Please see this week’s
information items from across NCDPI’s departments and divisions of interest to
local superintendents.
May 8-12 is Teachers’ Appreciation Week
In recognition of Teachers’ Appreciation Week,
North Carolina Superintendent Mark Johnson recorded a video message thanking educators for their work in the classroom and communities.
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 State Board of Education Meeting Highlights
The State
Board of Education on Thursday approved applications from seven school
districts seeking to implement reform models for 42 recurring low-performing
schools for the 2017-18 academic year. The board also approved 45 21st Century Learning
Center grants totaling nearly $15 million.
Among
other items approved by the Board was a policy revision that will allow eighth
graders enrolled in Math 1 to be exempt from taking the 8th grade math
end-of-grade test in addition to the Math 1 end-of-course exam beginning in
2017-18.
The
board’s discussion agenda included revisions to the K-8 Mathematics Standard
Course of Study as well as recommendations from the Charter School Advisory
Board for schools proposed to open in the 2018-19 school year. The board spent
Tuesday afternoon hearing from a panel of superintendents who presented
recommendations for the state’s plan under the federal Every Student
Succeeds Act.
In other
action, the board voted to appoint as deputy state superintendent Dr. Maria
Pitre-Martin who has been serving as NCDPI’s chief academic and digital
learning officer.
The
complete list of this month’s Board actions is available on the Board’s website. The
Board’s May agendas as well as supporting executive summaries also are
available online by
clicking on the SBE Meetings tab.
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Math Spring Regional Face-to-Face Sessions
Spring regional face-to-face sessions will focus
on supporting LEAs with implementation needs specific to their districts in
preparation of year two implementation of the high school Mathematics Standard Course of Study. This support may include any
activities that will inform summer work and preparation.
This session is intended for math district
leaders. Districts may bring three-four participants including coaches,
directors, coordinators and/or math department heads. LEAs with an average
daily membership (ADM) of less than 10,000 may register
three participants; LEAs with an ADM of 10,000+ may register
four participants.
There will be four sessions covering all eight
regions. The four sessions are grouped by region. Please chose your respective
regions:
* Regions 1 & 2: Friday, May 26, Teachers Memorial PD Center,
500 Marcella Dr., Kinston
* Regions 3 & 4: Thursday, May 25, CCRESA, 7208 Falls of Neuse Rd
#104, Raleigh
* Regions
5 & 6: Monday, May 22, RCC Corporate Training Center, 413 Industrial Park Dr., Asheboro
* Regions 7 & 8: Wednesday, May 10, NC School of the Deaf, 517 W.
Fleming Dr., Morganton
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High School Mathematics
First Year of Implementation Overview
Available online is a video overview of the first year implementation of revised high school mathematics
standards created by the NC Collaborative for Mathematics Learning (NC2ML).
This collaborative is a partnership between the
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s Mathematics Section staff and
researchers from several North Carolina universities. The co-principal
investigators on the SBE-approved project are Dr. Holt Wilson with
UNC-Greensboro, and Dr. Jennifer Curtis, NCDPI K-12 Mathematics section chief.
Staff look forward to providing a more detailed
update at a future SBE meeting on the creation of resources and how districts
are using them to support implementation of revised high school math standards.
The resources mentioned in the video are available for teacher and math leaders
in Canvas and for district leaders, principals, and assistant principals on the
math
wiki site.
 Home Base Opt-in Tool Release
As of Friday, May 5, 42 LEAs have opted-in to the
Home Base suite of tools. To see if your district has made that decision, click
here (updated
each Friday afternoon).
On April 26, you received a memo announcing that
the new, secure Home Base Opt-in Tool is now available. Only district finance officers and charter
school directors have access to the opt-in tool (you can request access,
which will be provided once your role is verified). On March 27, we sent
out the Home Base Usage Pricing memo for the 2017-18 school year.
