This week, Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest toured Douglass Academy, a K-3 public, tuition-free charter school in downtown Wilmington. Mr. Forest is a key advocate for public charter schools and educational choice in our state.
Mr. Forest said of his visit, “I was very impressed with my tour of Douglass Academy. It is truly amazing, after just a few short years the impact that the teachers and administrators are having on the community and lives of these young children of Southeastern North Carolina. With the classical education Douglass Academy is providing their students, we are witnessing the transformation of education that customizes curriculum to each individual student, while freeing up teachers to do what they love and do best… which is teach. I look forward to following the success of Douglass as they expand over the years.”
In his capacities as Lt. 
Governor and a voting member of the State Board of Education, Dan Forest was instrumental in passing this summer’s Common Core Repeal and Replace law, which aims to improve NC public education by creating innovative, research-based standards.
As Douglass Academy provides an example of such innovation, Lt. Governor Forest visited each classroom to observe its classical curriculum, Mastery Learning practices, and accelerated learning programs. This same results-driven educational model is employed at Douglass Academy’s sister schools, Charter Day School in Leland and Columbus Charter School in Whiteville, which are the highest-scoring schools in their respective counties on End-Of-Grade tests. As Douglass Academy expands to a K-5 by 2017, it expects to achieve similar results in New Hanover County.
In addition to promoting educational choice and excellence, Lt. Governor Forest works to improve NC public education on various fronts. He chairs the Governor’s e-Learning commission, whose goal is that NC becomes the first state in the nation to have every classroom connected through high-speed, wireless internet. Mr. Forest is also working to provide all public school students with access to a school-issued one-to-one device.
Lt. Governor Forest works for teachers, too, by championing the North Carolina Education Endowment, a fund to supplement teacher pay in NC. “I Support Teachers” license plates are currently for sale to help support this endowment at www.isupporteachers.com.
Douglass Academy, a tuition-free, public charter school, is available for tours each week day from 8:30-10am with no appointment necessary. Open enrollment for the 2015-2016 year will run January 1st-31st. For more information, visit www.douglassacademy.net.
