On Tuesday, North Carolina kicked off the 2016
North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions Survey. School-based licensed educators in all 115 North Carolina school
districts and charter schools have an opportunity to answer a variety of
questions on the 8th biennial statewide NC Teacher Working Conditions (TWC)
Survey.
The NC TWC Survey, which remains open through March 25, gathers feedback
from teachers, counselors, principals and other administrators about the
adequacy of school facilities and resources, time, empowerment, school
leadership, community support, student conduct, professional development,
mentoring and induction services, and student learning. The web-based survey is
voluntary, anonymous and confidential. As in past years, educators will receive
unique access codes from their designated school-based representative (Teacher
of the Year, NCAE Representative, Teacher Leader) that enable them to take the
survey at the NC TWC website.
I appreciate your support of this
effort. I think that it is important to ask teachers and other licensed
educators to give their feedback. Many of you have used this feedback to make
improvements in your schools. Schools that have at least 40 percent of their
faculty respond to the survey will receive data to use so please encourage all
your teachers to participate.
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 State Board of Education Meeting Highlights
At this morning’s State Board of Education meeting, members approved reform
recommendations for continuously low-performing schools, the 2016 Invitation to
Submit Textbooks for Evaluation and Adoption in K-12 Social Studies and
Healthful Living, and the Board’s 2016-17 Supplemental Budget recommendations.
Yesterday, they continued their discussion of student surveys and proposed
conceptual policy recommendations related to licensure and policies on general
licensure requirements, and began a discussion of academic standards revision. Board
members also approved Dr. Maria Pitre-Martin as the Department’s new Chief
Academic and Digital Learning Officer.
To view the complete list of this month’s Board actions,
please visit the Board’s website.
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2014-15
Consolidated Data Report Released
Public School Dropout
Rate Experiences Slight Increase in 2014-15
North Carolina’s public
school dropout rate slightly increased in 2014-15 according to the Consolidated Data Report today
presented to State Board of Education members at their March meeting. The
state’s dropout rate rose to 2.39 percent from 2.28 percent the previous year.
The .11 percentage point increase was the first increase in the dropout rate
since 2006-07, when the dropout rate increased from 5.04 to 5.24. In 2014-15,
11,190 students dropped out of school as opposed to the 10,404 students the
previous year.
State Superintendent
June Atkinson said she was concerned that the state’s dropout rate increased.
“My top goal since I took office hasn’t changed: a 100 percent graduation rate.
A high school diploma is the minimum requirement students must meet to land a
job that will lead them into a successful career. I plan to work closely with department
staff and local superintendents to determine possible reasons behind the
increase and ways to reverse the trend.”
The full report
containing state, district and charter high school dropout counts and rates for
2014-15 is available online.
Reportable Public
School Crimes and Consequences Increase in 2014-15;
Long-Term Suspensions
Decrease Slightly
The total number of
reportable acts of school crime, short-term suspensions, expulsions, and the
use of corporal punishment increased in 2014-15 while the number of long-term
suspensions decreased slightly according to the Consolidated Data Report today presented to the State Board of
Education. The total number of reportable acts of school crime increased 2.1
percent, the first increase in three years, while the number of students in
North Carolina public schools was at an all-time high of 1,537,643.
State Superintendent
June Atkinson said that it is essential for schools to provide positive
learning environments so students can reach their academic potential. “Any
increase in school crime is a trend in the wrong direction. I am particularly
concerned that these increases are among the same groups of students at the
same grade levels. One answer is for schools to incorporate more programs such
as Positive Behavior Intervention and Support to reach students before they
make poor choices that impede their academic success. Parental involvement and
support are other important elements in deterring school crime.”
The full report
detailing district-by-district data on all of these measures is available online.
Multi-Tiered System of Support:
Strengthening Core Instruction
for All
The work of MTSS is designing a multi-tiered system of support to meet
the needs of all students. In order to do this, a system must be designed that
works for school staff. The District MTSS Team will guide School Leadership
Teams to examine and/or select instruction and curriculum.
It is critical for these teams to make informed decisions while defining
core instruction and curriculum for academics and behavior. When we think about
curriculum, we think about standards and materials. The materials support
students to meet those standards. When we think about behavioral standards, we
start with school-wide expectations.
Selecting practices that have the most impact on student learning and
then ensuring these adopted practices can happen for all students is part of
building an MTSS framework. The professional development being offered via
integrated academic and behavioral systems provides resources for teams engaged
in designing an MTSS for all students.
For more information on these layers of support, see this graphic or visit the MTSS wiki space.
If you have questions,
please contact Amy Jablonski.
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Implementation Science:
The Five Active
Implementation Frameworks
Students cannot
benefit from services they do not receive. Active Implementation
Frameworks promote the full and effective use of evidence-based programs and
evidence-informed innovations so that student outcomes are improved.
