I look
forward to seeing you at our meeting Thursday in conjunction with the annual
Financial and Business services conference at the Sheraton Imperial, Research
Triangle Park.
This
is a special opportunity for us to learn new skills and develop new
perspectives for communicating about public schools. Another treat on Thursday
will be a brief presentation from the US Army regarding educational resources
the Department of Defense has developed. These include a STEM van that we will
have the opportunity to tour during the lunch break.
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NEW
Legislated Reporting Requirements for LEAs
The state budget bill (HB 1030) recently
passed by the General Assembly includes several new requirements for local
school boards and charter schools to report information to the State Board,
beginning as soon as Sept. 1. NCDPI staff will coordinate collection of this information
and will provide specifics about each requirement in a separate communication.
For now, please plan on the following estimated reporting calendar for these
new reports:
Please
direct any questions regarding this reporting calendar to NCDPI Chief
Performance Officer Adam Levinson.
This
afternoon, NCDPI staff will post detailed information to the Testing News
Network (TNN) regarding the process for submitting the report on Local Testing
Programs. Please
see below for information about a webinar on this topic that DPI will hold July 26.
NCDPI will
supply information regarding the other two new required reports in future
newsletters.
Report on
Local Testing Programs Webinar
Effective
with the 2016-17 school year, legislation recently passed by the General
Assembly (G.S. §115C-174.12 [d]) requires each local board of education to
“notify the State Board of Education (SBE) by Sept. 1 of each year of any local
testing to be administered to students by the local school administrative
unit…and the calendar for administering those tests.” Additionally, the local
board of education must “include information on the source of funds supporting
the local testing program.”
Section
(e) of the same legislation requires that by Oct. 15 of each year, the State Board of Education must report this
information to the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee, along with
a summary of the administration of the state testing program, including the
number and type of state tests and the testing schedule.
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Please see the Testing News Network (TNN) for detailed information regarding the process for submitting the local testing information to NCDPI by Sept. 1.
On Tuesday, July 26, NCDPI staff will hold a webinar from 10 -11 a.m., to discuss the new requirement to report on local testing, and to answer questions that test coordinators may have concerning how NCDPI will collect the data from LEAs. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Digital
Teaching and Learning Updates
Digital
Learning Competencies (NC Digital Learning Plan) PD Sessions Being Held
Statewide
NCDPI’s
Digital Teaching and Learning Division staff are engaging district teams across
the state in regional professional learning on the Digital Learning
Competencies. These sessions, which
began last week, have been well attended and have provided district teams with
a robust overview of the Digital Learning Competencies as well
as an opportunity to begin the planning process for implementation in July
2017. As you know, the North Carolina Digital Learning Plan
provided recommendations for state
actions that will support K-12 schools as they become digital-age learning
organizations.
In 2013,
the North Carolina General Assembly passed House Bill 23, which called on the
State Board of Education to develop digital teaching and learning competencies
that would “provide a framework for schools of education, school
administrators, and classroom teachers on the needed skills to provide
high-quality, integrated digital teaching and learning.” These competencies
demonstrate skills that teachers and leaders should integrate into their
practice in order to create digital learning environments. The State Board of
Education approved the competencies on June 2.
Much of
Digital Teaching and Learning Division staff’s work over the next few years
will be supporting district staff as they implement these competencies. If you
have any questions, please contact Digital Teaching and Learning Director Verna Lalbeharie.
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PBS Regional Teacher Summit
NCDPI’s
Digital Teaching & Learning Division is partnering with the Public
Broadcasting System (PBS) and UNC-TV to engage K-12 educators to join staff on Aug. 4 for a day of learning, sharing and
networking with colleagues around the state on learning in the digital-age
classroom. This partnership helps introduce NC educators to resources that can
be utilized in instruction.
Participants
will have hands-on opportunities to work in small groups, share ideas, and make
lasting connections. The Summit will be held from 8:45 a.m. – 4 p.m., at the
UNC-TV studios in Durham. Participating teachers also can earn CEU credits.
There is no cost for this professional learning; breakfast and lunch will be
provided.
This
professional development opportunity advances the state’s digital learning plan
efforts, which recommend supporting the use and sharing of high-quality open
educational resources and teacher-created resources.
The
Department of Public Instruction engaged the Friday Institute at NC State
University in developing the NC
Digital Learning Plan, recognizing that digital learning requires very
different tools and resources than traditional modes of learning. NC is
committed to preparing educators and students for the digital age. This session
has received an overwhelmingly large response and is already at capacity.
Additional sessions like this one will be planned for a future date.
Multi-Tiered System of Support: Collaborative District-School Partnerships
Cohort 2 District Teams are meeting this month to
discuss MTSS Professional Development content around creating readiness,
essential elements of core instruction, and analyzing the effectiveness of core
instruction. The goal of these meetings is to review the online content and
plan for implementation at the school level. A critical portion of planning is
related to narrowing the focus of the work by connecting the dots for the
school teams.
The District Teams planned MTSS implementation
using these components:
- rating current
level of implementation;
- prioritizing
implementation items;
- identifying
resources and barriers to implementation;
- determining
action items for successful implementation; and
- mapping action
steps using a Gantt chart to organize implementation effectively.
As the District Team defines and communicates
these priorities, a shared vision between the schools and district will result.
A carefully cultivated partnership between these two teams can yield results
that far exceed expectations.
If you have additional questions, please contact Amy Jablonski.
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NCVPS
Schedules Open House
The
North Carolina Virtual Public School will hold its 2016 Open House on Thursday,
Aug. 11, from 6-7 p.m., via an online classroom.
NCVPS
staff and teachers will provide presentations on Who is NCVPS?, Teaching and
Learning with NCVPS, Meet the Teacher, See the Classroom, Support All Around,
and Q & As.
While
the presentations are geared toward parents and students in public schools,
private schools, and home schools, the NCVPS Open House has something for
everyone. Educators will learn about the NCVPS teaching and learning process,
and the general public will discover what online learning is all about!
Follow this
link to register. Once registered, additional
details will be sent
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