District highlights Governor’s School selection, new citizenship endorsement, summer programs and AI task force grant

District academic leaders updated the board on several instructional initiatives, including the selection of a Governor’s School attendee, a new citizenship diploma endorsement, details of summer learning programs and the district’s emerging AI work.

Becky Bishop said five district nominees advanced to the state level and Lauren Davis (Granville Early College) was selected to attend Governor’s School West at Greensboro College in the social-science discipline. District staff said DPI handled selection and noted the state received a record number of Governor’s School applicants this year.

The board also heard about a new North Carolina diploma endorsement in citizenship. Schools will administer a verbal version of the U.S. naturalization test in April; students who correctly answer six out of ten questions will earn the endorsement. Administrators said the district offers all seven state diploma endorsements and will provide district-level data on how many students typically earn multiple endorsements.

Summer learning: Staff described state-funded reading camp (for K–3 students identified by MCLASS/DIBELS), summer school for grades 4–8 and high-school credit recovery, an AIG summer program for grades 2–7, an English-language-learner summer offering, and a targeted summer-internship program for rising 11th–12th graders. As of the board presentation, 269 students had registered for the REACH‑to‑Achieve program; administrators said up to 300 summer-school slots were available and that they expected summer internships to support about 30 students with partner placements in county government and local nonprofits. Interns will work up to 30 hours per week for four weeks, receive a stipend and the OSHA-10 certification.

AI task force: Assistant Ernie Connor summarized the district’s AI work supported by a $50,000 emerging-technology grant (one of four statewide recipients). The district used the award to stand up an AI task force, provide staff development for about 35 staff members and purchase paid AI platforms for evaluation. Connor said the district will apply for a separate three-year digital-learning impact grant (up to $95,000 annually) and hopes to run a summer AI camp for up to 25 high-school students in June.

Why it matters: The updates cover academic enrichment, credentialing and workforce-preparation opportunities for students and staff; the AI work signals an effort to build district capacity in a rapidly changing instructional technology area.

Next steps: District staff will monitor summer-program registration windows, submit the DPI impact grant application and run the planned summer AI camp and internship program if grant funding and registration targets are met.