December 2016 - From the Board Room

North Carolina Public Schools sent this bulletin at 12/22/2016 12:46 PM EST

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/NCSBE/bulletins/17b9f17

From the Board Room: Activities of the NC Board of Education

DECEMBER 2016

The State Board of Education is comprised of the State Treasurer, the Lieutenant Governor and 11 citizens appointed by the Governor. This newsletter highlights the Board’s activities on behalf of the 1.5 million public school students in our state and the more than 100,000 educators who provide services to children. You may view all State Board of Education member and advisor information online. To access current and archived versions of From the Board Room, visit the State Board of Education’s website.

Board Members Support Raising Compulsory Attendance Age

Under North Carolina public school law, students are legally allowed to drop out of high school at age 16, a fact that has long concerned educators and others with an interest in improving students’ future opportunities.

This month, Board members gave unanimous approval to a resolution submitted by the Superintendent’s Graduation Task Force in support of raising the compulsory attendance age to 18. Setting this expectation of pursuing education until 18 could help more students persevere in school to graduation and raises state expectations.

In order for this to be accomplished, the General Assembly would need to change the current compulsory attendance law.

Student Participation in Advanced Courses is Up as is Performance

Supporting access to rigorous courses and student success in these courses are the goals of the NC Advanced Placement (AP) Partnership initiated in May 2014. Since that time, 23 school districts (2015-16) have participated as “targeted districts” and 21 low-performing districts have continued (2016-17) to receive support.

Over this time, both the number of AP exam takers and the performance of exam takers have increased. Also during this time, North Carolina lawmakers have paid for students’ AP or International Baccalaureate (IB) exam fees. More than $11 million in AP exam fees and $1.3 million in IB exam fees have been covered for students statewide.

In 2016-17, a total of 77,920 students took at least one AP course. High school AP and IB courses can provide students with college credits and can save students tuition costs as they work to complete a college or university degree. Students who take these rigorous courses tend to do better in college and have a higher likelihood of college graduation.

New Cooperative Innovative High Schools Approved

Students in 12 school districts soon will have an additional high school option thanks to the recently approved batch of cooperative innovative high schools. The new schools were approved pending a financial review to ensure appropriate resources are available to serve them all.

Included in these schools is a new teacher cadet high school in Charlotte-Mecklenburg to serve students who are interested in pursuing careers in teaching and education, the first school of its kind in North Carolina.

Schools approved are:

Ashe County Early College;
Bladen Early College;
Cumberland Polytechnic High School;
Middle College at Merancas Campus (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools);
Charlotte Teacher Cadet Early College;
Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Early College;
Harnett County Early College;
Agriculture and Science Early College (Iredell-Statesville Schools);
McDowell Academy for Innovation;
Montgomery County Early College;
Onslow Early College;
CTE High School North (Wake County Schools); and
Washington County Early College.

Legislative Policy Agenda Outlined

Board members deliberated more than 20 potential policy agenda items for the 2017 General Assembly to consider, and identified their top policy priorities.

The Board’s priorities include better pay for teachers and administrators, including reinstatement of master’s and doctoral pay; strengthened professional development; capital infrastructure for local schools; early childhood/preschool; allotments for additional teachers and resources to provide a whole child approach for students; additional classroom instructional resources; digital learning resources; and modifications to the A-F school performance grades.

Presidential Award for Excellence in Science and Math Teaching (PAEMST)

Outstanding Math and Science
Teachers Honored

North Carolina’s 2014 and 2015 recipients of the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Math and Science and the 2016 Math and Science State finalists for the Presidential Awards in Math and Science were honored at the Board meeting.

The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching is the highest honor bestowed by the federal government specifically for K-12 mathematics and science teaching. The recipients are:

2014 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Math and Science (Grades K-6)

Math: Kayonna Pitchford – previously with Stoney Point Elementary, Cumberland County Schools, and now with The University of North Carolina at Pembroke

Science: Justin Osterstrom – Martin Middle, Wake County Schools

2015 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Math and Science (Grades 7-12)

Math: Lauren Baucom – Forest Hills High, Union County Schools

Science: Karen Newman – Durham Academy, Durham

2016 Math and Science State Finalists (Grades K-6) (finalists to be announced in 2017)

Math:

Candace Crothers, Glenwood Elementary, Chapel Hill – Carrboro Schools

Claudia Fann, Pleasant Garden Elementary, Guilford County Schools

Heather Landreth, W.H. Robinson Elementary, Pitt County Schools

Science:

Andrea Gladden, Icard Elementary, Burke County Schools

Adam Haas, Rock River Elementary, Union County Schools

Laura Thomas, The Exploris School, Raleigh

Final Board Meeting for State Superintendent, State Treasurer

State Treasurer Janet Cowell and State Superintendent June Atkinson marked the milestone of their final State Board of Education meeting this month.

Members honored them during the meeting with resolutions and special presentations.

State Superintendent Atkinson in her remarks to the Board highlighted many of the accomplishments she led over the past 12 years, including Career and College Promise; Race to the Top; launching Home Base, North Carolina’s Digital Learning platform on time and under budget; and increases in the high school graduation rate, now at an all-time high.

She encouraged Board members to continue to advocate for public schools and for resources to meet the needs of students and educators statewide.

SBE Highlights: A checklist of Board actions is posted every month at the conclusion of the meeting. The State Board of Education’s next meeting will be held Jan. 4-5 in the 7th Floor Board Room, Education Building, 301 N. Wilmington Street, Raleigh, NC. Board materials will be available online by clicking on the Meetings tab.