By DR. TODD ROBERTS
Chancellor
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics

DURHAM (April 7, 2017) – The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics grew out of a simple conviction on the part of state policymakers: that North Carolina’s students are as bright and capable as any in the world. Give them the opportunity to excel, and they will.

Time has vindicated that faith. From humble beginnings in the abandoned Watts Hospital in Durham, our school has grown into a beacon of academic excellence that serves high school students and educators from across all of North Carolina. It’s not just the 680 accomplished students who live and learn on our campus in Durham, but thousands more who benefit from our online courses and teacher development programs.

North Carolina’s idea for the first public, residential high school for advanced science and math has become a model for dozens of other academies across the United States and globe. And our work spreading advanced teaching techniques in subjects like physics, engineering, and computer science has demonstrated that focused investment can have a truly statewide impact.

We’re happy to be exporting great ideas, but even happier to be keeping great students right here in North Carolina. That’s been the aim of our school from the beginning — to develop bright minds here at home, so the next generation of scientists, inventors, business leaders, and physicians don’t have to seek opportunity elsewhere.

North Carolina’s population is growing larger, and our economy is growing more complex. We need the intellect and creativity of talented youth to help meet these challenges. As a native Tar Heel, it gives me enormous pride to know that many of our graduates go to college here in their home state, moving from the rigors of our high school to the world-class opportunities offered by our universities. Earning a degree here makes it more likely that they’ll build a life in North Carolina — starting businesses, working in medicine or education, conducting valuable research, or leading the way in fields that haven’t yet been invented.

Until a few years ago, an even larger portion of NCSSM graduates enrolled in North Carolina colleges. At that time, the state provided a tuition incentive (a discount of about 25 percent on the total cost) to encourage NCSSM graduates to attend our public universities. Since that funding was cancelled, we’ve seen a rising share of students leaving to attend top out-of-state universities such as Stanford and MIT. With financial aid and other incentives, these schools often present a better value to cost-conscious NC families. The economies of Palo Alto and Boston benefit from our loss.

I would love to see the tuition grant return, for NCSSM students and to be expanded to other top students across our state, because I know what it would mean for North Carolina. The annual economic impact will predictably total many tens of millions of dollars, quickly repaying the investments made by our policy-makers. Of course, the benefits of family and community are invaluable, as are the benefits of having more physicians caring for patients, teachers guiding children, and scientists making discoveries that impact our daily lives. Moreover, if this policy were extended to top graduates of all NC high schools, our state would be that much more economically competitive with Georgia, South Carolina, and other states who use tuition incentives to keep their own best students and lure talent from elsewhere to bolster their economies. I can’t imagine a better package of economic incentives than an increased supply of bright, talented, diverse, well-educated graduates deeply rooted in the Old North State.

North Carolina has a history of educational firsts, innovations that have enriched our economy and our lives. NCSSM is a proud piece of that story — and we’re just getting started.

Dr. Roberts has been a public school teacher, principal, and superintendent. A native of North Carolina, he is now the Chancellor of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.