Education

It's Fat Tuesday, and that means Mardi Gras is in full swing, but you don't have to go all the way to New Orleans for festivities. St. Mary's Catholic School celebrated with its annual Mardi Gras parade this afternoon. But the school also mourned. Full story...

A nonprofit group that wants North Carolina to let corporations channel their taxes into private school scholarships says the schools cost less than people think. Full story...

An Obama administration official is the new chancellor at North Carolina Central University. Debra Saunders-White was named Friday as the 11th leader of the historically black university in Durham. Full story...

A Topsail High School student is charged with multiple crimes in connection with slashed bus tires at the school. Full story...

North Carolina's state school board says it opposes using physical pain to enforce discipline, saying corporal punishment does more harm than good. Full story...

A panel overseeing how the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill allowed and responded to academic fraud says it was not able to get to the bottom of every detail, but accepts earlier investigations that cleared athletics officials. Full story...

UNCW Chancellor Gary L. Miller has initiated a comprehensive review of the university's athletics portfolio. Conducted by the newly formed Intercollegiate Athletics Review Committee (IARC), the review is part of UNCW's effort to bolster the university's existing athletics program and explore new ways to support its student athletes, optimize its fiscal health, and engage with the community. Full story...

Students from a Wilmington high school joined together today to help children in need thousands of miles away. It was a sea full of hairnets and high hopes at Wilmington Christian Academy, as students worked hard to feed the hungry. Full story...

A new bill working its way through the North Carolina legislature would create new high school graduation requirements focusing on vocational training to help graduating students not headed to college to get jobs. Full story...

Brunswick County students tell GMC anchor Ashley Jacobs they feel safe at school, even after hearing horrific details of the Sandy Hook tragedy and the kidnapping of 5-year-old Ethan in Alabama. Full story...

A senior at the University of North Carolina Wilmington is trying to determine how sea turtles are affected by the plastic they eat. Full story...

Some students in Pender County got a late start to their school day after vandals apparently targeted school buses. A statement from Pender County Schools says at 5:15 a.m., bus drivers arrived to begin their routes and found flat tires on 15 buses parked at Topsail High School. Full story...

A UNCW student's wish of going to the Super Bowl is coming true thanks to the people at the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Freshman Alex Harris is one of just 12 kids in the United States getting an all-expense paid trip to the big game from Make-a-Wish. Full story...

Get the inside scoop on the stories making headlines in the Pender-Topsail Post & Voice. Full story...

Some parents swear their kids are smarter because of tablets, while others say they make kids lazy. A Wilmington pediatrician highlights the benefits and points to the risks of children using tablets. Full story...