Teacher Working Conditions Survey at 71% completion – help us get to 100%
The North Carolina Teacher
Working Conditions Survey opened March 1 and runs through March 31. Superintendents should be receiving a weekly status report from Regional
Education Facilitators regarding each district’s participation rates.
Participation rates can always be found here.
Please encourage your principals to review their headcount
so their school can receive credit for reaching 100 percent participation. If the headcount is incorrect, the principal can revise it at http://www.ncteachingconditions.org/headcount. The headcount cannot be changed once the survey window closes. Schools at
100% completion will be entered to win exciting prizes!
It is imperative the each school reaches the 40 percent threshold
in order to receive the menu of reports available after SBE approval. Reports
will not be generated for schools with a participation rate below 40 percent. Any schools experiencing difficulties can contact the Regional
Education Facilitator for their region or DPI’s survey coordinator, cynthia.martin@dpi.nc.gov.
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 DPI Seeks Proposals for Coding and Mobile App
Grants
DPI is now
accepting grant applications for a new round of the state’s Coding and Mobile
App Development competitive grant program, totaling $800,000 in awards for the 2018-19
school year.
The second year of the
initiative will fund up to $80,000 per school to provide opportunities for
middle and high school students to learn computer science, coding and mobile
app development
The deadline for schools to
submit applications is May 15. School districts and
charter schools can use grant funds to purchase equipment, digital materials,
and for other purposes, including teacher professional development. Grant
recipients will be announced in the summer and will implement their programs in
the fall. Applications and instructions are available here.
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NC
Department of Public Instruction Joins with NC Businesses for Students@Work℠ Week
March
19-28 is Students@Work℠ Week
State Superintendent Mark
Johnson joins employers, educators, and state leaders in recognizing March
19-28 as Students@Work℠ Week.
This statewide career awareness effort offers thousands of public school
students the chance to connect classroom learning with careers they may choose
to explore in the future.
Students@Work℠ is a partnership between DPI and the North Carolina Business
Committee for Education (NCBCE). Throughout the week, students will hear from
guest speakers or take part in job shadowing and worksite visits that will
expose them to potential careers and the technical and soft skills needed for
those jobs.
This year’s program involves
more than 160 businesses throughout the state and is expected to impact
approximately 29,000 students. While the emphasis of the program is on middle
school, some high school students are participating as well.
Students@Work℠ is made possible by a grant
from GSK. For more information about
Students@Work℠ Week,
visit www.ncbce.org.
 Upcoming myFutureNC listening sessions
March 7 in Caldwell Co. and March 22 in Wake Co.
myFutureNC, a statewide education commission focusing on educational attainment for all North Carolinians, is holding a series of eight listening sessions throughout the state designed to hear from communities about what they perceive as their region’s economic strengths and identify the education opportunities that are most needed to capitalize on those strengths.
The next two sessions are listed below:
Region 3 – March 22
NC Rural Center (4021 Carya Drive, Raleigh)
Local Focus: The HBCU perspective: Donald Barringer, NCCU
Northeast – April 19
Museum of the Albemarle (501 South Water Street, Elizabeth City)
Local Focus: The principals’ perspective: Guests TBD — potentials include Michelle White (Region 1 Principal of the Year; D. F. Walker Elementary, Edenton-Chowan County); Steve Basnight (J P Knapp Early College, Currituck County); Steve Lassiter (Assistant Superintendent, Pasquotank County)
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 Digital
Learning survey opens April 2
On April 2, DPI and The
Friday Institute will open the Digital-Age Learning Progress Rubric survey
for LEA representatives to complete. As it was in spring 2015, the survey data
will be used at the state level to focus statewide professional development
offerings, make cooperative purchasing decisions, and advocate for policy and
funding as part of the NC Digital Learning Plan.
This survey, which districts
should complete by June 30, will be hosted by the same system that hosts the NC
Digital Learning and Media Inventory (NC DLMI). LEA users in the NC DLMI
will have access to complete the survey for their districts. The only data that
will be shared publicly are district- or charter-level scores for each of the
five main areas: Leadership; Technology Infrastructure & Devices;
Curriculum & Instruction; Professional Learning; and Data &
Assessment.
More information will be
shared through the tech director’s listserv and in future superintendent
updates. Questions about the Digital-Age Learning Rubric should go to Verna Lalbeharie at DPI or Jeni Corn at NCSU.
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 Submit student artwork!
State Superintendent’s Arts Initiative
State State Superintendent Mark Johnson is sponsoring a statewide
arts initiative. The Superintendent’s Arts Initiative is an opportunity to
recognize student artists and to encourage participation in all of the arts
throughout the state, as well as in each school district and charter school. Districts
may submit one work each.
The initiative is open to all K-12 public school students in
all arts disciplines (dance, music, theatre arts, and visual arts.) All
two-dimensional artwork, such as painting, drawing, printmaking, and
photography, will be displayed permanently at the Department of Public
Instruction building in Raleigh.
Artwork can be mailed to the department or brought in person
to the Superintendent’s Quarterly meeting at the Embassy Suites Concord on
April 18. In order to be displayed, the Student Release Form and Originality
Certification need to be completed and must accompany the artwork. Download the
necessary forms and find more information at this
link or contact Slater Mapp.
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N.C. Music Educators
Association (NCMEA) offers two mini-grant programs
The NCMEA Mini-Grant Program is intended to afford music teachers
an opportunity to develop special projects to increase the existing potential
for a quality music education program. The total amount of funding requested
from NCMEA may not exceed $1,000. Deadline
to apply is March 31. More information is available
here.
The Summer Professional Development Grant Award is intended to
provide grant funding to music teachers seeking to provide professional
development activities specific to music education via an organized event for
several teachers from two or more LEAs. The total amount of funding requested
from NCMEA may not exceed $4,000. More information is
available here.
Nominations open for national
math and science teaching award
Nominations for the Presidential Award for Excellence in
Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST), the highest honor
bestowed by the United States government specifically for K-12 mathematics and
science (including computer science) teaching, is now accepting nominations
Anyone — principals, teachers,
parents, students, or members of the general public — may nominate exceptional
mathematics or science teachers who are currently teaching grades K-6 for the
2017-2018 award year. Teachers may also apply directly at www.paemst.org.
The nomination deadline
is April 1, and the application deadline is May 1 for
elementary school teachers (grades K-6). Secondary school teachers (grades
7-12) will be eligible to apply during a future cycle.
American
Bar Association’s 2018 Law Day Art Contest
Each year, the American Bar Association (ABA) hosts an art contest for
students in grades nine through 12 (or the equivalent) in the United
States. Students may compete as
individuals or in groups. The ABA is now accepting submissions of artwork for
the 2018 Law Day Art Contest until March 31. The theme for Law Day 2018 is
"Separation of Powers: Framework for Freedom."
Please see
the attached contest guidelines and flyer, linked below, and share this
information with high school administrators and teachers who may encourage
students to enter the 2018 Law Day Art Contest.
Additional information is available at www.ambar.org/lawday .
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