The first round of regional public comment sessions regarding the Every Student Succeeds Act and North Carolina’s plan that is under development begins tomorrow, April 13, at Ashley High School, 555 Halyburton Memorial Parkway, Wilmington. The session lasts from 4 - 6 p.m.

Other dates and locations are:

*  April 21, Green Hope High School/Cary;
*  April 26, Mallard Creek High School/Charlotte;
*  April 27, North Pitt High School/Bethel;
*  May 17, East Forsyth High School/Kernersville; and
*  May 18, Charles D. Owen High School/Black Mountain.

All sessions will be held from 4-6 p.m. People who wish to speak during the session are asked to sign in by 4:15 p.m. Each speaker will have up to three minutes to provide comments, and written copies of comments also are welcomed.

Individuals interested in speaking may want to consider the following questions when formulating their comments:
-  What do you expect from our schools?
-  What school characteristics are most important?
-  How should we measure school success?
-  How do we ensure that all schools are successful?
-  How should we celebrate school success?

As we develop our state’s plan, it is important to hear from educators, parents, business people, students and other community members.

The State Board of Education held a planning session last Tuesday and Wednesday prior to its Thursday regular monthly meeting. Issues discussed at the planning session included the Every Student Succeeds Act, standards review and revisions, the state’s assessment system, criminal background checks for teachers 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, the beginning teacher support program, standards and criteria for evaluation of professional school employees and the teacher performance appraisal process; applications to apply school reform models to low-performing schools; and technical changes to the recurring low-performing schools’ policy.

Board members also discussed the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee Dropout Prevention Pilot Report; Annual Measurable Objectives/Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives policy revisions; and an update on the teacher licensure system.

The complete list of this month’s Board actions is available on the Board’s website. In addition, if you would like further information on any of the Board’s discussion or action items, supporting executive summaries and appropriate attachments are available for each by clicking on the Meetings tab on the State Board’s web page.

As a reminder, April 22 is the deadline to submit comments on NCDPI’s annual State Application for receiving a grant award under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) as amended in 2004 for Federal Fiscal Year 2016.

A copy of the State Application is available for public review on the NCDPI Exceptional Children website under Hot Topics. Also, each local school district’s central office received a copy for public review.

Interested citizens may submit comments via email or by U.S. mail to North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Exceptional Children Division, ATTN: Tracy Riddle/Carol Ann Hudgens, 6356 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-6356.

On March 23, State Superintendent June Atkinson kicked off the fourth annual statewide Give Five – Read Five campaign at Winding Springs Elementary School in Charlotte.

As a part of this initiative, first launched in 2013, districts, schools, businesses, nonprofits, churches and other community partners conduct book drives through the end of May. Books from these local drives are then distributed to students to provide them with quality reading material over the summer to help reduce summer learning loss.

Since the campaign’s beginning, more than 946,000 new and gently-used books have been sent home with students as a part of Give Five – Read Five and similar local efforts. Once again in 2016, the four schools that collect the most books will receive a free one-year schoolwide license to online literacy tools provided by Achieve3000, Reading Horizons and myON.

As a part of this year’s campaign and thanks to a new partnership with myON, a division of Capstone, DPI is offering every school district in the state access to the personalized literacy tool myON Reader. Students at every grade level in participating schools will be able to use this tool during the summer months to select from thousands of titles and download free books well-matched to their reading levels and personal interests. As an added bonus, parents may use the tool to track how many pages and hours students spend reading and even measure their literacy growth while they are away from the classroom.

If you would like to assist your local school with its Give Five – Read Five campaign, contact the school's principal to find out how you may donate books and/or support other local Give Five – Read Five efforts. Your support will help students across our state return to school this fall better prepared to learn.

For more information about this campaign, please visit the NCDPI Give Five – Read Five web page.

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.

Cavnar is a great example of the outstanding teachers who work across North Carolina to help our students advance. Cavnar has taught for 16 years, the last 12 at South Point High School. He currently participates in the Gaston County Teacher Induction Program for Success where he trains incoming teachers in model classroom best practices. He has presented at a number of workshops and has received several awards including South Point High School’s Most Influential Educator for 2013, 2011, 2009, 2006 and 2004.This award has special meaning because it is voted on by students.

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.

The NC Department of Public of Instruction (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 celebrate the power of public education and the educators who advocate for excellence.