The
New Year transition brings with it predictions for the year ahead, and this
year, WRAL news asked me for my thoughts on the year ahead. In case you are not
a viewer of WRAL here in Raleigh or a regular visitor to the station’s
website, here is what I see ahead in 2016.
1. The General Assembly will give teachers the
largest salary increase in a decade. Rationale: this is an election year
plus teachers deserve a raise in order for education to be competitive with
other professions.
2. A new state testing pilot will be expanded so
that teachers, students and parents will receive immediate feedback after
assessments with a reduction in test taking time. Rationale: preliminary
findings reported by teachers in the pilot show very positive results.
3. Enrollment in university teacher preparation
programs will decrease for the sixth year in a row. Rationale: young
people and second career adults must be attracted to the teaching field by better
salaries and necessary resources.
4. The high school graduation rate will reach
another all time high of over 86 percent while the State Board of Education
continues to have higher standards for meeting graduation requirements.
5. Investments in early reading will begin to
pay off with more students able to read well by the third grade. Rationale: investments
in summer camps for 1st and 2nd graders will have a
positive impact.
6. Quality preschool programs will continue to
be an issue even though research clearly shows that quality early learning
programs have financial benefit to society and to individuals.
I also
predict that your colleagues and you will continue to provide strong
educational services to students in North Carolina, but that prediction is not
unique to 2016! I hope your new year is off to a good start, and I
look forward to our continued work together.
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State Board of
Education Meeting Highlights
At
last week’s State Board of Education meeting, members approved new Cooperative
Innovative High School program applications and changes to the charter school
policy and revocation processes. Board members also approved reports to the
General Assembly on a pilot program to raise the dropout age to 18 and school
connectivity. Members discussed a study on charter school closure funds and
recommendations from the Charter School Advisory Board regarding amendments to
fast track replication and schools with charters expiring in 2016. The complete
list of Board actions is available online.
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Multi-Tiered System of Support:
Readiness Instrument
Within the next several weeks,
NCDPI staff will be sending the link to the MTSS Readiness Instrument. This
tool is designed to assist districts in determining initial readiness for
implementation of a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS).
The tool addresses the six
critical components identified as essential to successful MTSS implementation
in North Carolina: Leadership, Building the Capacity/Infrastructure for
Implementation, Communication and Collaboration, Data-based Problem Solving,
Three-Tiered Instruction/Intervention Model and Data-Evaluation.
The MTSS Readiness Instrument is
to be completed by the district level leadership team where they will rate the
district’s implementation of the six critical components of MTSS.
If you have any questions, please contact Amy Jablonski.
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 Register Now for
NCVPS Spring Classes
NCVPS is still
enrolling for spring classes. Classes begin on Jan. 19, and the last day
to register students is Feb. 1. After that date, schools still have a
number of enrollment options:
- Credit recovery enrollment
remains open until March 18.
- Schools can continue to add Occupational
Course of Study students to their already existing OCS sections throughout the
semester.
- NCVPS will accept transfer
students until March 18. This is a good solution for students who move into the
district, home-bound students, and suspended students.
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District and School
Transformation News
The District and
School Transformation staff extend a heartfelt “Thank You!” for the work that
has been accomplished over the past three months by districts and schools
identified as low performing in accordance with G.S. 115C-105.37(a1)(5) and
G.S. 115C-105.39A(b)(5).
As part of this new
process, a Plan for Improvement was approved by the local school board and
submitted to the State Board of Education. A District and School Transformation
coach reviewed the plan and provided specific feedback before returning to the
local board. A Final Plan for Improvement was submitted by the school or
district and published to the NCDPI and school websites.
The goal is to have
all Final Plans for Improvement for the 2015-16 school year submitted by Feb. 15. Please continue to use the website for Low-Performing Districts and Schools to submit
a Plan for Improvement. For further questions or support, contact District and
School Transformation at 919.835.6101.
On Feb. 10, District
and School Transformation in partnership with NCSU Northeast Leadership Academy
(NELA) continues the Professional Development for School Leaders Series: The
Connected Educator. The featured speaker, Dr. Mike Schmoker, author of Results
Now, FOCUS, his newest book Leading with Focus, and a number
of ASCD articles, will guide participants through the best practices for using
data to improve student learning and to develop focused leadership within
schools.
Please join us for
this exciting opportunity to connect with Dr. Schmoker and other practitioners
from across North Carolina. Registration is open and can be accessed here. The February event
will be held at the Hilton North Raleigh from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. (on-site
registration begins at 8:30 a.m.). There is no registration fee for this event;
however, districts and schools are responsible for travel costs. A block
of rooms has been reserved at a discounted rate at the Hilton
North Raleigh. Please contact Amelia McLeod with questions.
 Jan. 22 is Early
Registration Deadline for Home Base Symposium
The Home Base Symposium is quickly approaching, and
the early registration
deadline is Jan. 22.
This year's symposium will be packed with
new content as well as recent and upcoming updates across the Home
Base suite. There will be presenters from the Home Base applications as
well as across the field, and so much more. All-day strands for
PowerSchool, Schoolnet, Truenorthlogic and Canvas will be offered from field
experts. Other sessions will address Google Apps for Education
integration, a BloomBoard & OCT overview, and what is to come
with NCEdCloud and IAM.
You don't want to miss this opportunity. Plan on
attending, bring a well-rounded team, cull the information
offered and return to your district bursting with fresh, new ways to
utilize Home Base!
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 NC Dual
Language/Immersion Administrator Seminar Reminder
NCDPI
staff are pleased to offer a NC Dual Language/Immersion (DL/I)
Administrator Seminar on March 9-10 on the UNC-Charlotte campus.
This
seminar is designed for current program administrators and administrators
exploring implementation options. Day one begins with a keynote address by
Thomas and Collier followed by breakout sessions by NC practitioners. Day
two provides opportunities to visit a DL/I school. Once
you have registered and paid the $30 registration fee, you will receive
a survey to sign up for a school visit.
Register early as space
is limited for this event. The registration deadline is Feb. 5, but staff have
already received a large number of registrations.
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 Regional Teachers of
the Year Announced
Congratulations to the following nine teachers
who were selected to represent their education districts and charter schools as
the state’s regional Teachers of the Year and will now compete for the title of
2016 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year:
- Northeast: Marie Smith, Conway Middle
(Northampton County Schools);
- Southeast: Katie
Snyder, Hoggard High (New Hanover County Schools);
- North
Central: Margaret McNeill, Dunn Middle (Harnett County Schools);
- Sandhills: Olivia
Hall, Roseboro-Salemburg Middle (Sampson County Schools);
- Piedmont-Triad:
Kevin Scharen, Graham High (Alamance-Burlington Schools);
- Southwest: Bobbie
Cavnar, South Point High (Gaston County Schools);
- Northwest: Leah
Hayes, South Newton Elementary (Newton-Conover City Schools);
- Western: Angel
Ledbetter, Rutherford Early College High (Rutherford County Schools); and
- Charter
Schools: Brandon Brown, Lake Norman Charter (Mecklenburg County).
The 2016 North Carolina Teacher of the Year will
be announced April 7 at an awards ceremony in Cary.
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 Feb. 8-12 is
School Bus Driver Appreciation Week
Feb. 8-12 is School
Bus Driver Appreciation Week, and also the week when schools are encouraged to
celebrate LOVE THE BUS and talk with students about school bus safety.
This is an excellent
opportunity to generate positive media attention on the safe transportation of
students to and from school. More information is available on the NC School Bus
Safety website.
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