Many make predictions at the beginning of a new year. The following are my thoughts on what 2016 may mean for public education in North Carolina.

1. The General Assembly will give teachers the largest salary increase in a decade. Rationale: This is an election year and teachers deserve a raise so that education can be more competitive with other professions.
2. A new state testing pilot will be expanded so that teachers, students and parents can receive immediate feedback after assessments test-taking time is reduced. Rationale: The preliminary results of DPI's testing pilot show very positive feedback from teachers.
3. Enrollment in university teacher preparation programs will decrease for the sixth year in a row. Rationale: Young people and adults starting a second career will not be attracted to this field until salaries have improved and teachers have the resources and support that they need to do their jobs.
4. The high school graduation rate will reach another all-time high of over 86 percent while the State Board of Education will continue to maintain higher standards for meeting graduation requirements.
5. Investments in early reading instruction will begin to pay off and more students will be able to read well by the third grade. Rationale: Investments in summer reading 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 early learning programs bring great financial benefits individuals and to society as a whole.

Have something you want to ask about public schools? If so, the NC Department of Public Instruction’s new email management system –  Let’s Talk – is ready to hear from you. This new system improves our capability to direct questions and comments to the appropriate person within the Department and ensures that inquiries receive a timely response.

Our goal is to provide a response to all inquiries submitted through Let’s Talk within five business days. Topics highlighted for users include the NC School Report Cards, parent questions, Read to Achieve, student safety and frequently contacted DPI divisions. To learn more and submit a comment or question, visit DPI’s Let’s Talk webpage.

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 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. The winner succeeds 2015 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year Keana Triplett, a high school English teacher at Ashe County High (Ashe County Schools).

Feb. 8-12 is School Bus Driver Appreciation Week in North Carolina. It also is the week when schools are encouraged to celebrate LOVE THE BUS and talk with students about school bus safety. Parents and community members also have a role to play in promoting bus safety. Starting this month, bus drivers across the state are now using a new standard hand signal that tells students a roadway is safe to cross. Motorists are encouraged to watch for students crossing the roadways and to stop for buses with extended stop arms. Parents also can remind students to stop, look and wait for bus drivers to signal that the road is all clear to cross. More information, including a demonstration of the new hand signal for bus drivers, is available on the NC School Bus Safety website.

North Carolina public school teachers have a bigger toolkit this year, thanks to the approximately 10,000 new instructional modules and other resources created by members of the Governor’s Teacher Network (GTN), a project supported by NC’s federal Race to the Top grant that ended in 2015.

Approximately 450 teachers developed lesson plans, student assessments and other instructional modules aligned to the state’s Standard Course of Study. These digital teaching and learning resources are now available through the North Carolina Action Research Portal in Home Base.

GTN educators were selected in April 2014. During their year of service with the GTN, teachers remained in their roles in the classroom, received specialized training and were paid $10,000 for their work. For more information, visit the GTN website.