Apply to Be a "School of Character"  

We are very excited to announce that the School of Character application is now open! 

Learn all that you need to know about the application process on our website. And don't forget to take a look at the application timeline so you can make sure you're on track!

Conversation with the Chairman: A Teacher Town Hall Meeting

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome H. Powell will host a town hall meeting with educators from across the country on February 6, 2019. The educators will join the Chairman at 7 p.m. EST in the Board Room of the Board's main building in Washington, D.C., and participate via webcast from Federal Reserve Bank offices throughout the country. The Chairman will respond to questions from both the in-person audience and participants at the Reserve Bank offices.

The event will be live streamed to the public at

www.federalreserve.gov and YouTube. Social media users can follow the Federal Reserve Board's Twitter feed at @FederalReserve and Facebook page at

https://www.facebook.com/federalreserve, and they may join the discussion about the event by using the hashtag: #FedTownHall. After the event, the Board will post a transcript and video recording on its website.

Global Education

How prepared are you to foster global awareness in your students or support that in your classrooms or schools?

The Global Educator Digital Badge provides an opportunity for educators to focus their professional development on developing their own global context and understanding of how to integrate throughout the curriculum. It also provides the opportunity to build global competency in your students?

The State Board of Education approved North Carolina Global Educator Digital Badge (GEDB) is available for the following educator categories: Teacher, Teacher Leadership Specialist, Library Media Coordinator, Instructional Technology Facilitator, School Counselor, Career Development Coordinator, School Social Worker, School Psychologist, Speech Language Pathologist, Instructional Central Office Staff, Principal/Assistant Principal, Superintendent. For more information on the Badge (SBE Policy, FAQs, Process Flyer, Implementation Guide, MOA), please visit our website or contact NCGlobaEducation@dpi.nc.gov.

NC State University Offers Complimentary Humanities Extension Program!

The Humanities Extension Program directly connects North Carolina's public school classroom teachers with faculty from NC State University who want to share their knowledge and expertise with students in grades K-12.

The free program creates new partnerships and builds on existing relationships between the college and public schools across the state. Our aim is to foster an understanding of and appreciation for the humanities and social sciences among students. The program is also a powerful recruitment tool for college-bound young people, exposing high school students to potential areas of study.

Visiting humanities scholars faculty travel to North Carolina public schools to present on topics related to:

• Anthropology
• Archaeology
• Communication
• Culture
• English
• Ethics
• History
• International Studies
• Languages
• Leadership
• Literature
• Nonprofits
• Philosophy
• Politics / Public Policy
• Psychology
• Religious Studies
• Social Work
• Sociology

Faculty members tailor their presentations to the lesson plan, age and education level of the students. The length of programs varies and can be customized to meet your schedule. Learn more about the college’s Humanities Extension Program through this interview with program director Dr. David Zonderman.  

Please complete this interest form to be matched with a member of NC State faculty!

Any questions can be directed to Academic and Leadership Program Coordinator Jenn Scoggins at jascoggi@ncsu.edu.

Please share this opportunity with your teachers!

Sparking Student Leadership through Co-Curricular Collaboration

December 6^th  7:00 to 8:00 pm

Sign-up for this free webinar to help you build leadership in your students through activities that promote positive school culture.  This session will help you transform your school culture while building student leaders at the middle and high school level. Although this webinar is hosted by the North Carolina Association of Student Councils, it will benefit advisers of all student organizations as well as those who are just looking to build their students' 21st Century skills or improve the climate at their school. 

Click here to register.  For more information visit http://www.ncasc.us/.

The Connecting Communities of Education Stakeholders Conference (CCES): Calling for Proposals for Student Presentations 

March 18-21, 2019
Sheraton Greensboro Hotel & Koury Convention Center

3121 West Gate City Boulevard
Greensboro, NC

We are pleased to announce that the Conference Planning Committee is seeking proposals for student-led presentations for The Connecting Communities of Education Stakeholders Conference (CCES), formerly the Collaborative Conference for Student Achievement (CCSA).

