State Board of Education
Meeting Highlights

At last Thursday’s State Board of Education meeting, members approved the English Language Arts draft standards revision; restart school applications for Bertie County, Weldon City, Johnston County, Northampton County, Iredell-Statesville, Halifax County and Cleveland County Schools; the recommendation of the State Board’s review panel to amend Kestrel Heights charter to serve grades K-8 only (one of several stipulations for the school); a School-Based Mental Health Initiative policy; and Career and Technical Education (CTE) incentive grants for CTE programs.

Board members discussed the READY Accountability Annual Performance Standards policy; State Advisory Council on Indian Education Annual Report; restart school applications for a number of districts; and alternative growth measures for CTE teachers.

Board members also recognized National Title I Distinguished School Union Elementary (Union County Schools).

The complete list of this month’s Board actions is available on the Board’s website. The Board’s April agendas as well as supporting executive summaries also are available online by clicking on the SBE Meetings tab.

NC Check-Ins Approval and Expansion

At its April meeting, the State Board of Education (SBE) approved the continuation of the NC Check-Ins. Beginning in the 2017-18 school year, school participation in the NC Check-Ins will be on a voluntary basis. Schools can elect to participate in English/language arts and/or mathematics. The grade level and subject expansion plan includes:

-  Grades 5–7: English Language Arts/Reading

-  Grades 4–6: Mathematics

NC Check-Ins will be available in paper-and-pencil and online formats. The North Carolina Testing Program recommends that schools not administer any local benchmark assessments in the same subject as the NC Check-In in which students are participating.

For the 2018–19 school year, the expansion plan will include:

-  Grades 4–8: English Language Arts/Reading

-  Grades 3–7: Mathematics

Additional information about the NC Check-Ins, including the procedures for participation requests, will be forthcoming. Questions may be directed to Testing Policy & Operations Consultant Jaime Kelley.

Webinar Scheduled on Grade 8 Math Testing and Other Updates

NCDPI’s Accountability division is hosting a webinar on Monday, April 24, at 2:30 p.m., for superintendents, curriculum and Instruction directors, and testing and accountability directors to discuss Grade 8 math testing and other accountability updates.

You may register online. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

School Bus Safety Message Must
be Year-Round

School bus safety and school bus stop safety are primary concerns for NCDPI and local school districts. For years, Department staff have worked closely with the media to draw attention to the serious consequences of distracted driving and student safety while getting on and off the bus. A number of students have been killed and/or seriously injured while boarding or exiting a school bus due to motorists illegally passing a stopped school bus. Just this past March, a student was killed while trying to board his school bus. The annual one-day stop arm counts conducted by school districts continually show more than 3,000 motorists are illegally passing a stopped school bus.

Staff will continue to drive home the message to motorists that the law requires motorists to stop when the school bus has engaged its flashing red lights and stop arm. However we must make sure that students never forget that roads are always dangerous and that ultimately their lives are in their own hands whenever they step on to them.

Throughout the school year, please continue to remind students that they are not to cross the road until their bus driver has given them the hand signal (if appropriate) that it is safe to do so. They also are to stop and look both ways before crossing the road to make sure that all traffic has completely stopped and that it’s safe to cross the road. It is tragic when any student is injured or killed. With continued education, we hope to decrease these numbers significantly.

NCDPI Partners with myON to Boost Summer Reading

Last week, NC School Superintendent Mark Johnson unveiled North Carolina’s new statewide reading initiative, NC Reads. As part of the campaign, NCDPI is partnering with myON, a division of Capstone, to offer PreK-5th grade students access to the personalized literacy tool myON Reader.

Students will be able to use this tool during the summer months to select from thousands of titles and download free books that are well-matched to their reading level and personal interests. As an added bonus, parents, teachers, and others can access data from this tool on how many pages and hours students spend reading. There is even a feature to help measure students’ literacy growth while they are away from the classroom.

If you would like to ensure that schools in your district can offer students free access to myON Reader this summer, please contact Darren Drye (704.219.9624) myON account manager, or visit the myON website for more information. (You may recall that Drye was present at the Superintendents’ Quarterly meeting on March 29, and that your packets included a handout on myON’s services.)

NC K-3 Formative
Assessment Process:
Success During the Kindergarten Year

The North Carolina Office of Early Learning is committed to the following vision for the NC K-3 Formative Assessment Process:

The NC K-3 Formative Assessment Process is valued by teachers, district and school leaders, community members, families, and policy makers as a foundational piece of a balanced assessment system and promoted as a means to improve outcomes for children. NC K-3 educators have the necessary supports, resources and technology to implement the NC K-3 Formative Assessment Process with fidelity to inform instruction, involve students in their learning, and engage families in their children’s education. 

Teachers, instructional coaches and administrators in North Carolina’s public schools are sharing how their engagement with the NC K-3 Formative Assessment Process is impacting teaching and learning in classrooms across the state. The following story from a North Carolina school illustrates the importance of utilizing data from the Kindergarten Entry Assessment (KEA) portion of the NC K-3 Formative Assessment Process to make instructional decisions for children. The whole-child focus of the KEA provides teachers with valuable information to improve student performance.

During a coaching session in one North Carolina school, kindergarten teachers and curriculum coaches were reviewing class profile reports and thinking about next steps for instruction. It was noted that a particular student had a learning status of B in the Object Counting construct progression. During discussions with the teacher about possible next steps for this child, an “Aha!” moment occurred. A coach pointed out that this same student was on the less complex end of the Grip and Manipulation construct progression.

