North Carolina’s Blue Ribbon Schools Get Big Bang for the Buck | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the John Locke Foundation. The author of this post is Dr. Terry Stoops.

    Last week, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona announced the National Blue Ribbon Schools  for 2022. Overall, the U.S. Department of Education recognized 297 schools for outstanding academic performance or progress in closing achievement gaps.

    Five North Carolina public schools made the list. Only one of those schools spent more than $10,753 per student, the statewide average operating expenditure in 2021.

• Weatherstone Elementary School, Wake County Schools: $10,008 per student
• Seventy-First Classical Middle School, Cumberland County Schools: $8,747 per student
• W.A. Bess Elementary School, Gaston County Schools: $9,448 per student
• East Robeson Primary School, Public Schools of Robeson County: $12,329 per student
• Southeastern Academy Charter School, Lumberton: $9,712 per student

    Congratulations to North Carolina's National Blue Ribbon Schools! They prove that public schools can succeed regardless of the size of their budget.

    Note: Weatherstone Elementary's expenditure was $10,008 per student, not $10,800 as initially posted. I apologize for the transcription error.