Presenting at the CCES would be an excellent way for the stakeholders in North Carolina to see what and how students are:

• Creating
• Being Innovative
• Taking action
• Connecting to the community and
• Being empowered to be successful citizens, workers, and leaders

Students will have the opportunity to share some of their classroom experiences, projects, research, service-learning experiences, etc. with state stakeholders at the conference. Though an adult is able to introduce them, student(s) are expected to do all or the majority of the presenting during the 45-minute session. Preference will be given to proposals that address this year's conference theme, "Innovative Pathways to Personalized Learning", as well as highlighting one or more of the four conference goals and pillars, listed below.

2019 Conference Goals

• To provide educators and leaders relevant, research-based strategies to affect short- and long-term change in adult practices that foster innovative practices for student success
• To provide support staff with professional learning and resources for the daily operations and needs of school communities
• To support student and educator growth through the dissemination of data-driven strategies and resources
• To recognize and encourage the collective contribution of communities of education stakeholders in individual and community-wide growth

2019 Personalized Learning Pillars

• A student having a “learner profile” that documents and stimulates self-reflection on his or her strengths, weaknesses, preferences, and goals;
• A student pursuing an individualized learning path that encourages him or her to set and manage personal academic goals;
• A student following a “competency-based progression” that focuses on the ability to demonstrate mastery of a topic, rather than seat time; and,
• A students’ learning environment being flexible and structured in ways that support individual goals.

If you are aware of students who could present on one of the goals and highlight practices that improve educational outcomes at the CCES conference on Monday or Tuesday, March 18-19, 2019, please complete the Student Session Proposal Form.  Proposals must be submitted before January 5, 2019.  If you have any questions about the sessions, please contact Phylisha.Sanders@dpi.nc.gov or Thomas.Daugherty@dpi.nc.gov.

The concurrent session proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

(1) 45-minutes in length

(2)  presenter’s experience presenting before an adult audience

(3)  alignment to one of the Four Pillars of Personalized Learning

(4)  participant engagement

Access the Proposal Form: 2019 Application

Opportunities from the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies

Check out our new Middle East Picture Book Bundles! Interested in having more diverse multicultural literature for your classroom? You can now check out the following sets of picture books through Carolina Navigators for the spring! -Picture Book Set: Tales, Fables, and Folktales from the Middle East -Picture Book Set: Religions and Holiday Celebrations in the Middle East -Picture Book Set: Middle East History -Picture Book Set: Life and Cultures in the Middle East

National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Programs Announced NEH offers tuition-FREE opportunities for K-12 educators to study a variety of humanities topics at summer programs across the country. The 2019 schedule has just been announced! You can find a complete list of opportunities here. While all of the programs look awesome, you may be interested in “Muslim American History and Life” at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis led by Dr. Edward Curtis. Applications are due by March 1, 2019.

Travel to the Middle East with GEEO GEEO offers cost-subsided travel programs for educators during the spring, winter, and summer. The trips are designed and discounted to be interesting and affordable for teachers – and you can earn PD and graduate credit. They are a lot of fun!!!! The trips are open to all nationalities of K-12 and university educators, administrators, retired educators, as well as educators’ guests. GEEO has introduced two NEW programs this year to Jordan and to Egypt! Check them out here.

Performance Opportunities at Duke University: Building Bridges: Muslims in America Duke Performances has launched Building Bridges: Muslims in America, a new project showcasing the richness and diversity of Muslim culture in this country. Duke Performances will host residencies by U.S.-based Muslim artists, including engagement with the Duke and Durham community, visits to nearby high schools, and public concerts. The initiative continues this season with Muslim convert and MC Brother Ali (Thursday, March 7); and Persian-inflected Brooklyn rock band Habibi (Thursday, April 4). Check out their website for concert information and more!

Opportunities for Your Students:

• Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange & Study (YES) Abroad program: another U.S. government program focused on getting a perspective of a Muslim cultures first-hand. Students spend the academic year 2018-2019 living with a host family in a Muslim country in Europe, Asia, or Africa. Participants serve as “youth ambassadors” of the United States, promoting mutual understanding by forming lasting relationships with their host families and communities. For more information, visit http://www.yes-abroad.org/- Applications close on December 4, 2018 at 11:59PM PST.

