The
State Board of Education had a robust discussion last week at its planning
session about the standards review process, especially regarding revisions to
Math I, II and III.
The Superintendents’ Quarterly meeting on Wednesday in
Wilmington will include a segment on that topic to make sure that you have
ample time to ask questions and hear from our curriculum and instruction
leadership in this area. I look forward to seeing many of you on
Wednesday.
The
General Assembly returns to Raleigh for its short session in two weeks.
Proposals on teacher compensation and other education priorities are prominent
in the news these days, and I’m sure there will be many more to come. I mention
this to encourage you to reach out to your lawmakers so that they have a clear
idea of your local needs and concerns before the session begins. Your
perspective is very valuable to them.
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 State
Board of Education Planning/Work Session/Meeting Highlights
The
State Board of Education held a planning and work session on Tuesday and
Wednesday prior to last Thursday’s regular monthly meeting. Issues discussed at
the planning and work session included the Board’s strategic plan
implementation progress and challenges, the Every
Student Succeeds Act, standards review and revisions, the state’s
assessment system, criminal background checks and the Board’s legislative
agenda for the General Assembly’s short session.
At Thursday’s
regular Board meeting, in addition to a number of consent agenda items, members
approved policies on general licensure requirements, beginning teacher support
program, standards and criteria for evaluation of professional school employees
and the teacher performance appraisal process; applications from reform models;
technical changes to the recurring low-performing schools’ policy; and an equipment
assistance grant for school nutrition.
Board
members also discussed several charter schools’ issues, the Joint Legislative
Education Oversight Committee Dropout Prevention Pilot Report; Annual
Measurable Objectives/Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives policy
revisions; middle school athletics manual updates; and an update on the teacher
licensure system.
The
complete list of this month’s Board actions is available on the Board’s website.
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Kindergarten
Entry Assessment Expansion
In its
second year, the Kindergarten Entry Assessment will be expanded from the two
domains of student learning included this past year to cover all five domains
in 2016-17.
Teachers
will assess all entering kindergartners within the first 60 days of school on a
total of seven different areas across the five domains of student learning:
* Approaches to Learning
* Cognitive Development
* Emotional-Social Development
* Health & Physical Development
* Language Development & Communication
A
degree of choice also has been incorporated into the process for this coming
year, allowing districts to select areas in specific domains that best fit
their needs.
To
complete the assessment, teachers will continue to use the same web-based
platform to gather evidence, determine learning statuses and select learning
targets – all key steps in the formative assessment process. The documentation
of student learning collected within the platform meets the requirements of the
state’s Kindergarten Entry Assessment.
NCDPI
Office of Early Learning staff look forward to working with you and learning
additional ways to support your district’s implementation efforts. Please feel free to contact your regional consultant for
assistance.
USED Releases Resources on Improving School Climate
The
U.S. Department of Education recently released new
school climate surveys and a quick guide on making school climate
improvements to help foster and sustain safe and supportive environments that
are conducive to learning for all students.
The
ED School Climate Surveys and the Quick Guide on Making School Climate
Improvements will enable states, local school districts, and individual schools
to collect and act on reliable, nationally-validated
school climate data in real-time. These new free and adaptable resources will
enable educators, administrators, and school system leaders to understand and
create environments where every child can be successful.
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Information
on Academic Achievement Gap Online
Are
you interested in the latest (and not so latest) research and non-research
texts about the academic achievement gap and its attending issues (such as
poverty) in North Carolina and elsewhere?
If
so, then NCDPI's Division of Data, Research and Federal Policy can
help. Just scroll through the summaries located on the Academic
Education Research web page for relevant, interesting scholarly
texts and articles.
 NCVPS
Allotment Projections Deadline Extended
The
deadline to request an increase in your NCVPS allotment projections has been
extended to April 22. To request an
increase in your projections, please complete
the form at this link.
Additionally,
if districts would like to pursue flexible funding options, that link
is here. If you
have any questions, please contact NCVPS Chief Operations Officer Rachel McBroom.
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Gaston County
Schools’ Teacher is
2016 NC Teacher of the Year
Congratulations to South Point High School English and Journalism
teacher Bobbie Cavnar who today was named the 2016 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North
Carolina Teacher of the Year.
In announcing this year’s recipient, State Superintendent
June Atkinson said Cavnar is a champion of public education and the
opportunities it provides students. “Bobbie sees public education as the one
thing that is equal and fair in a child’s life, and he sees teachers as the
equalizers, the keeper’s of America’s promise of equal opportunity.”
As Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher
of the Year, Cavnar will spend the next school year traveling the state as an
ambassador for the teaching profession. He also will serve as an advisor to the State Board
of Education for two years and as a board member for the NC Public School Forum
for one year.
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 Champions
for Excellence Named
The
NCDPI Champion for the Excellence
in Teaching and Learning Award was presented to the following six
outstanding educators during the Collaborative Conference for Student
Achievement held in Greensboro on March 23:
* Kiera Stricklen, Instructional Support,
Media/Technology Assistant, Wellcome Middle School, Pitt County Schools
* James Johnson, Principal, Randleman
Elementary School, Randolph County Schools
* Susan Brigman, Principal, Ashley Chapel
Education Center, Richmond County Schools
* Janet Delery, Math Teacher, Piedmont Middle
School, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
* Ashley White, Kindergarten Teacher, Aberdeen
Primary School, Moore County Schools
* Jennifer James, Business Education Teacher,
Northeastern High School, Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Schools
The
purpose of the Champion Award is to share the collective belief in the power of
public education and to celebrate everything that is right about local schools
and the people who make it so. This recognition identifies these educators as
advocates for excellence who embody these qualities.
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 Additional
NCStar Trainings Scheduled
As
a reminder, NCDPI staff will hold three
additional sessions in April for educators who might be
interested in learning more about the free NCStar tool that helps schools
manage their school improvement process.
With
NCStar being a requirement for Priority and Focus schools, it is recommended
that in schools with high turnover, more than one person participate in this
initial training.
The
three sessions, which will be held in Lincolnton (April 19), Asheboro (April
21) and Wilson (April 25), are
open to any school or district in the state. Please make sure to register
soon as registration will close as soon as site capacity is reached.
For
more information, please visit the NCStar
website. Questions regarding the training may be directed to Alessandro Montanari.
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 Character
Education Workshop
Are
your schools leading with character? Do you want to change the climate and
culture of your schools? Are you looking for strategies to enhance your
district’s character development efforts? If so, join DPI staff for a free
character education workshop scheduled for Friday, April 22, from 9 a.m.-3
p.m., at the Education Building in Raleigh.
At the
workshop, you will learn about the 11 Principles of Effective Character
Education as a tool to evaluate your school, district and community climate,
and how state and national schools and districts of character have implemented
these practices.
You
may register online. For
more information, please contact Justyn Knox.
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