The Associated Press
Seven school districts will open a total of eight small high schools this fall that will focus on student training for health and life-science fields, Gov. Mike Easley said Thursday.
The districts have received $2.3 million in grants from the North Carolina New Schools Project, founded in 2003 to create more than 100 new and redesigned high schools across the state.
These "high schools are just another step in North Carolina’s efforts to help all students graduate as strong citizens ready for college and work in the 21st century," Easley said at East Wake High School in Wendell, which will open a health sciences school this fall.
In addition to Wake County, other districts opening the schools are Asheville, Cumberland County, Granville County, Newton-Conover, Scotland County and Winston-Salem/Forsyth County.
These schools, to be housed in new facilities or within existing high schools, will be limited to 400 students, or no more 100 per students per grade. The Department of Public Instruction and private entities have helped develop the schools.
The New Schools Project is funded by an $11 million grant from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Last month, Easley announced grants for seven school districts to prepare technology-themed high schools, projected to open in fall 2006.
Raleigh, NC
