”
  • Kevin Bastian, Senior Research Associate, Dept. of Public Policy, UNC Chapel Hill
  • Published by myFutureNC Commission August 2018
  • A strong teaching workforce directly benefits the students of North Carolina and there are opportunities to innovate, refine and better align policies and practices to strengthen the teacher workforce.
• “North Carolina K-12 Achievement”
  • Douglas Lauen, Associate Professor of Public Policy, UNC-Chapel Hill & Thomas Tomberlin, Director, School Research, Data and Reporting (NC Department of Public Instruction)
  • Published by myFutureNC Commission June 2018
  • Learning begets learning, which means that raising and maintaining achievement takes concerted action across many different levels of schooling.
• “Improving Educational Outcomes in North Carolina: Aligning Policy Initiatives in PreK through Grade 3”
  • Clara Muschkin, Associate Research Professor of Public Policy, Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University
  • Published by myFutureNC Commission June 2018
  • Early gains are most likely to persist if educational efforts are integrated in a Pre-K to grade 3 policy framework that emphasizes improved program access, quality and alignment.
• “K-12 Achievement and Proficiency Gaps”
• • • Thomas Tomberlin, Director, School Research, Data and Reporting-Office the Deputy State Superintendent

• “Community College to University Transfer” Policy Brief, Fact Sheet
  • Mark D’Amico, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership, UNC Charlotte & Lisa Chapman, Senior VP/Chief Academic Officer, North Carolina Community College System
  • Published by myFutureNC Commission June 2018
  • Approximately 31% of UNC System students are transfer students upon entry, but North Carolina is behind national figures in some key community college transfer indicators.
• “Affordability in NC’s Colleges and Universities: Policy Solutions to Minimize Student Debt & Maximize Repayment”
  • Jenna Robinson, President, James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal
  • Published by myFutureNC Commission August 2018
  • Many of North Carolina’s colleges and universities are more affordable to broad swaths of the population, but pockets of low graduation rates mixed with high default rates impede progress to reaching an achievable attainment goal.
• “The Transition from High School to College in North Carolina”
  • Julie Edmunds, Director of Secondary School Reform, SERVE Center at UNC Greensboro
  • Published by myFutureNC September 2018
  • This brief summarizes the skills and supports that students need to make the transition and explores North Carolina’s status on some key measures related to the transition.

• “A Focus on Non-Completers: One Strategy For Upskilling the Existing Workforce in NC”
  • Anita Brown-Graham, ncIMPACT Director and Professor of Public Law and Government & Catherine Moga Bryant, Executive Director NC Works Commission
  • Published by myFutureNC Commission June 2018
  • Upskilling is a continuous effort that helps people stay current with the requirements of their careers. Far too many North Carolinians lack the skills, work experiences and education to fill the jobs that exist today, never mind those projected to exist in the not too distant future.
• “Talent Development Pipeline for Youth: Creating a Career-Ready Workforce in NC”
  • James E. Bartlett, II, Ph.D., Co-Director of Community College Leadership Doctoral Cohorts, North Carolina State University & Pamela B. Howze, EdD, Program Director of Work Based Learning, The National Fund for Workforce Solutions
  • Work-based learning offers students real-life work experiences that apply technical and academic skills to develop employability skills.  This talent development pipeline policy brief provides approaches for improving student success that aim to increase educational attainment and labor market outcomes for youth by aligning North Carolina’s talent development pipeline for youth with work-based learning and labor market needs.  

• “Talent Development Pipeline for Youth: Creating a Career Ready Workforce in North Carolina”
  • James Bartlett, Co-Director of Community College Leadership Doctoral Cohorts, North Carolina State University and Pamela Howze-Program Director of Work Based Learning, The National Fund for Workforce Solutions
  • Published by myFutureNC, June 2018

• “Workforce of Today, Workforce of Tomorrow: The Business Case for High-Quality Childcare”
  Katherine B. Stevens, US Chamber of Commerce (June 2017)
• “A Systematic Review of The Relationships Between Principal Characteristics and Student Achievement”
  Institute of Education Sciences-US Department of Education (2015)
• “North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten Program Evaluation, Key Findings 2002-2016”
  Ellen Peisner-Feinberg (May 2017)
• “Staffing NC Classrooms: Evidence Connecting Teacher Preparation to Teacher Outcomes”
  Kevin Bastian and Qi W. Xing (2016)
• “A Stronger Nation: Learning Beyond High School Builds American Talent”
  National Summary (Lumina Foundation, 2017)
• “The Economic Impact of Increasing College Completion”
  Sophia Koropeckyj, Chris Lafakis and Adam Ozimek (2017)
• “Takes Two to Tango: Essential Practices of Highly Effective Transfer Partnerships”
  John Fink and Davis Jenkins (2017)
• “Mandated Engagement: The Impact of Early College High Schools”
  Julie Edmunds, John Willse, Nina Arshavsky and Andrew Dallas (UNC Greensboro, 2013)
• “North Carolina Employment Projections, 2014-2024”
  NC Department of Commerce
• “Good Jobs That Pay Without a BA”
  Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce
• “Creating the Talent Pipeline of the Future: Regional Alliances Yield Education-to-Career Pathways”
  North Carolina Community Colleges 2015
• “Employer Needs Survey 2016”
  NC Works Commission