Innovation Leadership Council Launches to Elevate NC Educational Practices

As North Carolina strives to enhance educational outcomes, a newly formed council is set to play a pivotal role in identifying innovative practices across the state’s public schools. The Innovation Leadership Council (ILC), a 25-member advisory body, convened for the first time to align its efforts with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s (NCDPI) Strategic Plan, Achieving Educational Excellence. This council aims to spotlight and scale effective educational strategies throughout the state.

The ILC’s members were drawn from a pool of nearly 400 applicants, representing diverse educational sectors across North Carolina’s eight State Board of Education regions. This group includes educators and leaders from traditional public schools, charter schools, lab schools, and higher education institutions, ensuring a comprehensive perspective on educational innovation.

Central to the ILC’s mission is Pillar 6 of Achieving Educational Excellence, which emphasizes leading transformative change through the identification and evaluation of innovative practices. The council’s role is to find and elevate promising educational strategies that have demonstrated success in improving student outcomes, ensuring that these innovations are shared widely across the state.

“When we wrote Achieving Educational Excellence, the very first action under Pillar 6 was to create this council, because leading transformative change starts with finding the people already doing it,” said North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction Maurice “Mo” Green. “Somewhere in North Carolina right now, a teacher, a principal or a district has solved a problem that the rest of us are still wrestling with. The Innovation Leadership Council’s job is to find that work, test the evidence behind it and make sure a good idea in one county does not stay in one county.”

Inaugural Convening in Wilmington

The ILC’s inaugural meeting, held September 22–23 at Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, was a collaborative effort between the NCDPI and the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT). During the two-day session, council members began shaping the council’s operational framework, focusing on how to identify and assess innovative practices already existing within the state.

Participants discussed strategies to document and disseminate these practices, aiming to foster a culture of learning and adaptation among educators statewide. Initial recommendations were developed, with ILC workgroups set to refine these ideas as they prepare to launch a statewide call for innovative educational practices in early 2027.

“At the heart of this work is a shared belief that innovative and effective practices are already happening in classrooms, schools and districts across North Carolina,” said Dr. Shaun Kellogg, NCDPI senior director of the Office of Research and Promising Practices. “What stood out over these two days was how quickly and thoughtfully the council worked through the practical decisions that will guide this work and help us build the system to elevate those practices and help other educators adapt them into their own contexts.”

From 2027 onwards, the ILC will support a statewide initiative to identify and promote evidence-based practices, culminating in an annual collection of effective educational strategies. Additionally, the council will provide recommendations to the NCDPI and the State Board of Education on enhancing conditions for innovation and collaborative learning across different educational sectors.

2026-27 Innovation Leadership Council Members

Robin Anderson — Associate Professor of Mathematics and Statistics Education, North Carolina State University, North Central Region

Marlow Artis — Principal, Craven Early College High School, Southeast Region

Paul Barnhardt — Founder, Honor Prep Charter School, Southwest Region

Gregory Moss Bowman — Assistant Principal, Southwest Guilford High School, Piedmont-Triad Region

Michelle Chadwick — Assistant Director of Advanced Learning and STEM, Onslow County Schools, Southeast Region

Lora Cohen-Vogel — Frank A. Daniels Endowed Chair of Public Policy and Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Central Region

Tracy LaVerne Cole — Executive Director, East Carolina University Community School, Northeast Region

Ryan Etheridge — Principal, Fallston Elementary School, Cleveland County Schools, Northwest Region

Thomas Feller — Director of School Innovation & Transformation, Pitt County Schools, Northeast Region

James Frye — Principal, Claremont Elementary, Catawba County Schools, Northwest Region

Pamela Elizabeth Henderson — Director of Magnet Schools, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, Piedmont-Triad Region

Brandi Hinnant-Crawford — John Bardo Distinguished Professor of Educational Leadership, Western Carolina University, Western Region

Amy Holcombe — Dean, Stout School of Education, High Point University, Piedmont-Triad Region

Frances Denise Hunt —Instructional Coach, North Carolina New Teacher Support Program and Program Director for Project FATE, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Sandhills Region

Tonya Kales — Associate Superintendent of Academic Services, Gaston County Schools, Southwest Region

Jamie King — Superintendent, Sampson County Schools, Sandhills Region

Stephanie Lane — Second Grade Teacher and 2026 NC Charter School Teacher of the Year, Lake Norman Charter Elementary School, Southwest Region

Jennifer McBrayer — Principal, CHASE Middle School, Rutherford County Schools, Western Region

Sharon Richter — Associate Professor of Special Education and Program Coordinator, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Southeast Region

Betsy Rosenbalm — Director, NC Principal Fellows Program and Clinical Assistant Professor in School Administration, Appalachian State University, Northwest Region

Bryan Setser — Director of Innovation, TMSA, North Central Region

Melanie Shaver — Superintendent, Hyde County Schools, Northeast Region

Darlene Steele — Senior Executive Director, Carter G. Woodson School, Piedmont-Triad Region

Kera Stephens — Assistant Principal and Instructional Coach, The Capitol Encore Academy, Sandhills Region

Jessica Yakout — Teacher, Jamestown Middle School, Guilford County Schools, Piedmont-Triad Region

About the Innovation Leadership Council

The Innovation Leadership Council is a cross-sector advisory council created by NCDPI to support the implementation of Achieving Educational Excellence: 2025–2030. The council focuses on identifying, evaluating, and promoting effective educational practices across North Carolina. By fostering collaboration among traditional public, charter, and lab schools, the ILC aims to create pathways for innovative ideas to be shared and adapted statewide. The council operates under the leadership of NCDPI’s Office of Research and Promising Practices in coordination with agency leadership and partners.

About Achieving Educational Excellence

Achieving Educational Excellence: 2025–2030 is a strategic plan developed by the North Carolina State Board of Education and the North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction. The plan outlines a vision for making North Carolina’s public schools the best in the nation by 2030, structured around eight key pillars.