 Hurricane Matthew’s
impact on North Carolina is still being felt and catalogued this week. As some
counties are still waiting for rivers to crest, it may be some time before the
final damages of this storm are known.
Today, 35 districts have
notified us that they are closed, and I expect that many will need to be closed
tomorrow. My highest concern, and I’m sure it’s also yours, is for the safety
of personnel and students.
As you are able to
ascertain your damages, the NC Public School Insurance Fund staff remind school
districts to contact NCDPI’s School Insurance Section Chief Eileen Townsend (919.807.3522) or Claims Manager Brian Hood (919.807.3532) regarding property damage or flooding of
school property resulting from Hurricane Matthew. Insurance Fund staff will
assist districts with claims and work with the National Flood Insurance Plan.
We expect to query you
this afternoon and probably a few more times this week regarding closures. This
information flow assists the state’s Emergency Management team in its response.
Thank you for your
assistance with this.
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 State Board
of Education Meeting Highlights
At last Thursday’s State Board of Education
meeting, members approved a number of reports to the North Carolina General
Assembly including a study on improving outcomes for students with
disabilities, the biennial report on Read to Achieve, local testing for
2016-17, and the four-year cohort graduation rate.
Other action items included approval of
alternative schools’ accountability model, changes to the 2015-16
accountability data, a new policy allowing adjunct faculty to teach Career and Technical
Education courses, a revision to licensure fees (with the caveat that other
revenue streams for these fees would be researched) and School Improvement
grants. Prior to their abbreviated Board meeting, members participated in a
two-day fall planning/work session.
The
complete list of this month’s Board actions is available on the Board’s website. The
Board’s October agenda as well as supporting executive summaries are available online by
clicking on the SBE Meetings tab.
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Students Earn Over 140,000 CTE Credentials in
2015-16
The 2015-16 NC
Career and Technical Education (CTE) Credentialing Data report showed state
CTE students earned 140,097 credentials, an increase of nearly 500 percent from
the 24,782 credentials reported in 2010-11. Student results were collected for
90 different credentials that include all NC CTE program areas and career clusters.
Individual students may report more than one credential earned.
Career Readiness Certificates, which are available at
four different levels, were earned by 39,058 students. Microsoft Office
Specialist PowerPoint (20,409) and Word (19,780) also were among the most
frequently earned credentials.
The top five districts/charter schools
with the largest percentage of students earning credentials in 2015-16 were:
* Bladen County Schools 45.0
percent;
* Yancey County Schools 42.4
percent;
* Cherokee County Schools
41.4 percent;
* Mountain Charter School
40.7 percent; and
* Elizabeth City-Pasquotank
Public Schools 40.5 percent.
Credentials earned by students have increased steadily
since 2010-11, the first year data were collected in the state. Credentials are
endorsed by business and industry and document student mastery of skills
required for employment and advancement in a career.
Questions regarding this report may be directed to NCDPI
CTE Director Jo Anne Honeycutt.
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District/High School SAT/ACT
Results
Online
Performance data for districts and individual schools
from the most recent administrations of the SAT
and ACT
are now available on the DPI website. Statewide SAT performance was reported Sept. 27, but school- and
district-level data was delayed because of a late revision by The College Board
in its analysis.
Please note: SAT average scores for 2016 are not comparable to the scores
included in the data posted for 2015 and 2014. The
average scores for 2016 exclude first-time test takers after January, since
those students took the new SAT. The scores for the two previous years include
the results for all students who took the exam through June of each year,
including students taking the test for the first time in the spring.
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Revised
High School Math Standards and Fall Regional
Professional Development Dates Reminder
As a
reminder, NCDPI Mathematics staff are hosting weekly virtual support sessions
and four in-person professional development dates in support of the revised
high school math standards. Please share this fall registration link with
your curriculum leader.
