RALEIGH, N.C. (NCN News) — School leadership, the growth of homeschooling and broader education policy issues were among the topics discussed by Brenda Berg, president and CEO of BEST NC, during a recent appearance on Carolina Newsmakers.
Berg, who was recently appointed to North Carolina’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Public Education, joined host Don Curtis for a wide-ranging conversation about challenges and opportunities facing the state’s K–12 education system.
One area Berg highlighted was the importance of strong school leadership, particularly principals.
“If we were to choose one thing to focus on, I would always focus on principals,” Berg said. “People want to work for good people.”
Berg pointed to the North Carolina Principal Fellows Program, which recruits promising candidates and partners them with eight universities across the state to prepare them for leadership roles. Participants receive a year-long paid residency working alongside experienced principals.
The program has graduated more than 800 candidates.
“For context, we have about 2,500 to 2,600 public schools in North Carolina,” Berg said. “So that’s a lot of opportunity to transform leadership in our schools.”
North Carolina has also changed how principals are compensated, eliminating the traditional “step-and-lane” pay structure that relied heavily on years of experience. The current model ties compensation more closely to job demands and performance.
“What we found just a couple of years into that is that our better principals started going to higher-need schools,” Berg said.
Berg also discussed the rapid growth of homeschooling in North Carolina.
“Homeschooling is huge in North Carolina,” Berg said. “If it were a district, it would be our second largest district.”
According to BEST NC data, about 157,642 students were homeschooled during the 2023–24 school year, representing nearly 10 percent of the state’s roughly 1.8 million K–12 students.
Berg noted that relatively little data exists about homeschool students because reporting requirements are minimal. Some school districts are experimenting with hybrid options that allow homeschooled students to participate in certain classes or athletics while continuing to learn primarily at home.
BEST NC plans to release additional research in April examining homeschool students and their college admissions outcomes.
The full interview with Berg is available through the Carolina Newsmakers podcast.