Governor Perdue stopped in Wilmington Tuesday to promote her Career and College Promise program, which will offer free community college credit hours to high school students across the state.
WHQR’s Sara Wood reports that Perdue toured classrooms before having a Q/A with parents at Laney high school.
The program starts in January for students who maintain a “B” grade average and demonstrate that they’re ready for the increased workload. They’ll earn free tuition toward college degrees or technical certificates.
Parent and Wilmington Reverend Clifford Barnett attended the Q/A. He’s concerned about the kids who aren’t “A” and “B” students.
“Sometimes kids make poor choices at difficult times in their lives. And let’s say, I made a bad choice in a class that caused me to fail that class, maybe because the teacher and I had some conflicts or some stuff was going on at home. With those challenges, if that “F” follows me, then that drops my grade point average.”
Perdue says some exceptions will be considered for students who made mistakes in the past but are working to turn their academic careers around.
According to Perdue, credits will be accepted by every community college and public university in North Carolina, along with most private institutions.
“As we ask teenagers to make these choices, they’re not choosing courses that don’t count, courses that when they get to college the administrator just throws away and says, ‘Sorry, you wasted your time. You took a junk course you didn’t need.’ So we know it’s academically aligned. ”
While in southeastern North Carolina, Perdue also stopped at the historic train depot in Burgaw to present an Innovative Small Business Award.
The town was honored for its Incubator Kitchen, a commercial cooking space where entrepreneurs can perfect their products before moving into their own retail storefronts.
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