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Cooper investing federal funding in programs for postsecondary students and new teachers

(FILE) North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper speaks at a news conference on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. Cooper has just announced he will direct $14.5 million in new federal funding to programs benefitting postsecondary students and new teachers. (AP Photo/Gary D. Robertson)

Governor Roy Cooper has announced he will direct $14.5 million in federal funding to benefit postsecondary students and new teachers. 

The governor announced on Friday he'll invest more than half of the newly available funding toward the Finish Line Grants program for the next two academic years. Cooper initiated the program in 2018 as a way of providing grants to community college students who face unexpected emergencies such as medical bills or car repairs. According to a news release, grant administration will transition from the Department of Commerce to the North Carolina Community College System. 

The community college network will also receive $5 million to continue providing financial aid grants to students completing short-term training programs that provide credentials in high-demand fields. 

The governor is also directing $2 million to the UNC System for its NC New Teacher Support Program, which for eight years has provided coaching and professional development support to beginning teachers across the state. 

The influx of new funding comes as the demand from educators is outpacing the program's capacity. 

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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