The University of North Carolina System announced that six System institutions are the recipients of recurring grants from the North Carolina Principal Fellows Program (NCPFP).
UNC Greensboro is among the six institutions — along with Appalachian State University, East Carolina University, NC State University, UNC Chapel Hill, and Western Carolina University — that will receive principal preparation grants for up to $750,000 per year for the next six years, starting in 2022. These institutions will join North Carolina Central University/Central Carolina Regional Education Service Alliance and University of North Carolina at Charlotte, which received grant funds for the 2020-2026 grant cycle.
The NCPFP grant will specifically fund UNCG School of Education’s Principal Preparation for Excellence and Equity in Rural Schools (PPEERS) program, directed by Dr. Kimberly Kappler Hewitt, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership in the Division of Research, Discovery, and Innovation. PPEERS is a partnership amongst regional rural districts and UNC Greensboro that aims to develop strong, sustainable leadership pipelines within these districts.
In 2015, the North Carolina General Assembly established this competitive grant program to elevate educators in North Carolina public schools by transforming the preparation of principals across the State. The goal of the program is to provide funds for the preparation and support of highly effective school principals in North Carolina.
The North Carolina Principal Fellows Program is currently producing approximately 40% of the state’s educational leadership demand.
“These annual reoccurring grants will be vital for our universities to help train exceptional candidates to one day become school principals,” said Dr. Andrew Kelly, UNC System Senior Vice President of Strategy and Policy. “The UNC System is proud to partner with NCPFP and would like to thank them for their continued support of education leadership training throughout the System.”
For more on the NC Principal Fellows Program, visit ncpfp.northcarolina.edu.
This press release was originally published by the University of North Carolina System on northcarolina.edu on June 22, 2021.
