Many of you have
expressed a need for more information regarding principal and assistant principal
salaries and teacher bonuses for AP/IB, industry certifications and third grade
reading.
To help with that,
we have scheduled a webinar on Friday, Oct. 28, at 10:30 a.m. After registering, you
will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
Please collect
your questions about these topics and have those handy. We will present some
information and leave ample time to address any questions you may have.
|
 Student Homelessness Due to Disaster
The federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
Act ensures educational protections for children and youth in homeless
situations, including those who have become homeless due to disaster.
Students who are displaced by disaster often meet
the McKinney-Vento definition of homeless; yet each student’s and family’s
situation must be reviewed by the local school district on a case-by case basis
for an appropriate determination of eligibility. Additionally, the
McKinney-Vento Act requires that all school districts designate an appropriate
staff person to serve as the local homeless education liaison.
If you need any assistance, please reach out to
State Coordinator for Homeless Education Lisa
Phillips.
|
Student
Perception Surveys:
Fall Administration
The
Student Perception surveys are available and targeted for students in grades
3-12 (copies of the survey available here). During the fall administration of
the Student Perception surveys, only Semester 1 classes will be
surveyed. Traditional classes meeting for an entire year are surveyed during
the spring administration window.
If
teachers are interested in requesting student feedback from one or more of
their Semester 1 classes, they will need to log in to the NC Student Survey
System through their NC EdCloud
account and set up the surveys. NCDPI staff have created a short online video
with instructions on the NC Student Survey Wikispace.
The fall administration timeline is as follows:
|
NCDPI
staff hope teachers will take advantage of this opportunity to hear what
students think about the learning taking place in their classrooms. Please
contact NCDPI Educator Effectiveness
staff if you have any questions.
Leadership
in Digital Teaching and Learning: District
Teams for Digital Learning
NCDPI
staff, in partnership with the Friday Institute at NC State University, are
pleased to offer North Carolina educators a comprehensive and layered
professional learning approach to support digital teaching and learning in NC
classrooms. The District Teams for Digital Learning is one component of this
approach. Other opportunities include job-embedded year-round and just-in-time
professional learning for superintendents, technology and media directors,
principals, instructional coaches, media coordinators and instructional
technology facilitators.
The
District Teams for Digital Learning cohorts will have the
opportunity to participate in district-based and collaborative activities focused
on Leadership in Digital Teaching and Learning. In order to best serve the
field and prioritize learning outcomes for participants, as part of the
application staff included district readiness items to assist in identifying
focus areas for the participating cohorts. In addition to the readiness items,
staff also will review district’s Digital Learning and Media Inventory (DLMI)
and Teacher Working Conditions (TWC) survey data to inform the selection
process.
NCDPI
and the Friday Institute will begin accepting applications for the District
Teams for Digital Learning today (Oct. 24). Participating districts will
be asked to develop a representative team of up to eight district leaders who
can commit to attending all five days of face-to-face sessions over the course
of a year. This yearlong program consists of 60 hours total - 30 hours
face-to-face and 30 hours of outside work in the action planning and readings.
There
will be three cohorts, divided geographically: an eastern location in New Bern,
a central location in Greensboro or Winston-Salem, and a western location in
Asheville. During the 2016-17 school year, 15 districts will be accepted for
each of the three cohorts.
Dates
for each cohort are as follows:
* East - New Bern: January
25, March 16, April 3, May 12, and June 20 (in Raleigh)
* Central - Greensboro or
Winston-Salem: January 24, March 7, April 4, May 11, and June 20 (in Raleigh)
* West - Asheville: January
26, March 14, April 6, May 16, and June 20 (in Raleigh)
The
only cost to district teams will be travel as there is no additional cost for
participation in the professional learning. Participants will receive planning
documents, professional reading material, and certificates upon completion.
The
entire team should collaboratively complete the District Teams for Digital Learning Application.
For your convenience, we have prepared screen
shots of the application for team review. The deadline to submit an
application is Nov. 29. Letters of acceptance will be sent Dec. 6.
We
hope you will consider this opportunity to connect with colleagues across the
state as we deepen capacity for effective digital teaching and learning.
For
any issues with accessing and/or registering for the course, please contact Jill Darrough with NCDPI Digital
Teaching and Learning. For program information, please contact Theresa Gibson with the Friday Institute.
|
Multi-Tiered System of Support:
Change May Be Necessary
Building a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS)
often requires change within an organization. It is important to be prepared to
deal with individual reactions to change.
There is a section in the online MTSS course that outlines a few
change models. One of these models is a simple and flexible model outlined by
Chip & Dan Heath in their book, Switch:
How to Change Things When Change is Hard. In it they note three basic
principles for leading change:
1. Give Direction
2.
