Congratulations
to you and to your schools on North Carolina’s high school graduation
rate, which jumped to another historic high of 85.4 percent in 2015. This
good news was shared by all subgroups, which is another cause for celebration.
Last
week’s accountability results revealed those facts as well as other highlights
of your students’ and teachers’ hard work during the last school year. Results
also showed that 72.2 percent of traditional public schools received
performance grades of C or better while charter schools came in at 70.4 percent
receiving grades of C or better. Science proficiency moved up for fifth and eighth
graders, and more students were proficient in mathematics.
On top
of this, 2015
Advanced Placement results released by the College Board found that more North Carolina
high school students are taking Advanced Placement courses and tests and
succeeding in these college-level courses. The number of tests taken
increased 19.1 percent, and the number of scores of 3 to 5 increased 9 percent,
according to the College Board.
While
every measure in our recent accountability results release did not show
improvement over the prior year, there are bright spots to celebrate.
Last week’s accountability results also underlined the continued need
for early childhood education, more flexibility in school calendars and
targeted support for schools that need it. We continue to watch for signs of a
budget agreement and will alert you as soon as any movement occurs in that
regard.
|
State Board of
Education Meeting Highlights
At their September State Board of Education
meeting, members received reports on 2014-15 Accountability Data, School
Performance Grades, Cohort Graduation Rates, and Career and Technical Education
Credentials earned during the previous school year. Members approved the
Digital Learning Report, funded Average Daily Membership for charter schools
with approved dropout prevention and recovery programs, and Read to Achieve
local alternative assessments.
Board members also discussed Global Educator
Digital Badge requirements, revisions to CTE Essential Standards and guidelines
for Academically or Intellectually Gifted programs.
A complete list of Board
actions is available on the State Board of Education website.
|
Breakout Session to Help Local Board Members
Understand Educator Growth Ratings
In late October, NCDPI will be releasing
individual teacher and principal growth ratings, and staff expects many teachers
and principals will receive their first status rating under the North Carolina
Educator Effectiveness System. The
status rating classifies teachers and principals in one of three performance
categories – Highly Effective, Effective or In Need of Improvement.
In preparation of this release, NCDPI Director of
Educator Human Capital Policy and Research Tom Tomberlin will be conducting a
breakout session at each of the eight North Carolina School Board Association
District meetings. The goal of the session is to help local board members
understand the evaluation process and the role of student growth in that
process as well as the method of calculation of these ratings and any
implications the ratings might have for teachers and principals.
We encourage you and your local school board
members to attend these sessions on student growth so that we can all work
together in promoting continuous improvement for our state’s educators.
 Webinars Scheduled to Address State Board
Policies/Budget
High
School Accreditation Webinar. As legislatively
mandated, the State Board of Education is providing accreditation reviews for
high schools in North Carolina. Schools and districts interested in participating
in the accreditation review process should visit the high school accreditation website.
An informational webinar will be held this
Thursday, Sept. 10, at 10:30 a.m. You may participate online or call 914.614.3221
(Access Code: 929-094-871). Questions regarding this webinar may be sent to Debora Williams.
Dropout Exit Conference and Referral
Process Webinar. At last week’s State Board of Education meeting,
members approved a revision to their Dropout Exit Conference and Referral
Process policy (GCS-Q-000). Superintendents and district administrators
will receive an update outlining the changes to this policy.
To help districts better understand these
changes, DPI staff will hold a webinar this Thursday,
Sept. 10, at 1:30 p.m. The informational webinar will address specifics of
this policy revision, process requirements and how those change
may effect a school's cohort graduation and dropout rates.
You may register
for the webinar online or
participate via telephone by calling 646.749.3122 (Access Code: 627-605-213). The Audio PIN will be shown after joining the meeting.
Questions regarding this webinar may be sent to Debora Williams.
Legislative
Webinar Scheduled. The next legislative webinar
will be held Monday, Sept. 14, at 1 p.m. We will send you the link to register for this webinar later this week.