Active Implementation
is guided by five frameworks:
* Usable Interventions
* Implementation Stages
* Implementation Drivers
* Implementation Teams
* Improvement Cycles
Opportunities to deepen
your understanding about Implementation Stages and the Active Implementation
Frameworks may be found in this video
module
and a handout with definitions and
visuals.
Happening Now …
The Chatham County
District Implementation Team (DIT), a K-3 Formative Assessment Usability
Partner, has moved from the exploration stage to the installation stage of
implementation.
During the installation
stage they revisited their DIT membership according to selection criteria and
added new members to strengthen the infrastructure in support of improved
student outcomes. The Chatham DIT
recognizes the value of having voices from a variety of perspectives and has
representatives from PreK, Elementary, Title 1, MTSS, K-3 teachers and
principals.
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 NCDPI Global Educator Digital Badge
Guidance Webinar
Join NCDPI staff for an overview of the Global Educator Digital Badge
process and available resources inclusive of the expanded educator categories
(other teachers, principals and central office administrators) eligible for the
Digital Badge.
The same webinar will be offered at two times on Tuesday, March 15:
10 – 11 a.m. or 4 – 5 p.m. (click on the time to
register for the session).
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NCDPI Joins National #GoOpen Initiative
North Carolina is joining a national initiative promoting the
use of high quality, openly licensed educational resources by school districts
across the state. North Carolina – #GoOpenNC – will be joining
an inaugural cohort of states in the #GoOpen
initiative, which includes more than a dozen states that have committed to
support school districts and educators using openly licensed resources.
North Carolina is being recognized for its leadership by the
U.S. Department of Education at the #GoOpen Exchange, a gathering of state and
district leaders, innovative education technology platform providers, and
non-profit organizations working together to share knowledge and experiences to
help educators transition to using openly licensed educational resources.
“This
initiative continues the tremendous progress we’ve made in recent years with
Home Base, our ecosystem for digital tools and resources ” Atkinson said.
“Helping educators take greater advantage of open educational resources
advances our goals to keep pace with teaching and learning in the digital age.”
 Summer Leadership Conference 2016
Summer Leadership Conference 2016 will be held June 19-22 at the Omni
Grove Park Inn, Asheville.
Keynote speakers are Robert Putnam (author of Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis),
Steve Dembo (Building Bolder Schools: It
Doesn’t Hurt to be First, Discovery Education), and Donna Beegle (author of
See Poverty, Be the Difference).
Conference information, including hotels, online registration,
tentative agenda, and speaker bios are available online. Questions may be directed to Jan
Webster (828.774.5681 ext, 21) or Vicki
Wilson (828.774.5681 ext. 22).
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 Two Schools Nominated for “Green Ribbon Schools” Award
Congratulations to Sandy Grove Middle (Hoke County Schools) and Wiley
International Studies Magnet Elementary (Wake County Schools) for recently
being selected to represent North Carolina in the U.S. Department of
Education’s Green Ribbon Schools Award program.
These schools were selected because of their
exemplary efforts in providing healthy learning facilities and a strong
education program. The Green Ribbon Schools Award is the first comprehensive
federal policy for schools related to environment, health and education. Since
2012, four North Carolina public schools and two school districts have received
the national award.
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2015 Public School Law Book
The 2015 edition of Public School Laws of North Carolina is
now available to purchase through NCDPI Publications Sales. Public School
Laws of North Carolina contains statutes, case notes and opinions of the
Attorney General through the 2015 session. It also includes statutes other than
115C (LexisNexis Edition).
The book is $37 and may be ordered by
calling 919.807.3470, or by visiting our Publications Sales website.
Stop Rx Abuse Video Contest Reminder
Please encourage your students to help warn others about the dangers
of prescription drug abuse. Attorney General Roy Cooper and the NC Department
of Justice are again sponsoring the Stop Rx Abuse video contest, which is open
to all students grades 6 through 12.
The competition is already underway, and submissions will be accepted
through April 18. Each school should
have received detailed information by mail. To learn more, visit the NC
Department of Justice’s website or email questions
to StopRxAbuse@ncdoj.gov.
Burroughs Wellcome Fund Student Science Enrichment Program
The Burroughs Wellcome Fund is accepting applications for its Student
Science Enrichment Program (SSEP) grant awards. SSEP supports diverse programs
with a common goal: to enable primary and secondary students to participate in
creative, hands-on scientific activities for K-12 students and pursue
inquiry-based exploration in BWF's home state of North Carolina. These awards
provide up to $60,000 per year for three years. The application deadline is April 15.
For more information, including an application, visit the Burroughs
Wellcome Fund website.
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