Motivate
3. Shape
the Path
In this two-minute video clip, Dan Heath describes the behavior change process using
Jonathan Haidt’s analogy of an elephant, a rider and a path. A commonly held
belief is that human behavior is the result of rational decision-making based
on available information. A closer look into the science of behavior reveals
the powerful role our emotions play in our decision-making process.
For more information on dealing with people who are
apprehensive about changing, check out some video
vignettes from the National
Implementation Research Network. For more information on MTSS please contact NCDPI Director of Integrated Academic and
Behavior Systems consultant Amy Jablonski.
|
Rural Dropout Prevention Project
The U.S. Department of Education in collaboration
with state education agencies has developed resources to support effective
school dropout and re-entry programs in rural communities.
The collaboration provided technical assistance
and resource development for the following 14 states: Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa,
Maine, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota,
Oklahoma, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. In addition, two North Carolina
districts – Davidson and Hyde – were selected to participate in a video project
highlighting effective school dropout prevention and re-entry programs in rural
communities.
Click here to
learn more about their strategies and those in other states. Below are links to
the resources developed specifically for North Carolina schools and available
on DPI’s website.
Project Resources Designed Specifically for North
Carolina
School teams are encouraged to use these
resources to plan future efforts to identify and support students at risk of
dropping out of school.
* Implementation Rubric:
Using Early Learning Systems to Identify and Support Students At Risk of
Dropping Out of School
* Implementation
Interview: Using Early Learning Systems
to Identify and Support Students At Risk of Dropping Out of School
* North Carolina Dropout
Prevention Toolkit: Reviewing Data to
Improve Graduation Outcomes
School Hours and the Impact on Absences/Suspensions
The following article was included in an internal state government newsletter.
According to new research into the sleeping patterns of the state’s high school students, starting school after 8:30 a.m. reduces absences and suspensions for economically disadvantaged students. “We found that sleep is a relatively cost-effective way to improve student performance,” Kevin Bastian, the UNC-Chapel Hill Education Policy Initiative’s research director and author of the report, told the House Select Committee on Education Strategies and Practices on Tuesday.
The study surveyed exam scores, absences and suspensions at North Carolina middle and high schools with later bell times, which is a growing trend. Bastian said that in 2009, only 228 schools started after 8:30 a.m. By 2014, the number was 396. Researchers said they were eager to study Durham Public Schools, which just moved the starting bell from 7:45 a.m. to 9 a.m.
While researchers found later starts had a marginal effect on EOC and ACT scores, the impact was significant on absences and suspensions. Both decreased for economically-disadvantaged students during the period examined. “There is a stereotype that teenagers stay up too late and get up too late,” Bastian said. “But it is not that simple. Teens experience biological changes that make them need 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep.”
The report also highlighted the 2014 American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendation that schools across the country adjust start times so students receive the 8.5 to 9.5 hours of nightly rest doctors advise for teens.
November is Career Development Month
Gov. Pat McCrory has proclaimed November as
Career Development Month, and Nov. 16
as Career Development Coordinator Day.
Career development coordinators work within
Career and Technical Education (CTE) to help students explore their interests
and strengthen their abilities and talents. Career development coordinators and
CTE teachers assist students in understanding the 16 Career Clusters in the
National Career Clusters Framework, which represent more than 79 career pathways
to help students navigate their way to greater success in college, career and
citizen readiness.
Thanks to career development coordinators, high
school students can make informed decisions regarding their plans to further
their education at a vocational program, community college or university, or
pursue immediate employment in civilian or military occupations.
Take a moment and recognize the important role
these individuals play in the success of North Carolina public school students.
|
 Teacher
Working Conditions Training Heads West
Next stop, Wilkesboro! The North
Carolina Teacher Working Conditions Survey training provides a structured
environment for principals to examine their data, learn about resources that
accompany results, and share techniques for using survey results with faculty
and staff.
The training begins with the
mantra: Teaching Conditions Matter for Teaching Children. Experts from
the New Teacher Center and the Department of Public Instruction will provide
small group facilitation and help to answer specific questions about the data.
Seats still remain open at each of
the remaining sites. If you are
interested in attending, please click HERE to register
for your preferred location and date
|
 Collaborative Conference for Student Achievement:
Save the Date!
NCDPI’s 2017 Collaborative Conference for Student
Achievement, Champions for Student
Success, takes place March 20-22 at the Sheraton Greensboro at Four
Seasons, Greensboro.
The conference features over 250 sessions with
strands addressing a number of topical issues including accountability and
assessments, cultural responsiveness, disciplinary literacy, foundations for
early learning and development, school improvement planning, and teacher
leadership.
Participant registration and presenter proposal
submission links open Dec. 1. The registration fee is $175 if received before
Feb. 1, and $200 if received after Feb. 1.
For more information, visit the Collaborative
Conference for Student Achievement website, email staff or call the CCSA Hotline at
919.835.6133. Follow us @CCSA_DPI to receive updates about the 2017 conference.
|
|