If you have any questions regarding
legislative activities, please email Rachel Beaulieu, NCDPI
Legislative and Community Affairs director.
|
 NC Teacher Working Conditions Survey to Launch in 2016
Have you explored
the North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions website? There are a wealth
of resources and planning templates on this site free of charge and available
for your use. During Principal READY 2015, principals had the opportunity to
discuss, review and talk with peers about promoting positive school culture and
strong learning communities. If you were unable to attend, please preview this video. Instructional materials and contact information
also are available online. Get ready for the
launch of the survey in spring of 2016!
|
 Integrated Academic and Behavior Systems
The
MTSS vision cast by NCDPI division directors is that “Every NC Pre K-12 public
education system implements and sustains all components of a Multi-Tiered
System of Support to ensure college and career readiness for all students.” How
will this occur? The key is to implement slowly and systematically. Successful
implementation and sustainability of this work is directly linked to the extent
the state, district and school leaders start slow and intentionally build a
system of support for all staff and all students. MTSS professional development
will introduce teams to the concept of R= MC2, which translates to:
Readiness=Motivation x General Capacity x Intervention-Specific Capacity.
The MTSS
team is strategically developing supports for all districts, charter schools,
and state-operated programs based on research around readiness, implementation
capacity, and sustainability so this MTSS vision can be achieved.
To learn more about implementation capacity visit
the National Implementation Research Network website
and read the article on this topic.
|
 What's New With the Instructional Improvement System (Schoolnet)
New Classroom Assessment Items Available in
Schoolnet. This week as you log in to Schoolnet you may notice that there are more assessment items available in
Math and English Language Arts. Staff recently purchased an additional 55,000
assessment items for classroom level use in grades K-12. The new items include
multiple choice and open response items. You can find these items under the
publisher name “FAIB from Certica Solutions, Inc.” when doing an advanced
search in Item Central.
In
addition, the Northwest Evaluation Association items for Science and Social
Studies also were refreshed and have been assigned a new publisher name. The
new publisher name is “FAIB from Certica Solutions, Inc.” As a reminder these
items (and the new items noted above) are available to ALL users in Schoolnet
so they are intended for Classroom Assessments (not Benchmark Assessments).
Benchmarking Soon? Let
Us Know When. NCDPI staff are pleased to report that Schoolnet continues to
provide a stable system for instructional improvement with no known system-wide
issues. We are continuing to improve and monitor Schoolnet, especially during
peak usage times like when many districts administer their benchmark tests.
In order for us to have the most up-to-date
information in one place and to be able to anticipate peak testing time, we ask
that you fill out a quick and simple form to let us know about
your plans for administering benchmark assessments.
We look forward to hearing from you about
your benchmark plans for 2015-16 and working with you as we plan for updates
and improvements to the system. Questions may be directed to Instructional
Improvement System Consultant Kayla Siler.
|
 Global Ready
Update
A Global-Ready District
Designation Webinar will be held Sept. 17 at 11 am. The webinar is designed
for districts interested in applying for this State Board of Education
designation and will focus on understanding the levels of achievement
requirements and the application process for 2015-16. Dr. Kathy Spencer will
participate and provide tips to consider when writing the application narrative
and selecting the evidences. Go online to register.
For additional
information on Global-Ready District and Global-Ready Schools designations’
information is available here or contact Special
Assistant for Global Education Helga
Fasciano.
Global-Ready
District Intent to Apply for 2015-16 School Year. Districts/LEAs
interested in applying for the designation need a Word version of the
application form to complete and submit. Complete the Intent
to Apply form and the contact person listed will receive a Word version of the
current year application, along with direct updates regarding the application,
resources and webinars. Receiving the Word version of the application does not
obligate the district to apply. District applications are due the first Friday
in December.
|
American Indian
Education Summit Scheduled for October
The 2015 American Indian
Education Summit, "A New Vision for Native Students," will be held
Oct. 9, from 8 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., in Room 150 of the Education Building,
Raleigh.
The State Advisory Council on Indian Education and NCDPI are
co-sponsoring the event. Additional information is available on the American
Indian Education website.
|
Registration Open for the 65th Conference
on Exceptional Children
Registration is now open for the 65th
Conference on Exceptional Children, “Graduation: The Measure of Tomorrow.” The
conference will be held Nov. 19-20 at the Koury Convention Center/Sheraton
Greensboro Hotel at Four Seasons, Greensboro. Pre-conference institutes
will be held Nov. 18.
The conference is North Carolina’s largest
gathering of educational professionals and parents of children with
disabilities. The Exceptional Children Division is pleased to invite colleagues
from across the state to participate in this annual event to share and learn
about innovations and exciting practices to help exceptional children achieve.
Conference details, including
registration, are available on the Exceptional Children Division website.
|