Each
district is asked to send a team of three or four people if your district has
an ADM greater than 10,000. At least one in attendance should be a teacher
implementing the revised NC Math 1, 2 or 3 standards. We will have job-alike
time at these sessions, so math leaders such as coaches, coordinators or
specialists may attend. The dates and locations are as follows:
* Regions 1, 2:
Nov. 10, Teachers Memorial PD Center,
Kinston
* Regions 3, 4:
Nov. 7, Doubletree by Hilton Raleigh Brownstone-University,
Raleigh
* Regions 5, 6: Oct. 18, Randolph Community College, Asheboro
* Regions 7, 8: Nov. 2, Caldwell County Library, Lenoir
“Just
in Time” Virtual Sharing Sessions
Also, please
encourage your teachers to attend NCDPI Mathematics staff “Just
in Time” Virtual Sharing Sessions scheduled for this month.
During these collaborative
sessions, staff and educators will chat as a educational community about
student work, supporting students and each other, and many math topics.
Facilitated by partnering NC educators across the state, discussions will be
framed around a task aligned to the revised high school math standards that can
then be implemented immediately in classrooms.
By signing up for one of the following webinars in
advance, teachers get early access to the task (Tuesday before session),
materials for implementing the task, and an opportunity to provide feedback
through a follow-up survey.
* NC Math 2 – Thursday, Oct. 13: Square Root and
Inverse Variation Functions
* NC Math 3 – Thursday, Oct. 20: Geometric
Measurement and Dimension
* Math
Leader Share – Tuesday, Oct. 25, Leaders
Helping Leaders
Please
contact any member of the NCDPI math team with questions: Secondary Consultant Lisa Ashe, Secondary Consultant
Joe Reaper or Section Chief Jennifer Curtis.
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Apply Now
To Participate in NC Leadership in Blended and Digital Learning
NCDPI, in
partnership with the Friday Institute at NC State University and the North
Carolina Principals and Assistant Principals’ Association, is pleased to offer
educators a comprehensive and layered professional learning approach to support
digital teaching and learning in NC classrooms.
The NC
Leadership in Blended and Digital Learning (NCLBDL) is one component of this
approach; other opportunities include job-embedded year round and just-in-time
professional learning for district leadership teams, superintendents, technology
and media directors, principals, instructional coaches, media coordinators, and
instructional technology facilitators.
The NC
Leadership in Blended and Digital Learning brings together principals from
across the state for a year-long, blended learning experience that will help
them grow as educators and coaches and assist them in building a strong
professional learning network. Participants will acquire strategies and
knowledge related to best practices in leadership, coaching and supporting
educators, students, and administrators in their schools.
The
program consists of 80 hours total - 40 hours face-to-face and 40 hours of
outside work in action planning and readings. There will be three cohorts,
divided geographically: an eastern location in Wilmington, a central location
in Raleigh, and a western location in Asheville. Seventy-five participants will
be accepted for each of the three cohorts.
Dates for each cohort are as follows:
* East - Wilmington: Dec. 14,
Jan. 31, March 14, April 27, and June 22 or 23
* Central - Raleigh: Dec. 2,
Feb. 2, March 14, April 26, and June 22 or 23
* West - Asheville: Dec. 14,
Jan. 31, March 9, April 25, and June 22 or 23
The
application is available in Truenorthlogic (now Performance Matters). You can
find more information by following the step-by-step directions in the How to Register for Access to NCLBDL Applications
(#5787) document.
Registering
for the course does not guarantee acceptance into the program. Applications are due Nov. 7.
Letters of acceptance will be sent Nov.
14. For any issues with accessing and/or registering for the course,
please contact Jill
Darrough. For program information, please
contact Theresa
Gibson.
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NC Charter Schools Advisory Board to Meet
The North Carolina Charter Schools Advisory Board
will meet Thursday, Oct. 13,
from 9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., in the 7th Floor Board Room, Education
Building, Raleigh.
The tentative agenda is available on the State
Board of Education’s website under the Meetings tab. The meeting will be audio
streamed for those who cannot attend.
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