In July 2023, the N.C. General Assembly passed legislation transitioning oversight of North Carolina’s three specialty schools — the Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf, the North Carolina School for the Deaf, and the Governor Morehead School for the Blind (GMS) — from the Department of Public Instruction to a Board of Trustees. As part of this transition, NC Collaboratory was tasked with assessing the needs, effectiveness, and organizational functioning of all three schools.
In partnership with the Governor Morehead School for the Blind, North Carolina Central University professor Alexis Redford was awarded a $70,000 grant from NC Collaboratory to evaluate the school’s governance, administrative, and educational structures. This collaboration is designed to examine current systems and practices that support student outcomes for learners who are blind or visually impaired and identify opportunities for strengthening the program through data-informed decision-making. Additionally, the project is grounded in a Research–Practice Partnership (RPP) model that ensures educators, administrators, families, and other community stakeholders are actively involved throughout the project.
