2025 North Carolina Education Innovation Lab Agenda
February 10, 2025
9:00 am Welcome & Opening Remarks
Walter McDowell, Chairman, BEST NC
9:05 am A Decade of Innovation
Brenda Berg, President & CEO, BEST NC
9:30 Ed Talks: The Educator Innovation Plan
Advanced Teaching Roles in North Carolina
Dr. Tom Tomberlin, Senior Director of the Office of Educator Preparation and Licensure, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction>
The New North Carolina Principal Fellows Program
Dr. Lauren Lampron, Director, The North Carolina Principal Fellows Program
TeachNC: The One-Stop-Shop for Becoming a Teacher
Gabrielle Barnes, Director of Regional Initiatives and Programs, Teach.org>/span>
10:30 am Networking break
10:45 am Armchair Chats: Educator Pay
Principal Pay: A Professionalized Approach
Dr. Kelly Anne Mudd, Principal, Martin Millennium Academy, Tarboro, NC, Edgecombe County Public Schools
Teacher Pay: A Smart Investment in Student Achievement
Leah Carper, Director of Stakeholder Engagement, Guilford County Schools; 2022 North Carolina State Teacher of the Year
Moderator: Maureen Stover, Vice President of Policy and Engagement, BEST NC; 2020 North Carolina State Teacher of the Year
11:25 am Next Steps: The Future of Educator Innovation
Apprenticeship: An Innovative Approach to Teacher Training and Employment
David Donaldson, Founder and Managing Partner, National Center for Grow Your Own
The Next Innovation: Teacher Apprenticeship in North Carolina
Brenda Berg, BEST NC
Dr. Felicia Brown, Director of Human Resources, Wayne County Public Schools
David Donaldson, National Center for Grow Your Own
John Loyack, Vice President of Economic Development, North Carolina Community College System
12:15 pm Networking Lunch
1:00 pm Breakouts: The Innovation Roadmap
(Attendees Will Choose One Topic)
EBC 7: Filling Vacancies Through Apprenticeship
Jennifer Schiess, Senior Partner and Policy and Evaluation Practice Leader, Bellwether Education Partners
EBC 8: Accelerating Teacher Pay Through Teacher Effectiveness
Leah Carper, Guilford County Schools
Eugenia Floyd, Teacher, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools
EBC 9: Pipeline to the Principalship
Dr. Lauren Lampron, The North Carolina Principal Fellows Program
Dr. Kelly Anne Mudd, Edgecombe County Public Schools
Leah Sutton, Director of Advanced Teaching Roles, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
1:40 pm Policymaker Perspective
Representative David Willis, N.C. House District 68; Chair, Education Appropriations & Education K-12 Committees
1:55 pm Closing Remarks
Brenda Berg, BEST NC