UPDATE - School Nutrition Services Student and School Outcomes Since Hurricane Florence
Disaster recovery efforts continue in the School Nutrition environment. School Nutrition professionals and para-professionals are doing what they do best…nourishing student’s bodies, fueling their brains and filling their souls.
Outcomes related to Students
To date, 5,368 students have been declared homeless under the McKinney Vento Act. The Act defines homeless children and youths as individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. Lisa Phillips, State Coordinator for the Education of the Homeless Children and Youth and the team of Consultants have done an exceptional job of locating and identifying these students quickly, thus enabling them to receive the education, support and other benefits for
which they are now eligible.
Over 30,000 students qualify for free meals at school who did not qualify prior to Hurricane Florence. These students are now eligible for free meal benefits because their household income was reduced to less than 130% of poverty.
Since September 17, all School Food Authorities in the 28 counties included in the Presidential Disaster Declaration have operated under federal waivers which allow for significant regulatory flexibilities. These waivers were requested by the section and granted by the US Department of Agriculture. The most significant waiver authorizes all schools (traditional public, charter, non-public schools) to provide meals to all students at no cost during the disaster recovery phase. Early estimates are that over 50,000 students have benefitted from this particular waiver. The first round of waivers expired October 31; this waiver has been extended through November 30 for schools in Craven, Duplin, Pender, Onslow and Robeson Counties, based on the disaster conditions within the counties and data provided by district officials to justify the extensions. Additional program specific waiver requests are made weekly by the section to the USDA to help individual counties address specific conditions that are unique to each county’s recovery needs.
Outcomes related to the School Nutrition Programs
School Nutrition Programs are Federally-assisted. Unlike other education programs, these are reimbursement programs, not allotment programs. School Food Authorities receive Federal funds only upon the service of reimbursable meals to students. When there is no meal service, there are no Federal funds to support program operations. Revenue losses as a result of the disaster are in excess of $15 million in the disaster counties.
Inventory and equipment damage assessments are almost complete. To date, nearly $3 million in food, supply and equipment losses have been reported, the majority of which is food. While some equipment repairs or replacements may be covered by insurance, food losses are seldom recovered.
Schools have reported approximately $8 million in lost salaries/benefits for School Nutrition personnel. The State funds ($6.5 million) appropriated for School Nutrition personnel will help offset this loss.
On behalf of local School Nutrition Administrators in the disaster counties, THANK YOU for your continued support during the long recovery period.
 UPDATE - NC Professional Educators Preparation and Standards Commission (PEPSC) Subcommittee Updates
At your October 2018 meeting, you requested regular updates on the work in the PEPSC subcommittees. Outlined below are the updates for November work being considered with each respective subcommittee.
Licensure Subcommittee
The Licensure Subcommittee vetted policy LICN-001 – General Licensure Requirements with PANC and the Task Force for Teacher Recruitment. Further revisions are needed after these reviews from the field and will be continued.
Educator Preparation Subcommittee
The Educator Preparation Subcommittee is revising the North Carolina Standards for School Executives. The Principal Standards Committee met on October 22 to discuss what gaps need to be filled to start the revision process. The next meeting is November 27 with small group work prior to that focuses on the three Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL) standards that were identified as missing in the current NC Standards for School Executives.
Assessment and Performance Subcommittee
The Assessment and Performance Subcommittee will have a math content exam recommendation presented at the monthly PEPSC meeting on November 8.
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UPDATE - Former North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue Appointed Chair of the National Assessment Governing Board
WASHINGTON—Former North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue has been appointed to serve as chair of the National Assessment Governing Board, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced today. Perdue will be the first female chair in the 30-year history of the board, which she joined as a member in October 2017. During her time on the board, she has served on the committee on standards, design and methodology.
 INVITATION - Computer Science Expo - December 6, 2018
In recognition of Computer Science Week, Dec. 3-8, 2018, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, NCDPI, is excited to announce that we will be hosting a Computer Science Student Expo on Dec. 6, 2018.
The Expo will be held at NCDPI on 301 N. Wilmington Street, Raleigh, NC from 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM. We are cordially inviting all NCDPI Staff, NC Board of Education members, legislators, and other community members.
There will be 16 teams of students showcasing how they are learning and utilizing computer science in their schools. There will be four teams from each of the following grade bands: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. They will present in 5 minute rotations during this time.
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REPORT - NC Virtual Public School (NCVPS) Draft Annual Report
Linked within this text is the draft report that will be presented to you at your December board meeting. Click here for the direct link to the Annual Report.
Please review and send feedback to Dr. Colbert ateliz.colbert@ncpublicschools.gov.
 INVITATION - Celebration and Unveiling of Standard Course of Study (SCOS)-012 Project!
After 2-years the Department will unveil the SCOS-012 project on Monday, November 5, 2018.
The meeting will be hosted in room 150 at NCDPI at 3 pm. We welcome you to attend.
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NOTICE - NASBE Seeks State Board of Education Members to Join Its Early Childhood Education Work Group
The impact of early childhood education (ECE) is undeniable. Recent studies indicate high-quality ECE programs can significantly decrease special education placement and grade retention, close achievement gaps, and increase high school graduation rates for children. Yet access to high-quality early education across the country remains uneven, and many children still enter elementary school unprepared. State boards of education have authority that positions them to be key players in improving early education. NASBE seeks state board members to join a work group to study early childhood education trends and research from national experts and to learn from states about effective policies and practices that can truly help our nation's youngest children. Last year, NASBE established a state early learning network. Led by state board members, NASBE is working with New York, Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan, Mississippi, Washington, and Delaware through the network to develop, revise, and adopt early childhood education policies that support children from birth to age 8. The network highlights how state boards can be policy leaders in early childhood education. Work group participants will have the opportunity to learn from these states' experiences firsthand. The work group will cover a wide range of topics across birth to third grade level, including, but not limited to:
- High-quality PreK Programs
- Early Childhood Education Workforce Development
- Kindergarten Readiness
- Early Literacy and Third-Grade Reading
- Birth to Third Grade System Alignment
- Early Childhood Education Data System
- Dual Language Learners
- Early Childhood Education Financing
Work group participants can expect to strengthen their knowledge and capacity for early education policymaking, be prepared to directly and more effectively discuss early childhood education issues with national and state experts, gain a better understanding of how to align their systems across the birth-5 and K-3 levels, make connections with key state and local stakeholders that will elevate the state board role in early childhood education, lead conversations, and take action in their states to improve early education.
The early education work group is a one-year commitment, starting by the end of 2018 and concluding by the end of 2019. Participants will meet twice via an online video conference, and in person one time. All state board of education members and their staffs are eligible to apply. NASBE will provide assistance for travel expenses for a limited number of member states to attend the in-person meeting. Those interested in participating in the early education work group can apply here. If you have questions, or would like more information, please contact NASBE Director of Early Learning, Winona Hao.
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