RALEIGH – Governor Mike Easley today announced that North Carolina’s Learn and Earn Initiative has been named among the top 50 programs in the 2008 Innovations in American Government Awards competition sponsored by the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School. The program was selected from a pool of nearly 1,000 applicants to represent the best in government innovation from local, county, city, tribal, state and federal levels. The top finalists will be announced in June and will compete for a $100,000 award.

McHenry Votes Against Tuition Relief for Over 160,000 North Carolina Students

Daniel Johnson, a Congressional Candidate in North Carolina’s 10th District, criticized Rep. Patrick McHenry for voting against the College Opportunity and Affordability Act. McHenry was one of only 58 House members to vote against the bi-partisan bill that makes college more affordable for middle class and low-income families. The bill received the support of both Democrats and Republicans from North Carolina.

“This was a great opportunity to rise above partisan bickering and provide much-needed tuition relief for thousands of North Carolina families,” said Johnson. “But once again, the current representative chose party politics above the needs of his constituents.”

The bill would increase loans and Pell grants to North Carolina students and families by $351 million over five years. Over 160,000 North Carolina students would benefit from the bill’s $500 increase in each Pell grant.

Gov. Mike Easley has proclaimed January as Mentoring Month to encourage North Carolinians to become mentors and to recognize those already involved in mentoring. The effort is part of National Mentoring Month. The theme for this year’s national observance is “Share What You Know. Mentor a Child.”

“Research demonstrates that young people who are mentored are more likely to succeed in school and are less likely to engage in violent behavior and drug use,” said Easley. “I encourage North Carolinians to volunteer their time to help build a stronger future for the more than 500,000 children in our state who need an adult mentor.”

The annual “Thank Your Mentor Day” will be held on Jan. 24, when citizens are urged to thank and honor their role models. Participants may also post a tribute to their mentors and learn more about becoming a mentor on the campaign website, http://www.whomentoredyou.org.

Wake County is No. 2 School District Nationally, Charlotte-Mecklenburg is No. 4

Gov. Mike Easley announced today that North Carolina leads the nation in the number of teachers who have earned certification by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. With 12,770 teachers across the state now certified, nearly 15 percent of North Carolina teachers have achieved National Board certification.

"We are proud that more than one-fifth of the nation's 64,000 National Board Certified teachers work in North Carolina classrooms," Easley said. "Our state supports and applauds these educators who are crucial to our efforts to prepare students for college, a career and success in the 21st century."

Today, North Carolina Representatives Patrick McHenry, Virginia Foxx and Howard Coble opposed strengthening the highly successful Head Start program, which gives almost 20,000 disadvantaged children in North Carolina a better chance to succeed in school.

The bill passed with strong bipartisan support, with only 32 members opposing the measure and 381 Republicans and Democrats supporting it.

“Our children are our state’s most important resource, and we should invest in their future by offering them the best early education possible,” said NCDP Chair Jerry Meek.

“But today, Republicans tried to make it harder for every child in North Carolina to get a better education, voting against the Head Start program which improves teacher quality and helps raise kids’ achievement in school,” Meek said.

Reps. McHenry, Foxx and Coble opposed the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act Conference Report (HR 1429).

Attorney General Roy Cooper went to Chapel Hill on Thursday to endorse the work of the UNC system's safety task force and to argue for new safety measures in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech tragedy.

Parents expect their children to be safe at a state university campus, Cooper told the UNC Board of Governors. Campuses have to prepare for the worst possible catastrophic events.

"You never know when someone will come on one of our campuses and start shooting," he said. "You'll never know when someone comes with a bomb. You'll never know if someone drives a vehicle on a campus and starts to try to run over people. You just never know, and we have to be ready."

The UNC board is reviewing an extensive set of recommendations by a task force that has worked for six months.

In January, another statewide panel appointed by Cooper will issue a report that takes a broad view of campus safety across public universities, community colleges and private colleges. That panel is likely to recommend changes in mental health treatment and rules around gun permits, Cooper said.

President Bush has a spending problem.

While proposing another $196 billion for an unpopular war, Bush wants to strip $8.4 million from North Carolina classrooms.

Bush threatened to veto the Labor-HHS-Education bill that the Senate approved last week.

Sign this petition to tell Bush you continue to stand with our children.

Bush and his Republican enablers Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr favor a draconian budget that would cut education funding for North Carolina and 43 other states.

These misguided cuts could force local communities to find local tax dollars to meet those needs or shortchange their schools.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. - The U.S. should pay teachers a minimum of $40,000 a year, add a federal student arts program and cover student loans for two years in exchange for national service, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson told supporters Monday.

The proposals are part of a $60 billion education plan the New Mexico governor unveiled earlier this month.

Richardson also spoke about the need for greater international diplomacy, ending the war in Iraq and less reliance on traditional fuels. But he offered the most specifics on education, telling about 100 supporters at the Biltmore Hotel that he also would add 100,000 new science and math teachers.

Richardson also promised to ban junk food in schools and require mandatory physical education and universal pre-kindergarten if elected.

An Associated Press reporter paid the $25 admission fee to attend the fundraiser, which was closed to the media.

Richardson and the other Democratic candidates have pledged not to publicly campaign in Florida because the state violated party rules by setting its primary before Feb. 5.

Presidential Candidate Would Increase Preschool Access, Number Of Teachers
Democratic presidential hopeful Chris Dodd is planning to tell teachers in Bartlett on Thursday that he will overhaul public education, guarantee universal preschool for children from low- and middle-income families and double the number of certified teachers.

The Connecticut senator's education plan also would pay teachers an extra $25,000 for teaching in high-need schools for five years and lengthen some students' school day by one-third.

Dodd planned to unveil the ideas at the National Education Association of New Hampshire meeting Thursday morning.

Dodd also planned to use the speech to repeat his criticism of No Child Left Behind and President George W. Bush. Unlike some rivals, he talks not about abandoning the initiative but reforming it.

He sad he wants to measure student achievement over time and their improvement, not just bottom-line test scores required now.

Plan Calls For 2 Years Preschool, Higher Education
Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. Joe Biden is calling for a revolution in education.

Biden visited East High School on Thursday morning. Biden said he wants to pour millions of dollars into education. He wants to provide two years of preschool for children. He also wants to make sure that students can afford at least two years of higher education.

Biden said he wants to raise teacher pay to make it more competitive with other professions.

"If you value education, you have to pay for it. But don't give me some malarkey about caring about children, but you're not prepared to pay," he said.

Biden said he also wants to add 100,000 new teachers to classrooms to reduce class size.