JCPS Among Five Districts Chosen For Instructional Innovation Grant

JOHNSTON COUNTY, N.C. – Johnston County Public Schools is one of five public school units statewide selected to receive funding through North Carolina’s 2026-27 Instructional Innovation Grant program.

The State Board of Education approved a combined $217,425 for the five recipients, which also include Anson County Schools, Asheville City Schools, Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools and Research Triangle High School.

The one-year grants are intended to support professional development for educators and the use of new instructional technologies in classrooms.

According to the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, the projects are designed to help school systems address emerging instructional needs, improve teacher skills and develop new approaches to student learning.

“The goal of the program is to identify, elevate and share effective models of instructional innovation that demonstrate digital leadership, strengthen educator practice and improve student learning,” said Dr. Vanessa Wrenn, chief information officer for NCDPI.

Wrenn said successful approaches developed locally can also be shared with school systems across North Carolina.

The funded projects are expected to align with the North Carolina Digital Learning Plan and statewide digital learning standards.

State education officials said the initiatives are intended to strengthen student engagement, critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and the practical application of knowledge.

Johnston County’s grant is part of more than $1.2 million being awarded to 17 public school districts and charter schools across North Carolina during the 2026-27 school year.

In addition to the five Instructional Innovation Grant recipients, 12 school systems will receive more than $1 million combined in second- or third-year funding through the state’s Continuing Impact Grant program.

The Digital Learning Initiative Grant Program was authorized by the General Assembly in 2016 as part of a collaboration between the State Board of Education and the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at N.C. State University.

The program is designed to encourage school systems to develop and test new approaches to digital teaching and learning that can potentially be expanded or replicated elsewhere in the state.