Webinar Focuses on Understanding Standards-Based Grading

A webinar on Understanding Standards-Based Grading will be held this Friday, June 23, from 10:30 a.m. – noon.

This webinar addresses standards-based grading from theory to practice. It begins with comprehending the standards from curriculum then moves on to how they are used in PowerSchool v10.x/PowerTeacher Pro. District and school curriculum leaders and PowerSchool coordinators are encouraged to participate.

Once registered, you will receive an email with directions on how to participate.

K-12 Mathematics Review, Revision and Implementation Update

Now that we have completed two full revisions for K-8 mathematics standards and NC Math 1, 2, & 3 in North Carolina, NCDPI mathematics staff will move onto the fourth level math course review and revision cycle.

To recap:

*  NC Math 1, 2, & 3 were adopted as revised June 2016 by the State Board and implemented this school year, 2016-17.

*  K-8 mathematics standards were adopted as revised by the State Board at its June 1 meeting for implementation in 2018-19 with field testing of revised standards to be done in 2017-18.

*  Staff will begin the data collection phase for fourth level math courses such as Pre-Calculus, Advanced Functions & Modeling (AFM), Discrete, Essentials College Math (SREB Math READY), and Integrated Math IV this August. Surveys will be sent out for all stakeholders to participate including district personnel, parents, community members and higher education. This process is a bit different as we will work closely with the UNC system and community college system as our fourth level mathematics courses are used to determine Minimum Course Requirements (MCR) for admission to UNC schools AND as a data point for determining remediation-free entry to our community college system under the Multiple Measures policy.

If you have any questions about K-12 math standards, please contact NCDPI K-12 Mathematics Section Chief Dr. Jennifer Curtis.   

Lastly, there have been some questions about new fourth level math courses for this fall. DPI does not have any new fourth level mathematics courses available, but is cooperating with the community college system on implementation of the Career and College Ready Graduates (CCRG) legislation, which is operating collaborative model programs between local community colleges and high schools across North Carolina (referenced in a previous superintendent message). More information about CCRG will be provided as it becomes available.

NCVPS Summer School

NCVPS summer school began today; however, summer registration remains open until the fifth day of class, June 23. Have your schools register students as soon as possible. Seating becomes limited after the start date.

The last day to drop summer session students is Friday, June 30. Some districts are on an abbreviated summer schedule for staff by this date. Be sure your NCVPS summer students know whom to contact in the district if they want to be dropped. NCVPS cannot drop students. June 30 also is the last day districts and schools can drop students with no penalty for the student and no cost for the district. After June 30, all enrolled students will receive a grade, and the enrollment will count in the district’s allotment totals.  

Please visit the NCVPS Summer School Guide for more details.

New Administrator Guide to Effective School Counseling and Evaluation Module in Home Base

In response to feedback received from North Carolina public school administrators, an online module has been created to assist school administrators with the evaluation of the implementation of North Carolina Professional School Counselor Standards in their schools.

The content of the Administrator Guide to Effective School Counseling and Evaluation module guides participants through the Professional School Counselor Standards and Evaluation Instrument using content and activities that assist in better utilizing school counselors to effectively promote student success. Since the North Carolina Professional School Counselor Standards are aligned with national school counseling best practices documented in The ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs, the module also reviews the primary features of this framework. Activities in the module provide participants with opportunities to practice identifying effective practices, observation opportunities and appropriate evaluation ratings of school counselors.

You can find the Administrator Guide to Effective School Counseling and Evaluation module in the Home Base Professional Development suite. Contact NCDPI School Counseling Consultant Cynthia Floyd with any questions. 

Summer Professional Development Opportunities

Looking for some professional development opportunities over the summer? NCDPI’s Educator Effectiveness division has released the following six new self-paced modules:

*  North Carolina K-3 Formative Assessment Process for Teachers (1.0 CEU Literacy Credit)

*  Instructional Strategies to Support K-3 Oral Language Development (1.0 CEU Literacy Credit)

*  Digital Literacies 1: Reading, Writing, and Research (1.2 CEU General Credit)

*  Digital Literacies 2: Visual Information Literacy (1.0 CEU General Credit)

*  Administrator Guide to Effective School Counseling and Evaluation (0.5 CEU General Credit)

*  North Carolina K-3 Formative Assessment Process for Administrators (0.3 CEU Literacy credit) Release date for this module is June 30

For a complete list of all available courses, course descriptions and information on instructor-led courses, please visit http://rt3nc.org/. For specific questions, please email Educator Effectiveness’ module developer Dr. Geetanjali Soni.