• Don’t forget to like us on Facebook,  follow us on Twitter and Pinterest!
• The Teaching Resources Page of our website has many other helpful links  and resources to use in your classrooms.

Invite the other teachers you work with to join this email list.

K-12 Social Studies Wikispaces
 

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Wikispaces, the company that hosts all of the DPI wikis, is going out of business, and plans are underway to move the wikis to a new online home with Google Sites.  We will continue to use the current wikis through the end of this calendar year.

Although Wikispaces is going away, REMEMBER, K-12 Social Studies resources and information can always be found on the shelves of our current LiveBinders.  Click this K-12 SS LiveBinders hyperlink to access all social studies materials! 

Qatar Foundation and MEOC Educator Book Grant Program: 

Qatar Foundation International (QFI), in partnership with the Middle East Outreach Council (MEOC), is pleased to offer its Educator Book Program which will provide K-12 educators with the opportunity to obtain up to three classroom sets of books recognized by the Middle East Annual Book Awards. The Middle East Book Awards recognize outstanding books that contribute to a more meaningful understanding of the Middle East on an annual basis, and includes picture books, youth literature and youth nonfiction titles. 

Grant applications will be accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year and are open to K-12 educators in public and public charter schools. 

To view the full grant announcement including application requirements and grant conditions, please click here. To apply to the grant program, please visit QFI’s grants management portal, FluidReview, at qfi.fluidreview.com. For any questions regarding the application or program, please contact culture@qfi.org.

Grants Shared by the National Council for the Social Studies 

Award for Global Understanding Given in Honor of James M. Becker

The Award for Global Understanding Given in Honor of James M. Becker recognizes a social studies educator (or a team of educators) who has made notable contributions in helping social studies students increase their understanding of the world.

The award includes a $2,000 cash award, a session to present at the NCSS annual conference; complimentary NCSS conference registration; and up to $700 in transportation/lodging reimbursement.

 More Information

Grant for the Enhancement of Geographic Literacy

The NCSS Grant for the Enhancement of Geographic Literacy was created to promote geography education in the schools; to enhance the geographic literacy of students at the classroom, district, or statewide level; and to encourage the integration of geography into the social studies curriculum/classroom. Award winners receive $2,500, a commemorative award, and present a session on their work at the NCSS Annual Conference.

 More Information

FASSE Christa McAuliffe Reach for the Stars Award

In 1986 the Christa McAuliffe Reach for the Stars Award was established to help classroom teachers "reach for the stars" and achieve a dream that under ordinary circumstances would not be fulfilled. The Fund for the Advancement of Social Studies Education (FASSE) was created in 1984 by the Board of Directors of the National Council for the Social Studies. The purpose of the fund is to support research and classroom application projects which improve social studies education, foster enlightened citizenship, and promote civic competence.

The purpose of the $2,500 grant is to help a social studies educator make his or her dream of innovative social studies a reality. Grants will be given to assist classroom teachers in: 1) developing and implementing imaginative, innovative, and illustrative social studies teaching strategies; and 2) supporting student implementation of innovative social studies, citizenship projects, field experiences, and community connections.

 More Information

NCSS Research Awards

NCSS and the NCSS Research Community sponsor three annual research awards designed to recognize substantive scholarly inquiry in social studies education:

Larry Metcalf Exemplary Dissertation Award

Exemplary Research Award

Jean Dresden Grambs Distinguished Career Research Award

Carter G. Woodson Book Awards

In 1974, National Council for the Social Studies established the Carter G. Woodson Book Award for the most distinguished social science books appropriate for young readers that depict ethnicity in the United States. The purpose of this award is to encourage the writing, publishing, and dissemination of outstanding social science books for young readers that treat topics related to ethnic minorities and relations sensitively and accurately.

 More Information

To learn more about the aforementioned grants, visit https://www.socialstudies.org/getinvolved/awards.