North Carolina Gets Ready to Take the Next Step for Science of Reading — Middle School

North Carolina was among the early states to adopt the science of reading at the elementary school level, and now it’s setting its sights on expanding the framework to a new and potentially more demanding venue — middle schools.

Lawmakers backed the effort by allocating nearly $14 million in the 2026 state budget for middle school literacy professional development and opening a door of opportunity for curriculum and professional development providers.

But vendors need to be aware that a light revision of elementary-grade materials won’t be enough, said Leanne Winner, executive director of the North Carolina State School Boards Association.

All middle schoolers need content that holds their attention, she said, and those who lag in reading will be more difficult to engage.

“It’s likely even more challenging at the middle school level, where everything is new and shiny and kids are usually excited,” Winner said. “By middle school, the subject matter really needs to be something that speaks to them.”

EdWeek Market Brief recently spoke with Winner about where the science of reading stands now, why school funding concerns continue, what vendors should know about adjusting prices and contracts, and how elections affect education policy.

The following has been edited for length and clarity.

With new standards for reading materials and the mandating of new teacher professional development, how has the science of reading been working?

The training has been fully implemented across the state, and our teachers and schools have embraced it really well. We aren’t hearing any concerns. Overall for reading, we are slightly below pre-pandemic levels. But for the 2024-25 school year, we went from a 52.5 %proficiency rate to a 55.7% proficiency rate for the 2025-26 school year.

What should vendors keep in mind when responding to the effort to expand the science of reading to middle schools?

Teachers who have a middle school license traditionally expect that once students finish 5th grade, they know how to read. But there’s more to this from the comprehension side than just the act of reading. There are kids who are still struggling after that point.

How is North Carolina applying what it learned from reading to how it is approaching changes for math?

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction is in the process of finishing up the new standard course of study for math. Our math levels are up. This past year, we had a proficiency rate of 59.6%, which was an increase from 56.7% the previous school year. And that 59.6% is up from pre-pandemic levels, so we are continuing to improve, and hopefully the new standard course of study will accelerate that growth even more.

With screeners, K-8 curriculum and intervention funded in the budget, should vendors expect an opportunity to align to new standards over the next year or two?

The key takeaway for vendors is to treat standards development as an ongoing planning opportunity, not simply a future purchasing event. Across all subject areas, vendors should use the standards and supporting resources published by the Department of Public Instruction, engage North Carolina educators, identify gaps in their products, and build a clear evidence base demonstrating how their products support student learning. The earlier vendors begin this work, the better positioned they will be to help schools implement the standards successfully.

Are there specific steps you suggest vendors take to prepare?

Vendors should consider mapping the product to the current standards and, when available, the newly adopted standards, then identifying gaps rather than simply claiming general alignment. [They should be] seeking feedback from classroom teachers, instructional coaches, curriculum directors, and district academic leaders [and] demonstrating how specific lessons, activities, assessments, and product features support particular standards.

[They should be] helping teachers understand how to use the product to support the standards—not just how to operate the technology — [and] following the NCDPI Office of Teaching and Learning, its content-area resources, and relevant listservs for updated standards, implementation guidance, and professional learning opportunities.

There was a lot of concern about school funding in the last couple of years. Has the situation improved?

No. If anything, it probably has gotten worse. We have a number of districts with declining enrollment. One reason is something we’re seeing not only in North Carolina, but across the country, which is a declining birth rate. Demographers are showing that this trend is going to continue.

The second reason is that in some of our rural communities, we are seeing out-migration; folks are completing high school and going off to college or the military, or into the workforce, then not returning to their community to have children there. The third is we’ve had growth in charter schools, which are public schools but not counted in the district’s enrollment. The fourth is that because a voucher program in the state— called Opportunity Scholarships— was expanded several years ago, there are no longer income limits for families to qualify, so more families are choosing private schools.

Because of the funding situation, what are districts cutting, protecting, or putting off?

That varies from place to place. North Carolina is a little bit different than most other states in that our school boards do not have the ability to raise their own revenue. They have to ask county commissioners for their local budgets.

We’re seeing some delays in dealing with facilities and capital needs in certain pockets of the state. We’re also seeing some cuts in personnel. As districts wrestle with those cuts, they’re trying to protect the classroom and those who work directly with students the most. Everybody is paying close attention to every cost and trying to trim where possible.

Do you have specific ideas for how vendors can trim costs for school districts?

Any incentives or additional services they can provide might make a contract look more attractive. If a school district is looking for a computer program for its high school science curriculum, for example, maybe they could throw in something similar for the middle-school level.

You mentioned vouchers earlier. They became universal in 2024, causing a spike in demand and prompting calls for a moratorium on further expansion. Where does that stand now?

Funding has increased to cover the additional demand. No moratorium has been put in place, although there are still calls for one coming from a number of different places — education groups, the governor, the Department of Public Instruction, and the state Board of Education. The General Assembly controls that decision, and thus far ... has not entertained a moratorium. All 170 seats are on the ballot in November, and we don’t know what that outcome will be.

Speaking of elections, how has the new governor and state superintendent, who both took office in 2025, changed the direction of education policy?

I don’t think it has significantly changed the direction in the state. Our governor [Josh Stein] is the same party as our previous governor. The state superintendent [Mo Green], who used to be a local superintendent, is of a different party [from his predecessor].

One of the first things he did was put in a new strategic plan for the Department of Public Instruction and the state Board of Education. That has probably been the biggest change we have seen and our biggest focus. The plan lays out several priorities, and I’d encourage companies that are interested in the direction of districts in the state to take a look at it.

What makes the best vendors win a contract?

They take the time to understand the needs of the district and community, and are willing to work with the constraints, whether financial or political. Also, it’s when they really want to work with a district as a partner instead of viewing it as another account.

Is there anything else education companies should know about what’s ahead for North Carolina schools?

One is obviously seeing what the political makeup of the state legislature is after the November elections. They should also pay attention to the local school board elections — there are a number of them — because that will say a lot about the mood of the communities.

The discussion that’s happening not only in North Carolina but across the country about screen time is really important as well. We have moved away significantly from pen and paper and textbooks, and vendors need to be prepared to be able to pivot pretty quickly, especially on the curriculum side.