Yesterday, I had the opportunity to present my plan for addressing teacher compensation to the NC House Select Committee on Education Strategy and Practices as it considered a variety of ideas for improving schools in North Carolina.

I believe that now is the time for North Carolina to be bold and tackle our teacher compensation issue by raising teacher pay for all classroom teachers, by providing local teacher leadership pay (for example, teachers who select 11- or 12-month contracts, serve as beginning teacher mentors, instructional coaches, grade/subject coordinators and peer evaluators), by providing pay incentives to teachers willing to serve in low-performing schools, and by providing bonuses for schools exceeding growth.

These ideas represent a coordinated way of addressing our many compensation concerns: low pay as compared to our neighbor states, recruitment needs in harder-to-staff schools, our obligation to reward teachers who accept additional duties and our need to reward teachers for outstanding performance.

North Carolina’s economy has been rebounding since the 2007-08 Great Recession, and our lawmakers have the opportunity to use some of the funding now available to address these critical issues. Teachers have the greatest impact on student achievement and growth, and I believe our state needs to recognize this and respond appropriately. 

State Board of Education Meets Next Week

The State Board of Education will meet next Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 3-4, in the 7th Floor Board Room, Education Building, Raleigh.

Action items on the agenda of interest to teachers include policies governing services for children with disabilities, recommendations for charter enrollment and grade expansion requests, recommendations for charter schools expiring in 2016, and a report to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee on a multi-year survey of driver education. Discussion items include program approval modifications for Institutions of Higher Education, policy recommendations for the teacher licensure and evaluation process, proposed student perception surveys, reform for continually low-performing schools, and the Board’s 2016-17 Supplemental Budget recommendations.

The complete agenda as well as supporting executive summaries are available online by clicking on the Meetings tab. The meeting is audio streamed for those who cannot attend. To listen, please visit the above link and click on the live audio streams link to the right.

New Year Greetings from NC
Teacher of the Year

Happy 2016, educators! I trust your holiday season was filled with joy, rest and a few good books!

A new year provides a natural time for reflection and redirection. In that spirit, as I contemplate the state of education in North Carolina over the past year, I am overcome with gratitude for each educator who daily exemplifies the true definition of selflessness for our next generation. Each of you is the reason our state is blessed with hope for our future and with the potential to become the greatest educational state in the nation. Your tireless work does not go unnoticed, and your resolve to do what is best for your students further strengthens the respect and admiration so many North Carolinians have for the education profession.

As you consider your past year as an educator, I encourage you to be honest with yourself about your shortcomings and your triumphs. Remind yourself of all the wonderful things happening in your classroom daily and that your work is making an eternal difference in the lives of your students. We each have room for improvement, but we often short change the positive impact we have on our students and community.

So, let’s tell the world our great news. Even though the naysayers about public education may ring loud on social media, we must remember that we are champions for education. We are in this together, and we must unite our profession for positive change for our students. Now, why are you still reading this?  Go tweet, Facebook, or Instagram about that great thing you did today! #PositiveNCEducators 

Keana Triplett, 2015-16 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year

Please follow my journey on Twitter (@teachtrip) and/or Facebook (Keana Triplett, NC Teacher of the Year) as I share the amazing happenings in North Carolina public schools!

Home Base PD System Course Redesigned

The newly redesigned module, Universal Design for Learning 1: UDL in the Everyday Classroom, is now available in the Home Base professional development system. The course, with all new content, allows participants to analyze and adapt lesson plans in order to make learning more accessible for all students.

For a complete description of this course, a listing of all self-paced and facilitated courses available, or instructions on using the Home Base professional development system, please log into www.rt3nc.org.