UNC president: State must improve public education

    RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The president of the University of North Carolina system says that improving public education rests with fixing the state’s elementary, middle and high schools.
    WRAL-TV reported Wednesday that UNC President Erskine Bowles made his comments at the end of a meeting of the North Carolina Education Cabinet, which includes state schools Superintendent June Atkinson, State Board of Education Chairman Bill Harrison and community colleges head Scott Ralls.
    Bowles said standards are too low, and he pointed to statistics showing that 60 percent of graduating high school students can’t read at grade level. He also said the top priority would be to produce not only more teachers, but better teachers.
    Education officials said the entire system must have consistent standards, goals and technology, from pre-kindergarten through graduate school.
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    Information from: WRAL-TV, http://www.wral.com
   
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