Philanthropist Allen Smart is retiring. He has touched a lot of lives and shaped the leadership of many, including me. He was a program officer that didn’t just check in about grants. I felt like he was on a true co-learning journey with me. I grew up in Charlotte, and undoubtedly, my commitment to rural NC stems from his commitment. I also remember meeting with him around a conference table at KBR, and we were imagining that given the changes in online communications I could blast information out to the state faster than I could walk down the hall and share it with a colleague. He also helped me rethink the design of organizations and how to build work experiences — and thus leadership experiences — better. Decades later, here we are. Thank you, Allen.
I ran into Anne Murtha, the legislative specialist, at DPI this week. As we head into the long session, if you aren’t signed up for her K-12 education legislative updates, sign up now. Here is the latest one. Thank you, Anne, for your leadership!
Here is your first playlist for the weekend in the new year from Jeff McDaris, who lives in Transylvania County. He reminds us, “Let’s get this thing going. Families are still homeless in our mountain counties. We have a lot of work to do.”
In addition to the strategic support we are providing to Yancey, Mitchell, Avery, and Watauga, EdNC’s reporters are committed to sticking with the Hurricane Helene story, and as the students who wrote Surge urge us, to be stay helpers, not day helpers. If you have a story idea about the ongoing impact of the hurricane, email me at mrash at ednc.org.
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REGISTER | 2025 NC Child Hunger Leaders Conference
Come spend the day with me! I plan to attend and hope you will register. The theme this year is "rooted in community," which feels perfect to me. See you there!... Read the rest
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List of DPI funding opportunities
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What’s Next for Colleges After Judge Vacates Biden’s Title IX Rule
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NC student data compromised in breach, NC and PowerSchool say
