Other states follow North Carolina's lead

The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics has become something of an example to other regions. In 1983 the Louisiana School for Mathematics, Science, and the Arts opened in Natchitoches, on the Northwestern State University campus. School planners, who had played up North Carolina's success in lobbying the Louisiana Legislature for the project, visited Durham often during their school's formative stages.

``Oh yes, we modeled our school very much after [North Carolina],'' says Marsha Zulick, an education consultant at the Louisiana school. According to Robert Alost, the Louisiana director, 37 states have inquired about his school -- what steps were required, how much it cost, how it's addressing its goals -- and Mexico has also expressed an interest.

Among the interested states, New Jersey recently formed a commission that is to report back to the governor and Legislature in six months on a proposal for a state school of science, math, and the humanities. Barbara Lawrence, associate director of the Governor's Commission on Science and Technology, says that there is a ``groundswell of support'' for such a school and that much of the support derives from the recognized success in North Carolina.