As 2020 begins to wind down, it's a good time to reflect on the hard work and dedication of amazing educators throughout North Carolina. Schools across our state have worked in partnership with community connections to create cultures that foster STEM education.

Even in the shadow of such an unprecedented event, there has never been more real world opportunities for student designed learning and technological/global engagement.

With appreciation for your time and commitment all throughout this difficult year, please be sure to spend time with those who mean the most to you during the upcoming holidays.
Life is valuable and we should never take it for granted!

Wishing you and your loved ones peace, health, happiness,
and prosperity in the coming New Year.

Calling All STEM Reviewers!!

Your Support is Greatly Appreciated

The 2020-2021 North Carolina STEM Schools of Distinction Recognition Program is underway. With nearly 20 schools across the state having communicated their Intent to be recognized as a leading STEM program in North Carolina, we are asking those STEM educational leaders, who have familiarity with the STEM Schools of Distinction process, to assist with the Review of this year's applications.    Individuals presently leading within a NC recognized STEM school, or any individuals who have served as past SSoD reviewers, are asked to provide updated contact information by completing this Reviewer Application by December 28th.   There will be a required Reviewer training January 26th repeated again January 28th (you choose one) for those selected to participate. The applications will be shared immediately following the February 5th deadline and then reviewers will have about 2 weeks to complete their review before sharing feedback.  The number of reviewers assigned will be dependent upon the number of submitted applications.   Thank you for continuing to drive quality STEM programming in North Carolina!

PURPLE STAR SCHOOLS

Purple Star Schools are schools that show a major commitment to students and families connected to our nation’s military. Several states already have the Purple Star designation process in place. As a military-friendly state with several major military installations and many military-connected children, including children of Active Duty, Reserve, National Guard, and veterans, across the state, serves as a valuable identifier for our state’s military-friendly schools. The Purple Star School designation is awarded through an application and review process. Please watch the video to learn a little more about this award designation.

NCDPI Purple Star Point of Contact: 

Dr. Angie Mullennix, Director of K-12 Academics and Innovation Strategy

POC Email: Angie.Mullennix@dpi.nc.gov

Apply for the Global Educator Digital Badge!

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 global education throughout curricula. It also provides the opportunity to build global competency in 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 NCGlobalEducation@dpi.nc.gov.

#GoOpenNC Monthly Webinars   Join monthly webinars to learn more about #GoOpenNC. #GoOpenNC is our free collaborative platform for educators to share standards aligned resources and explore hubs of curated resources, including Global Education! Webinars will be one hour long and offered at 10am, 3pm, and 7pm to help you attend the session that best fits your schedule. Educators who attend a live webinar will receive a CEU certificate for 0.1 CEU that is recommended for Digital Learning Competency Credit. All webinars will be recorded and archived on our YouTube channel to rewatch as needed. Make sure you register today for upcoming webinars!

#GoOpen NC Has Launched!

Greetings North Carolina Educators!

The #GoOpenNC Team is excited to support the launch of our statewide Open Educational Resources platform. We invite you to join our community of practice and explore our resources aligned to the North Carolina Standard Course of Study Standards.  #GoOpenNC will continue to transform as our users commit to sharing high quality, standards aligned resources and become active members of the community.

All public school unit staff can access #GoOpenNC from the NCEdCloud tray by clicking on the #GoOpenNC icon:

If you do not see the icon in your NCEdCloud tray, please reach out to our team at goopennc@dpi.nc.gov.

The #GoOpenNC team is working to continuously improve the platform and add additional openly licensed content. As content users, it is important that we understand intellectual property rights, copyright law, and open-licensing guidelines. Users have the responsibility to review and abide by the terms of use for instructional resources. 

NC GreenPower   The NC GreenPower Solar+ Schools 2021 Program Year is almost here! Any NC K-12 school may apply for this partial grant opportunity to receive a 5 kW solar array complete with a weather station, real-time data monitoring equipment, a STEM curriculum and teacher training. The application opens January 2, 2021. Please help spread the word! Learn more: www.ncgp.org/solar-schools

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Professional Learning Opportunity for NC STEM Educators

Free Professional Learning Opportunity Sponsored by the Burroughs Wellcome Fund

The STEM Educators for Equity and Diversity (SEED) Fellowship is seeking applicants for the 2021 cohort. The yearlong professional learning opportunity strives to help STEM educators across North Carolina develop culturally appropriate instructional strategies as well as implement equitable practices into the classroom. To accomplish this goal, the program gives educators a safe space to collaborate and reflect on issues such as anti-racist teaching, culturally relevant pedagogy, equitable learning strategies, etc. For more information or to apply, go to https://bit.ly/3kxyM0R

Application Deadline 12/16/2020

ACRES (Afterschool Coaching for Reflective Educators), a project of the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance, is a nationally acclaimed no-cost coaching program that builds knowledge and skills so afterschool educators, librarians and anyone who works with youth in out-of-school settings can confidently facilitate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) experiences for youth. Thanks to generous funding from several national foundations, the program is currently offered at no cost to participants. The program was launched in 2015 as a project of the Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance. Participating in the ACRES series will help afterschool educators build facilitation skills and confidence in STEM. Educators who participate in the program will:

• Gain exposure to current research surrounding STEM education for youth.
• Access new ways of interacting with youth and other ways to teach STEM skills.
• Develop mastery in using technology for learning new skills.
• Build relationships with peers who are doing similar work.
• Experience personalized professional development to deepen skills.
• Earn contact hours and a certificate of participation.

The program takes place fully online and is highly interactive. Participants earn a $100 stipend after completing a survey before and after the program. This flyer has additional details and information about how to join upcoming cohorts.  

Greetings, NC educators!

NC State is teaming up with Project Food, Land, and People to offer a fully virtual, free professional development workshop in January.  They invite 4-6th grade teachers to join them!

The workshop will be held in 4 two hour sessions: January 4, 6, 11, and 13 from 3-5 pm. 

You can expect an interactive experience while logged into Zoom during these times, with about two additional times spent on homework throughout the session at your own pace.  They will train teachers on Project Food, Land and People, focusing on ways to bring hands-on lessons to your students in online or in-person formats.  They will also feature time with local NC farmers who will also host virtual field trips for your students after you complete the training.  They ask that participants commit to the entire workshop, and are offering documentation for 1.0 CEUs.

This project is also part of a research project funded through the USDA and led by NC State.  Participating teachers will be encouraged, but not required, to participate.  Participation involves administering online surveys to students and sending survey links to parents.

Please see the above flyer and click here to sign up for the workshop.  Any questions can be answered by Caitiln Reilly at cereill3@ncsu.edu.

Teachers, your holiday gift came early this year! We are excited to announce that registration for the Thomas Edison Pitch Contest 2021 is NOW OPEN! Our early registration period is the perfect opportunity for early birds who want to get a head start on their projects! If your team registers by December 31st, you will receive your Maker's Kit weeks earlier than other teams AND a $20 Amazon Gift Card to purchase extra supplies for your team! Please note: There will be a limit of only 3 Maker's Kits per school this year, however, schools are welcome to register more than 3 teams and share the supplies! You can click here to learn more about how to register now! About 10 years ago, the Edison Innovation Foundation created this contest to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship among students in grade 4-12. Our fun STEM contest will allow your students to create their own inventions to solve problems that they see in the world today by providing STEM supplies for FREE, hands-on experience, and state-of-the-art STEM prizes for your school. It is the perfect addition to your distance learning curriculum to keep kids motivated & excited about learning! Download the new teacher/student guide for 2021 here!