Number 10

Wells Fargo North Carolina Regional Principals of the Year Named

"Nine outstanding public school principals have been selected as regional Wells Fargo North Carolina Principals of the Year who will now compete for the state title of 2022 Wells Fargo North Carolina Principal of the Year. The winner will succeed the 2021 recipient, Dr. Elena Ashburn, principal of Needham Broughton High School (Wake County Public Schools)."

Read the full release here. Congrats to the nine principals selected!

Number 9

Workforce Toolkit Survey

PIOs, CTE Directors, CTE Coordinators and High School Counselors - if you have not done so already, please complete the Workforce Toolkit Survey by tomorrow, Friday, February 18. 

Completing this survey will help us design a toolkit that serves North Carolina students, families, schools, and districts best. The survey will take no more than 10-15 minutes. 

If you need the survey link sent to you again, or you did not receive it and believe you should have, please reach out to communications@dpi.nc.gov. 

Number 8

Love the Bus Week

This week is love the bus week, and statewide we are all celebrating and thanking our bus drivers and transportation support staff, like our mechanics, for getting North Carolina's students to and from school safely! To all of our school transportation staff - thank you. You are a vital part of every student's education, and we couldn't do it without you.

See photos from Superintendent Truitt's visit to Alamance-Burlington Schools bus driver appreciation event here.

Thanks to all the school districts who have helped celebrate and honor school bus drivers this week!

Number 7

Upcoming Programs for K-12 Audiences at the North Carolina Zoo

The North Carolina Zoo will be hosting virtual Living with Nature webinars. Living with Nature is the NC Zoo's free distance learning event series available to schools and home school groups. Recommended ages middle school-high school. The 30-minute programs allow students and teachers to submit questions to experts during the event. 

Learn more and register here.

Number 6

NCDHHS Announces Upcoming Changes to Mask Guidance - Effective March 7

Today Governor Cooper and Secretary Kinsley announced that NCDHHS will update their guidance on March 7th to focus on the most effective tools to reduce the risk of COVID-19. NCDHHS is announcing this now so that schools and school leaders have time to prepare.

Read more here.

Number 5

Office of Learning Recovery's Dr. Michael Maher on ncIMPACT

On last week's ncIMPACT episode, the Office of Learning Recovery and Acceleration (OLR)'s director, Dr. Michael Maher, spoke on the importance of learning recovery in North Carolina Public Schools. 

Watch the full episode on COVID-19 Impact to Lost Instructional Time here. 

Number 4

NCCAT Spring PD Opportunities

NCCAT's Spring professional development courses are posted and open for registration. 

To learn more about NCCAT's PD opportunities from March-June, click here.

Number 3

MyFutureNC Launches New Tool to Track Educational Indicators at State, County Levels

"We at MyFutureNC are launching a new tool in partnership with Carolina Demography—the myFutureNC Attainment Trends Workbook—to help you understand trends in educational indicators at the state- and county-level. This tool draws from state and federal sources to highlight trends in three attainment-relevant areas: Academic Readiness, College & Career Access and the Labor Market."

Learn more about the Attainment Trends Workbook here.

Number 2

NCSPRA 2021 Blue Ribbon Awards

"The North Carolina School Public Relations Association (NCSPRA) held its annual Blue Ribbon Awards celebration on February 11th. During the virtual event, Nicole Kirby, President of the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) paid tribute to award winners and thanked all North Carolina school districts for their efforts to effectively communicate during difficult times. 'At a time when we are all under extraordinary pressure, you have continued to produce award-winning work,' Kirby said. 'I’m proud to serve students and schools alongside professionals like you.' During the celebration, NCSPRA honored 37 districts with Blue Ribbon Awards for outstanding communications."

Congratulations to all of our school communication leaders who received the award! We are grateful for your outstanding efforts. 

Read more here.

Number 1

Black History Month

In honor of Black History month, NCDPI will share facts about North Carolina's African American history.

Charlotte Hawkins was born in Henderson, North Carolina in 1883, a northern-educated granddaughter of former slaves. She returned to her home state as a teacher in 1901, and established the Alice Freeman Palmer Memorial Institute at Sedalia, near Greensboro. The African American school evolved from an agricultural and manual training facility to a fully accredited, nationally recognized preparatory school.

The Palmer Memorial Institute transformed the lives of more than 2,000 African American students. Today, the campus provides a setting where visitors can explore this unique environment where students lived and learned during the greater part of the 20th century. The museum links Dr. Brown and Palmer Memorial Institute to the larger themes of African American history, women's history, social history, and education, emphasizing the contributions African Americans made in North Carolina.

Learn more about Charlotte Hawkins and the Palmer Memorial Institute here.