As you are aware, a goal of the State Board of Education is for every student in North Carolina to have a personalized education. The Department’s NC Digital Learning Plan addresses this goal; and the State Board of Education’s 2016-17 supplemental budget recommendation includes substantial support for digital learning.

Some highlights of staff accomplishments to date include the recent release of the new Digital Learning and Media Inventory, the development of an RFP to establish contracts that districts may use to procure devices such as Chromebooks, and the development of Digital Learning Competencies for School Administrators and Classroom Teachers. Where the competencies are concerned, staff would appreciate your review and feedback.

•  Draft Digital Learning Competencies for School Administrators; Feedback Form

•  Draft Digital Learning Competencies for Classroom Teachers; Feedback Form

If you have specific questions about moving digital learning forward in your school, please feel free to reach out to the Department’s Director for Digital Teaching and Learning Verna Lalbeharie. Verna and her staff are available to provide guidance and support.

Implementation Science:
The Formula for Success

The formula for success, illustrated below, highlights the components necessary to create positive outcomes for students.

*  Effective innovation/intervention helps us to know “what it is” we are implementing.

*  Effective implementation methods are the infrastructure and the “how” of the equation for success.

*  Enabling contexts within the organization includes ensuring a “hospitable environment” through building competency, organizing the system, and supportive leadership. 

Farewell Message from 2015
NC Principal of the Year

It has been an honor to serve as the Wells Fargo North Carolina Principal of the Year in our great state! Last year, I invited all of you to take this journey with me, and what a phenomenal journey it has been.

The opportunity to visit schools, advise during State Board of Education meetings, conduct professional development, share best practices, learn while leading and meet with elected officials to discuss how we can improve communication between educators and legislators has been tremendous. As school leaders we must continue to advocate for our students, teachers and communities. Public education in North Carolina is strong and vibrant and we must remain committed to the work we do daily – educating our children.

As I reflect on my experience, I recall visiting a school out west whose students faced many challenges academically and socially. Yet, the school’s principal was determined to ensure their success by hiring excellent teachers and giving students the best education possible. Despite many challenges, this principal saw them as opportunities to work even harder to ensure her students’ success. She celebrated small accomplishments, recognized her teachers for their hard work and always held students at the forefront of her decision-making. It was simple for this school leader, she wanted her students to be successful in life, and knew it would be a collective responsibility of teachers, teacher assistants, office staff, bus drivers, child nutritionist, parents and the community. No one person could be the single driving factor behind student success.

Great principals resemble this school leader. They keep their school’s mission, vision and goals at the center of all they do. They identify key leaders who are invested in the work it takes to give children a high quality education. Great leaders involve all stakeholders in the process of continuous improvement. And just like this principal, they lead their schools to high levels of achievement despite the odds they may face.

As I’ve traveled across the state of North Carolina, my hope is that I have represented you, my colleagues, well. I hope that I have made a positive impact. I hope I have inspired those around me to lead with passion and serve others to the best of their ability every day. An author one said that, “Leadership is a personal quest you undertake, based on a mission from the heart.”

Lead from your heart. Remind your teachers daily how much you appreciate their hard work and dedication. Thank your support staff for their patience and unwavering commitment, as they are unsung heroes in our public schools. Thank your parents and community for trusting you with educating their most precious gifts.

Finally, thank you for allowing me to represent you across many platforms this year. This is just the beginning of the great work we will continue to do together. I’m honored to have met so many amazing principals. Each of you have inspired me because you’ve set the most amazing conditions for learning in your schools. You are educational champions; and I applaud each of you.

Many days we laugh, some days we cry, most days we go home tired but everyday we make a positive difference in the life of a child! I wish you much success and best wishes to you as we conclude the school year!

Spring 2016 Principal Ready:
One More Chance

You still have time to register for the last Spring Principal Ready session scheduled on April 27 in the southwest region.

Principals across the state have had the opportunity to learn about the changes concerning Standard 6, licensure and ASW. In addition, the Statewide System of Support has created custom sessions based on the feedback received from the districts they serve.

If you are interested in learning more about self-directed evaluations, strategies for principals serving low-performing schools, improving teacher retention, etc., please go to the NCEES wiki to register for this last session.

Global Languages Endorsement

Please remember that the Global Languages Endorsement (GLE) is one of five high school diploma endorsements that a student may earn as outlined in SBE Policy GCS-L-007.

The purpose of this endorsement is to provide a way for students to show their multi-literacy in English and at least one World Language. Students may add as many World Languages for which they qualify to a GLE.

For additional information and resources click here or contact Special Assistant for Global Education Helga Fasciano.

Give Five – Read Five Free
Online Literacy Tool

As you are aware, the book drive portion of the annual Give Five – Read Five campaign winds down in late May. This year as part of a partnership with myON, a division of Capstone, DPI is offering every student in the state access to the personalized literacy tool myON Reader.

To ensure that your school can offer students free access to myON Reader this summer and for instructions on using the tool, please contact the English language arts and/or literacy specialist in your district’s central office.

Many schools also have participated in Give Five – Read Five with book drives and distribution of books to students. Please don’t forget to report your school’s final book collection total by June 17 to Diane Dulaney. Make sure to include the name of your school, school district, and total number of students at your school when you send in your final collection totals. The school with the overall highest total of books collected and schools that collect the most books in three size categories will receive a free one-year, school-wide license to one of three outstanding online literacy tools.

Visit the NCDPI Give Five – Read Five website to see if your school is included on our final book collection total list!

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 in the Academic Education Research web page for relevant, interesting scholarly texts and articles.

Professional Development News

New Literacy Modules

NCDPI Educator Effectiveness staff have heard your requests for more courses that carry literacy credit. After careful review, two additional courses within the Home Base Professional Development System catalog have been added that meet the statutory description (115c-296(b)(1)b) of a literacy credit:

*  Supporting English Language Learners (ELLs) in the Classroom: Action Research from the GTN; and

*  The Reading and Writing Connection: Action Research from the GTN Project.

These literacy modules were produced by the Governor’s Teacher Network action research project.

For a detailed description of the course, please visit http://www.rt3nc.org/. For support on issues related to online professional development, please contact Geetanjali Soni.

Governor’s Teacher Network Action Research Projects Available

Have you ever wondered how professional development is done in districts other than yours? Are you looking for ideas that have been tested in North Carolina classrooms? Look no further. Over 200 action research projects created by members of the Governor’s Teacher Network Action are available for review. Many of these projects examined different types of professional development activities.

Brittany Guy, an action researcher in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, investigated a year-long personalized, blended professional development model for implementing technology in the classroom.

If you are interested in learning more about this model or finding Ms. Guy’s action research results, please visit the Online Professional Development Catalog and click on the Action Research tab.

Champions for Excellence Named

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.

Student Leadership Institute
Scheduled for June

Principals are asked to share the following information with school counselors who may know of students who would be interested in attending.

NCDPI staff will host its fifth annual Student Leadership Institute (SLI) June 13-16 at Pfeiffer University. The four-day Institute is for rising fourth through twelfth graders, and is designed to prepare students to take active roles in their schools and communities through service learning. 

Institute facilitators will engage participants in active, minds-on, hands-on learning that will assist students and their adult mentors with developing the skills needed to engage in service experiences that are aligned to the curriculum.

For eligibility requirements and an application, visit the Character Matters website. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m., Friday, April 29. Questions may be directed to Bernadette Cole, Fay Gore or Nakisha Floyd. 

Latest Teachers’ Message Online

April 14, 2016 Teachers’ Biweekly Message