All LEAs and charter schools are asked to
indicate their opt-in decision for school year 2017-18 using the opt-in tool by
June 16. A response must be submitted by
June 16 to ensure access to Schoolnet and local professional
development components in Truenorthlogic by the start of the school year.
Please see the Home Base Usage 2017-18 School Year Frequently Asked Questions or contact Jamie
Woodlief, project coordinator,
if you have any additional questions.
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Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructor
Trainings Reminder
Applications are still being accepted for the
Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructor trainings scheduled in partnership
between NCDPI and the Department of Health and Human Services-Division of
Mental Health Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Service.
Districts are invited and encouraged to select up
to three district representatives to be trained as certified instructors so
that they can offer the one-day Youth Mental Health First Aid to school
personnel and others. In selecting district representatives to be trained, the
following are a few important points to consider:
Participants must:
- complete
the instructor application and be pre-registered to attend;
- be able
to attend all five days of training in order to be certified as an instructor;
- be
comfortable teaching groups of adults;
-
understand best practices in learning and facilitating groups;
- be able
to deliver Youth Mental Health First Aid training at least three, preferably
six, times per year; and
-
preferably have some general knowledge of mental health and substance
use issues (e.g. school counselors, school social workers, school psychologists,
school nurses, behavioral specialists, teachers trained in Positive Behavioral
Interventions and Supports, etc.).
The five-day instructor certification trainings
are scheduled at DPI in Raleigh, July
17-21 and Aug. 7-11. Trainings
are limited to 30 seats. Four seats remain for the July session and 10 seats
remain for the August session. Applications are due June 2 (for July training) and July
3 (for August training), but all spaces will be filled on a first-come
first-serve basis.
Click here
to access the instructions and application packet. Please submit the
application file only (not instructions) to MHFA-NC@listserv.unc.edu. If you have trouble accessing the application packet or submitting
it, please email Ruby Brown-Herring.
 Data Driven Prevention + Data Responsive Problem
Solving = Healthy School Environments
This year, the North Carolina State Board of
Education (SBE) passed a resolution establishing the use of the Whole School,
Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model as the framework for its work.
Research shows that healthy children learn
better. LEAs and individual schools are encouraged to use this framework to
organize work in supporting positive student outcomes and creating healthy
school environments for all students.
The NC Healthy Schools Section at NCDPI is
available to assist schools and districts in using data to target priorities,
work with community partners and find potential resources. Resources to help
support this work using the WSCC framework include:
- an assessment tool to help review and compare local, state and
national data over time;
- an action planning template to help prioritize and collaborate;
- a dedicated team to help guide, support and identify possible
resources;
- a monthly webinar series to help promote the WSCC framework; and
- an annual training for School Health Advisory Council (SHAC)
leaders.
If you have any questions, please contact Healthy
Schools Section Chief Dr. Ellen Essick
or 919.807.3859.
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 NCVPS and Shared Courses
The North Carolina Virtual Public
School (NCVPS) has updated its process to share the courses designated as
“shared courses” through the NC Canvas Commons and Home Base. There are
currently 10 courses ready to share, and another 19 will be ready by the end of
summer.
For information on which courses
are available and the process to request use of the shared courses, please
follow this link. NCVPS staff appreciate your
interest in incorporating digital content into your practice.
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 Media Coordinators Receive AASL Grants
The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) recently
awarded grants to two NC media
coordinators: Laura Long, Highland School of Technology (Gaston County Schools)
and Julie Stivers, Mt. Vernon Middle School (Wake County Schools).
The grants “recognize excellence and showcase best practices
in the school library field in categories that include collaboration,
leadership and innovation. Recipients are celebrated for their outstanding
talent and dedication to the profession.”
North Carolina’s school library media coordinators are
demonstrating leadership and developing library collections that strengthen
digital teaching and learning in their schools (Professional Standards 1 and
3).
AASL award winners will be recognized in June at the 2017 ALA Conference in Chicago.
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