Jan. 11, 2018 - Home Base Bulletin

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Home Base Bulletin

Jan. 11, 2018

CCES 2018 Conference

Register Now for CCES Conference


Starting this year, the Collaborative Conference for Student Achievement (CCSA) and the Home Base Symposium have merged to become the Connecting Communities of Education Stakeholders Conference (CCES).

 

Early Bird Registration for the 2018 conference is now open.  All teachers, student services personnel, principals, superintendents, parents, school administrators, community and business representatives are invited. The new registration options provide additional flexibility for schools and districts. The conference will be held at the Sheraton Greensboro Four Seasons Hotel/Koury Convention Center. 


conference rate table


Registration Reminders

  1. Go to CCES Participant Registration tab
  2. Click on strand (s) of interest
  3. Use the "new" flexibility component to build a schedule personalized to your learning needs
  4. Register using link on CCES Participant Registration page
  5. Early-bird registration ends February 1st
  6. Secure lodging early (Go to Lodging tab

Know a Champion?


If so, please go to the Champion Awards information page to learn how to nominate a teacher, principal, volunteer, or support staff member to be honored at the CCES conference.


Home Base

ELA Resources Now Online

 

The NCDPI ELA Team is excited to announce to North Carolina stakeholders the release of the Virtual Implementation Kit (VIK), an online repository of ELA resources.


The VIK provides a variety of resources for supporting administrators, educators, and parents during the implementation of the 2017 ELA Standard Course of Study. The range of resources and modes of navigation offers users an opportunity to discover materials that match their needs. We hope the VIK will be a great support to all stakeholders during implementation and beyond.


The VIK is available as a Canvas repository as well as a website. Download the attached flyer to share this announcement with colleagues. Access the VIK below:


Canvas: https://ncdpi.instructure.com/courses/914

Weebly: https://elavik.weebly.com/


A very big thank you to all our NC stakeholders - especially our Digital Support Writers - for providing valuable feedback and content for the VIK.


PowerSchool logo

New PTPro resources available for School Administrators

Our DTL team has put together some new resources to assist principals and school administrative staff in the navigation of PTPro for School Administrators.


For an in-depth look at how PTPro for School Admins is set up and utilized, check out the presentation that has been put together for future training sessions. The purpose of this presentation is for school administrators to gain perspective on the implementation and roll out of PowerTeacher Pro. It is useful to understand how the application is set up at the district level as well as what is seen and used at the individual school level.


In addition, a 4-page QRD has been created to show how school administrators can access teacher grade books in a view-only mode. It will also show how to view the robust analytics around student performance.


Upcoming Scheduling Webinars


Because of limited response for scheduling training, our primary focus will be to ensure that all districts have adequate opportunities for professional development on PowerTeacher Pro. 


Consequently, Home Base staff will not be hosting a Scheduling Road Show this year.  Districts should make plans to attend upcoming scheduling webinars and scheduling sessions offered at the CCES Conference. Current scheduled sessions available for registration:


PowerSchool Prepare to Schedule Webinar

  • January 10 - 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
  • January 11 - 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

PowerSchool Pre-Scheduling Q & A Webinar

  • January 25 - 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
  • February 1 - 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
  • February 7 - 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Further training opportunities will be announced as they are scheduled.


Schoolnet icon

Discover Schoolnet

Schoolnet Updates Coming in February


February 9-10: (Home Base Maintenance Weekend) Update of Schoolnet to version 19.1 and Phase I of Certica Item refresh (this is necessary to support the MathML content format for Math items). This process will start after 5pm on Friday, Feb. 9. Schoolnet will be inaccessible until the update is complete.


February 16-17: (Phase II of refresh and re-indexing of all Certica assessment items) This will update the metadata for all assessment types. This process will start after 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 10. Schoolnet will still be accessible during this update but searching for items or creating new assessments is not recommended until the re-indexing is complete.


February 23-24: (Transfer of Schoolnet hosting to Amazon) The transfer will begin after 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 23. Schoolnet will be inaccessible until the transfer is complete.


Johnston County Public Schools Use Schoolnet for Powerful Formative Assessments to Strengthen Instruction


The science team at Riverwood Middle School in Johnston County has found success in using Schoolnet for formative assessments to drive instructional changes. Eighth grade science teacher Wendy Bates credits the pre-tests her team uses in Schoolnet for academic success.


“Our pre-tests are done two days before the actual test so time is given to both student and teacher to reteach or review the standard and concepts," Bates says. "Schoolnet gives both teacher and student the immediate feedback that is needed so the misconceptions are addressed to the students.”


Seventh grade science teachers, Shannon Joseph and Laine Smith, explain the impact Schoolnet assessments have on their Professional Learning Communities (PLC).


“We compare data in our PLC to see if content from standards is being taught successfully," Joseph says. "We like that it has features to read aloud questions to students who require that accommodation. It’s easy to use and it’s a great tool that drives our PLC and our instruction in the classroom.” 


Smith adds that assessments do not have to be long to be useful. “Quick check-ins with bellringers and vocabulary” help keep student learning on-track.


We are excited to see the emphasis on using formative assessments to drive instruction via Schoolnet in Johnston County. A special thank you to Amanda Johnson, Riverwood Middle School’s Teaching and Learning Coach for collecting this information to share.


We Want to Hear From You: Nominate a Schoolnet Storyteller Today!


We want to include more user stories in future editions of the Home Base Bulletin on different ways Schoolnet is being utilized. Please consider nominating yourself or an educator in your district to share how you are using Schoolnet and your thoughts on its impact on digital teaching and learning.


Please complete this brief nomination form to be featured in a future newsletter.


Truenorthlogic icon

Truenorthlogic

CTE-Special Populations Staff in TNL/NCEES


After hearing from districts statewide, NCDPI is testing the addition of Salary Object/Purpose code 131/5220 to populate staff into TNL/NCEES under the Instructional role of Teacher Leader-CTE Special Populations.


Estimated timeline is to add this code to production by mid-January, so districts can start evaluation plans on these staff. Other options are CTE-Special Populations staff can be in the NCEES system as evaluators, mentors, etc. They will also have access to Professional Development. NCDPI will communicate when this role is available in TNL/NCEES production.


TNL/NCEES presentations at CCES Set for Monday-Tuesday Mar. 12-13


Click to view http://www.ncpublicschools.org/cces/ and select Participant Registration to access Early Registration and preview course presentations by date and strands. 


Data Management Strand: Ain't Nobody Got Time for That - NCEES Tips and Tricks


Educator Effectiveness Strand: Truenorthlogic NCEES Basics; Truenorthlogic NCEES Reporting; Connect the dots on Entering Staff in NCEES; NCEES Process: Teacher Evaluation Process; NCEES Process: Principal Evaluation Process; PD on the Double!; Supporting Teacher Professional Growth through Online Learning; NCEES: Elements and Indicators Count! ; NCEES- Best practices learned from small and large/ urban and rural districts

Register for 1 day, any 2 days or all 3 days


Wanted: Truenorthlogic exemplars to showcase


Are you or someone you know an excellent team leader, highly respected by all team members?


Have you or know someone who has developed best practices in using the NCEES evaluation system, professional development, planning PD courses and recording CEUs, use of Micro-Badging, utilization of NCEES reporting or other? 


Please complete this brief form to nominate yourself or another educator to be featured in the monthly Home Base Bulletin.


If you have questions, please contact Cami Narron at: cami.narron@dpi.nc.us