Start each day with O-P!
Last month, several members of our team, including Superintendent Catherine Truitt and State Board Chair Eric Davis, visited schools in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. We started our day at Zebulon B. Vance High School (soon to be renamed Julius L. Chambers High School), where we heard from teachers about lessons learned over the last year.
One of the teachers said he recognized that his students were coming in to their virtual classrooms disengaged, so he started asking students to "share an O-P: Only Positive thought". What took place after was a shift in the atmosphere of class . . . even though the atmosphere was virtual. He vowed to take that practice into the coming year, starting every class with an O-P.
The relationships educators build with their students help create spaces where all students feel valued and validated, where teachers and students journey together along the path of knowledge, and where our classrooms and schools support our students in actualizing their purpose and calling in life. Throughout the past two years, educators have done an extraordinary amount of work to help our students during this unprecedented time.
So here's my O-P: Educators are continuing to grow students, advocate for communities, and build schools into places that inspire, support, innovate, and educate. Educators are LEADING in North Carolina!
What is your O-P? Send it to me and I'll include some of your Only Positive insights into our future Educator Edition newsletters! educators@dpi.nc.gov
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 Science of Reading
Want to know more about how the state and districts will help prepare and support teachers in implementing the Science of Reading? We will spotlight multiple stories, insights, and best practices over the next few months.
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HERE is a link to the Science of Reading Resource Page from NCDPI
- You can also get specific information from LETRS in THIS VIDEO.
- See how Onslow County, which has already trained over 300 teachers, began implementation and is seeing results in THIS VIDEO.
- Check out an overview HERE from EdNC.
District Visits & Voices
 The BLOG
The District Visits & Voices team has been traveling across the state to check out promising practices, gather data around Covid Response and Recovery, identify how schools, districts, and regions are innovative in meeting the needs of their students and communities. Our colleague, Mary Lee Gibson, has been capturing stories from these visits and launched a BLOG PAGE that highlights the visits. Check out these blogs, and look for more to come as we canvas the state over the next few months!
#NowWhat
Want to know what is coming next and how we will use our data from the visits? Read about it in this NOW WHAT blog post that poses those same questions. We are determined to use the stories and data from our districts to help make NC the best place to teach and learn!
What about teacher voice?
From the first day I came to DPI, and even before when I worked to engage teachers across the state, I have been dedicated to bringing TEACHER VOICE to everything our state does for education. This blog post highlights how we are starting to engage teachers and education stakeholders in a conversation about TEACHER RECRUITMENT & RETENTION. Follow #NCTeacherTalks as we look for ways to elevate the profession, spotlight educators who are leading in the classroom, and find ways to bring more teachers to the classrooms so every child has a highly qualified, excellent teacher every single day!
  2021 NC Teacher of the Year: Eugenia Floyd
We are so excited to welcome Eugenia Floyd as our 2021 Burroughs Wellcome Fund NC Teacher of the Year! She and her team of Regional Teachers of the Year are about to embark on a year of leadership, advocacy, learning, and inspiration. Click HERE to read about the announcement and team.
In her own words, Eugenia says, "I believe that all students can learn. Not only do I want to make sure I teach my students material that can connect to the world around us, but I also want them to be able to use what they have learned in order to make themselves and the world a better place."
Eugenia Floyd is a 4th grade literacy teacher with seven years of teaching experience in Chapel Hill-Carborro City Schools at Mary Scroggs Elementary. She graduated from UNC Greensboro, received her teaching certificate from NCCU, and has a Masters Degree from Elon University. She is a Beginning Teacher Mentor, a member of the MSES Equity Team, and founder of the "What I Need" program.
Our team looks forward to working with Eugenia and her team, along with Maureen Stover and the 2020 Regional Teachers of the Year at NCCAT later this summer. Congratulations!
NCCAT Opportunities: Do you need professional development? NCCAT has many residential, remote, and district level PD opportunities.
Legislative Update: Link to the bi-weekly Legislative Update that highlights government and community affairs activity around education.
State Board of Education Agenda: The State Board of Education meets the first week of each month. The April meeting is scheduled for April 7-8. The agenda is available two weeks before the meeting. Check back here for updates and materials. Click HERE for Live Stream via YouTube.
Classroom Connection: PBS Online offers at-home learning resources for students from early learners through grade 12. These are standards-aligned programming and curriculum-based lessons on PBS broadcast channels and streaming online and supplemental online resources for educators and students.
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