Upon further investigation, the teacher was able to determine that when the child was provided larger objects to manipulate during counting activities, he was able to perform at a higher skill level than when he was given smaller objects. This cross-construct data analysis not only created change in this teacher’s planning process, but it led to a story of success for the child, in that he was empowered by his teacher to show what he knew about Object Counting. The child’s teacher attributes these successes to analyzing KEA data within a professional dialogue with her instructional coach.

For more information about the K-3 Formative Assessment Process, please visit the NCDPI K-3 Formative Assessment Process website or contact your regional K-3 Education Consultant.

Multi-Tiered System of Support:
Self-Assessment

This past Wednesday, NCDPI’s Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) team released a new electronic platform for administration of the Self Assessment of MTSS Implementation (SAM). This will be a tool used to administer the SAM, analyze school/district results, and develop district-wide plans of action. Reporting features soon will be shared with MTSS coordinators via a recorded webinar.

As a self-report and guide for school teams in implementation, the SAM can be used at any time, however, one time per year between March and June is the recommended time frame for use as an implementation fidelity measure. We are aware that the quality of implementation is associated with increased likelihood that instruction and interventions will lead to improved student outcomes.

For more information on this self assessment, visit the MTSS Wiki. For further assistance, please contact NCDPI Director of Integrated Academic and Behavior Systems Amy Jablonski.

Implementation Science:
Implementation Frameworks

NCDPI’s model for implementation of research-based innovations is based upon five Active Implementation Frameworks.  Implementation Science frameworks are used to build organizational capacity to efficiently and effectively implement new innovations.

One framework that is critical to scale an innovation and sustain it over time is the establishment of linked implementation teams. The application of linked teaming structures is exemplified in the statewide implementation of the Kindergarten Entry Assessment (KEA). The KEA work is sustained by the collaborative efforts of a state-level implementation design team, regional teams, and district-level implementation teams. Through strategic and intentional communication pathways, these teams keep their fingers on the pulse of implementation by ensuring activities occur to support each framework.

As a result, educators in the state are feeling the positive impact of implementation on instruction and student learning.  A kindergarten teacher discussed during a recent district meeting that the KEA construct progressions have helped her know her children’s strengths and areas for growth in a more holistic way.  She now notices that supporting children in all five domains of learning and development has a positive impact on academic success.

EdCamp Scheduled for June 21 as Part of Connected Educator Series

The Connected Educator Series developed by NCDPI District and School Transformation in partnership with NCSU Northeast Leadership Academy is sponsoring EdCampNELA-DST on Wednesday, June 21, from 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., at Louisburg High School, Louisburg. Lunch will be provided.

This collaborative event will be an innovative professional development opportunity for school leaders. Staff are committed to participant development of the agenda and discussion topics. This list may encourage your thinking and spark some interest in potential topics for EdCamp. Check out this informative video about EdCamps to learn more about an unconference. To register, click here.

For more information, please contact Amelia McLeod or 919.835.6101 with NCDPI District and School Transformation

Onslow County Teacher Wins NC’s
Top Honors

Congratulations to Dixon Elementary School (Onslow County Schools) kindergarten teacher Lisa Godwin who today was named the 2017 Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year.

As Burroughs Wellcome Fund North Carolina Teacher of the Year, Godwin will spend the next school year traveling the state as an ambassador for the teaching profession. She will receive the use during the year of a state vehicle, leased from Flow Automotive, LLC, the opportunity to attend a seminar at the NC Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT), a mobile device from Lenovo valued at approximately $1,600, an engraved vase, a one-time cash award of $7,500, a trip to the National Teacher of the Year Conference and International Space Camp, and the opportunity to travel abroad through an endowment sponsored by Go Global NC.

Godwin also will serve as an advisor to the State Board of Education for two years and as a board member for the NC Public School Forum for one year.

The other regional finalists were:

• Northeast: Amy Parker, Hertford Grammar (Perquimans County Schools);
• North Central: Miles Macleod, Heritage High (Wake County Schools);
• Sandhills: Juandalynn Ray, Sampson Middle (Clinton City Schools);
• Piedmont-Triad: Adam Reeder, Asheboro High (Asheboro City Schools);
• Southwest: Anthony Johnson, Jr., Isenberg Elementary (Rowan-Salisbury Schools);
• Northwest: Carrie Franklin, Glenwood Elementary (McDowell County Schools);
• Western: Leslie Schoof, Madison Early College High (Madison County Schools); and
• Charter Schools: Deborah Brown, Research Triangle High (Research Triangle Park). 

Godwin succeeds last year’s recipient, Bobbie Cavnar, an English and journalism teacher at South Point High School (Gaston County Schools).

 
Profile Videos for 2017 NC Teacher of the Year and Regional/Charter Finalists Online

Profile videos for North Carolina’s 2017 Burroughs Wellcome Fund NC Teacher of the Year Lisa Godwin and the regional and charter school finalists are available on the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction YouTube Channel. Select the “Top Notch Educators, Schools and Students” playlist to learn more about the state’s newest Teacher of the Year and regional and charter finalists.

Latest Messages Online

April 6, 2017  Principals’ Biweekly Message

April 6, 2017  Home Base Biweekly Update

April 7, 2017  Finance Officers’ Newsletter