 |
Editor’s Note: Donna Bledsoe served on the North Carolina State Board of Education in her capacity as the 2023 Wells Fargo North Carolina Principal of the Year. This is an edited version of her remarks at the end of her tenure on the Board, delivered at her last meeting on June 5, 2025.
Good morning, Chair Davis, Vice-Chair Duncan, Superintendent Green, members of the Board, fellow advisors, and former advisors.
It is with deep gratitude and a full heart that I stand before you today to mark the conclusion of my service as an advisor to this Board. A role that has been one of the greatest professional honors of my career. It has given me renewed purpose, hope, and joy. The walk across that courtyard still gives me butterflies to come to this building. When I was a young, spirited educator — about 25 — interviewing for a position in school leadership, I was asked where I saw myself in ten years. I boldly answered, “At DPI, helping to shape instructional decisions.”
Today, a more seasoned and much more humble, wiser version of that educator stands before you, grateful that nearly 20 years later, that dream became a reality through this advisor platform. I began this journey with the Board in August of 2023, where I was warmly greeted by each of you and encouraged that you all really wanted to hear from us and our experiences. Not that I doubted that sentiment, but I quickly learned how sincere it was.
Sign up for the EdDaily to start each weekday with the top education news.
I never imagined how impactful a single conversation could be, and in that first meeting, a brief exchange with Vice-Chair Duncan about DIBELS 8 data opened the door to meaningful advocacy. That initial dialogue grew into ongoing conversations with leaders like Dr. Maria Pitre-Martin, Jill Camnitz, and former Superintendent Truitt.
These moments led to an opportunity to present in October of 2023 in a work session at ECU to you about my belief, rooted in data, equity, and student success, and that literacy is a right of students. That students in grades four and five should be included in DIBELS 8 statewide. I’m forever grateful for that opportunity and the amazing work you all and the Office of Early Learning under Dr. Rhyne’s phenomenal leadership have done to equip our pre-K through third-grade teachers with the tools for success for all students.
I’m proud to have even played a small part in elevating that conversation into statewide dialogue for fourth and fifth grade to participate in DIBELS 8, and as we look ahead, I remain hopeful that this important issue will continue to find its way into priorities and budgets.
Thank you for not only listening but for truly hearing us. When this Board says it values the voices of current educators and students, you really mean it.
I’ve felt it in every meeting, in every follow-up conversation, and in every step forward. That authenticity matters. Not just to me, but to educators across North Carolina who see their truths reflected in your words and actions. You stay grounded in what matters most. Your commitment is visible and deeply felt.
Superintendent Green’s draft strategic plan, “Achieving Educational Excellence,” gives me great hope. Its bold vision, emphasis on rural equity, and unwavering commitment to honor public educators feels like the kind of systemic change our students and communities deserve. From igniting early learning to galvanizing champions for public education, the plan serves as a guiding light for our collective work.
Thank you, Superintendent Green. You have had my heart and my unwavering support since our first meeting, when Kim (Jones) and I had the honor of moderating you for a Public School Forum candidate event, and you spoke about your mother. As a child of a mom who accomplished her goal of becoming an educator later in life and believed every moment in the classroom was joy, and every August was a gift, I can relate to your belief on why educators should be revered. How blessed are we to have mothers who showed us the beauty of this work. Thank you for being a lighthouse to us.
I want to shine the same light on a group in our system who lead with strength and heart — our principals. North Carolina’s principals are at the epicenter of public education. They are not just instructional leaders or building managers; they are visionaries, crisis responders, coaches, and anchors of their communities.
Daily, they navigate the challenges of staffing shortages, academic expectations, student wellbeing, and the unknown. All while shepherding school improvement through uncertain times. And yet, they are the only state employees whose compensation is still tied to school performance outcomes despite the contextual inequities and challenges they face.
Advocating for principals means investing in a base salary that reflects the complexity of their work, not just the results of a single data point or enrollment figure; expanding leadership development pipelines that support our leaders from aspiring principal to seasoned mentor; providing access to timely data, high-quality resources, and the autonomy to lead boldly; aligning policy and legislation that values the principalship as the foundational lever for student success. When we speak of teacher retention, improved student outcomes, or positive school climates, the conversation always begins and ends with leadership and our principals.
I want to express my personal gratitude for North Carolina public education, not only as a school leader, but also as a mother. This past year, my three children completed their fifth, eighth, and eleventh grade years in Surry County Schools. I’ve watched them grow I knowledge, yes, but also in confidence, character, and compassion.
I’m immensely thankful for the teacher, counselors, coaches, and school leaders who have invested in them, just as they do for every student they serve. Thanks to early literacy, STEM, the arts, advanced coursework, and career readiness, my children have experienced opportunities that stretch far beyond the classroom. They have encountered exceptional educators, been entrusted with leadership roles, and explored pathways that will prepare them for any future they choose to pursue. One even recently receiving $2,500 to pursue an entrepreneurial goal and the ability to now patent that idea.
Amid all the policies, it is easy to lose sight of the human side of education. But I live that reality daily as a principal alongside dedicated educators and as a mother grateful for the public school system that helps raise her children.
And none of this would be possible without the unwavering support of my family. To my husband and my children, thank you. Here today to support me is my daddy, and my sister, and my daughters, Emma Grace and Caroline. The role of the school leader often comes with late nights, weekend responsibilities, and emotional investment that can spill into home. Your patience, encouragement, and belief in the work that I do has sustained me more than words can say. They have sacrificed time and shared space with my calling, and I’m forever grateful.
So, as I close, I leave you with two final reflections, the first from Theodore Roosevelt, in “Man in the Arena.” It is not the critic who counts. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, who errs, who comes up short again and again, but actually strives to do the deeds. You all sit squarely in that arena, and so do the thousands of school leaders and educators that you serve. Keep fighting for them.
And the second is a reminder inspired by one of my favorite books, Steve Pemberton’s “The Lighthouse Effect.” Across North Carolina, educators stand quietly as lighthouses, offering light, safety, and direction to students, families, and colleagues. They don’t ask for recognition. They ask for support, trust, and the opportunity to let the good of what we do outshine the hard. This hard work, which is, more importantly, heart work, matters deeply. And I am blessed to be a part of it.
So, thank you for this amazing opportunity to serve. I leave this seat forever changed, deeply grateful, and more committed than ever to the work ahead.
Thank you.
