Recently, Golden LEAF President, Chief Executive Officer Scott T. Hamilton sat down with the State Superintendent of Public Instruction Maurice “Mo” Green via Zoom and filmed an episode of Critical Conversations. In this series, Scott talks with professionals about economic development issues affecting the state.
Superintendent Green has served as the North Carolina State Superintendent of Public Instruction since January 1, 2025.
The State Superintendent leads the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, which oversees the state’s public school system from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The Superintendent also serves on the North Carolina Council of State and the State Board of Education.
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction is responsible for implementing public school laws and providing leadership and support to schools across the state. This includes setting student standards, overseeing accountability, managing school funding, and supporting educator preparation, licensure, and professional development.
With more than 20 years of working in education, Superintendent Green is an attorney who served two United States judicial clerkships and worked as a lawyer in private practice, serving as general counsel for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. He said he then served as chief operating officer and deputy superintendent for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and superintendent for Guilford County Schools. He also served as the executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, a statewide nonprofit that also supports causes such as public education.
Superintendent Green said his vision for North Carolina’s public schools has three major components: academic achievement, character development, and a concept of being the very best education system in the nation. The vision is included in the recent release of the Department of Public Instruction’s strategic plan called “Achieving Educational Excellence”.
In this episode, Superintendent Green discussed Golden LEAF Schools, a five-year $25 million initiative with a comprehensive and innovative approach to educational improvement, targeting school culture, pedagogy, leadership, math instruction and career readiness. Superintendent Green shared that Golden LEAF Schools recently held its kickoff meeting that included all 15 participating rural middle schools.
Superintendent Green said the Department of Public Instruction worked in collaboration with Golden LEAF to put together requirements for eligible schools and a profile that included what a participating school would need to be successful in the initiative. The schools went through a rigorous application and evaluation process, including an interview with key stakeholders such as the district superintendent, school principal and district office curriculum and instruction leaders. He said that ultimately selections were made of the strongest of the schools that applied. Superintendent Green added that the schools and districts that are a part of Golden LEAF Schools made the decision to be a part of the initiative.
Golden LEAF Schools has a strong set of metrics to measure success, shared Superintendent Green. He said they will measure outcomes such as end-of-grade and end-of-course exams and participation in advanced coursework. He added that there will be lessons learned and figuring out how to “course correct”. The model has 10 low performing schools with the goal to see significant improvement in math and career readiness, and five high performing schools where the goal is to push these schools to an even higher level.
Superintendent Green is hopeful that this initiative will create a model for implementation across North Carolina public schools. He shared that working in rural middle schools is a great place to start. The initiative will follow students through high school to help measure outcomes related to career readiness and decisions for continued education after high school. Superintendent Green added that he is incredibly grateful to the Golden LEAF Board of Directors for making such a large investment in North Carolina’s public schools and to the Golden LEAF Board and staff for its continued partnership over the next five years on the Golden LEAF Schools initiative.
Learn more about Golden LEAF Schools, participating Golden LEAF Schools, State Superintendent Green, and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.