NCDPI Partners with myON to Boost Summer Reading

As part of North Carolina’s new statewide reading initiative, NC Reads, 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 the myON Reader this summer, please contact Darren Drye (704.219.9624) myON account manager by Friday, May 19, 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.)

State Board of Education Meets This Week

The North Carolina State Board of Education will meet tomorrow through Thursday, May 2-4, in the 7th Floor Board Room, Education Building, Raleigh.

On Tuesday, Board members will hold their semi-annual planning/work session, which will primarily focus on district feedback on ESSA (the planning/work session will not be audio streamed). At the Board’s regular monthly meeting on Wednesday and Thursday, members will take action on items including an update to the READY Accountability Annual Performance Standards policy, restart applications, a competency-based education alternative licensure program, alternative growth measures for Career and Technical Education teachers, and a number of grants.

Discussion items include extended content standards for K-12 English Language Arts, K-8 Mathematics Standard Course of Study revisions, recommendations for charter schools proposing to open in 2018-19, Power Teacher Pro implementation plan, updating the licensure policy to include digital learning competencies, and an amendment to general licensure requirements policy to include addition of specific world languages.

The agendas for these meetings and executive summaries are available online (under Meetings tab). The State Board’s committee meetings and full Board meeting are audio streamed for those who can’t attend.

NEW Draft State Plan for the ESSA

Two major changes have taken place since the NC Dept. of Public Instruction posted the second version of the Draft State Plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) on Dec. 22, 2016.

First, on March 9, Congress approved a joint resolution repealing the US Department of Education’s (USED) regulations related to state plans and accountability systems under ESSA, and President Trump approved it on March 27. Second, on March 13, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos sent a letter to the chief state school officers that included a link to a new template for the state plans.

NCDPI staff are pleased to inform you that the third draft of the State Plan for the ESSA is available for public review. This document serves as the rough draft of the state’s application for funds authorized under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) as reauthorized under ESSA in accordance with the requirements of the new template.

Educators, parents, students and other stakeholders of North Carolina’s public schools are invited to provide feedback via the Let’s Talk link on the NCDPI website. Please select the Every Student Succeeds Act link near the bottom of the page to share your thoughts.

Schoolnet Survey Spring 2017

An instructional improvement system (IIS) provides data to enable teachers, principals and other administrators to manage continuous instructional improvement. NCDPI staff initially searched for an IIS in February 2013.

As NCDPI approaches its IIS contract renewal, staff will use the Home Base Schoolnet Survey Spring 2017 to help determine how current services are being used and the end user’s perception of their quality. Please complete the survey by Friday, May 12.

Additional background and more information concerning IIS functions can be found online.

Multi-Tiered System of Support:
Universal Screening and Progress Monitoring to Support Early Numeracy

Universal screening and progress monitoring are two critical functions of a comprehensive assessment system within a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS). LEAs have access to K-3 literacy universal screening and progress monitoring; however, universal screening and progress monitoring also are needed in math.

With collaborative partnerships across NCDPI, the Integrated Academic and Behavior Systems division is conducting a validation project of the North Carolina Early Numeracy Skill Indicators (NC ENSI) to promote equitable access to tools serving these functions for early numeracy. The NC ENSI are a conceptually focused and efficiently administered set of measures aligned to critical skills that represent a foundation of number sense.

The intent of the validation project is to provide the NC ENSI to districts statewide for optional use. Districts that complete the required training components will be granted free access to the electronic files to use for paper/pencil administration during the 2017-18 school year (as well as subsequent school years).

These measures serve distinct purposes that districts may or may not currently require. These measures are not designed or intended to supplant assessments currently offered by NCDPI (e.g., the Kindergarten Entry Assessment, the K-3 Formative Assessment, and the K-2 Mid-Year and Summative Assessments).

More information concerning the results of the validation project and details of summer training will be provided in a future communication. Please contact Amy Jablonski, director of Integrated Academic and Behavior Systems, with any questions.

Global Education Update

Congratulations to those educators from Cabarrus, Edgecombe and Union counties who have earned their Global Educator Digital Badge! For names and how to locate their Global Education Curriculum Units in Home Base click here.

Congratulations also to the 2015-16 Global-Ready School Designees and the 2016-17 Global-Ready District Designees. You can find more information on these schools and districts along with the application process here.

For more information on these or other Global Education initiatives, please visit the Global Education website or contact NCDPI Special Assistant for Global Education Helga Fasciano or 919.807.3864.

Superintendent Vacancy Announced: Pender County Schools

The Pender County Board of Education is seeking a superintendent to lead the school system in its continuing pursuit of excellence. Candidates must have or be qualified to hold a North Carolina superintendent license. Central office and building-level experience are preferred. A doctorate degree or progress toward a doctorate degree is preferred but not required. The individual chosen will be required to live in Pender County. The application deadline is June 19.

An electronic version of the application is available by going to the N.C. School Board Association's website and clicking on the appropriate link. Inquiries and requests for applications also can be directed to Allison Schafer, Legal Counsel/Director of Policy, North Carolina School Boards Association, PO Box 97877, Raleigh NC 27624-7877, telephone 919/841-4040, fax 919/841-4020, email. All inquiries will be kept confidential.