Subscribe and Connect with each Area in the Office of Academic Standards  

Do you want to stay up to date on the latest news, opportunities, resources, standards updates, etc. from one or more of the NCDPI Office of Academic Standards content areas? 

Sign up today to receive newsletters and announcements from the area(s) or topic(s) of your choice: 

• Arts Education
• CTE and Career Pathways
• Character Education
• Computer Science
• English Language Arts
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• Global Education
• Guidance
• Healthful Living
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• Mathematics
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• Social Studies
• STEM
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2022 A.I.M. Conference 

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction is hosting the second annual A.I.M. Conference at the Raleigh Convention Center Oct. 26 - 29, 2022. The Conference theme is "Accelerate, Invigorate, and Motivate."  District and school teams will attend the conference as a way to celebrate amazing educators across the state, as well as collaborate with local, regional and state educational leaders to explore and engage with the tools and knowledge needed to implement promising practices for the betterment of every student’s education in North Carolina.

Goals of the Conference: 

• Collaborate with regional/charter/lab school teams throughout the three-day uplifting and inspiring conference
• Align district/school initiatives with state-wide initiatives.
• Create opportunities to collect authentic feedback from schools and districts on Operation Polaris and state-wide initiatives.  

Where: Raleigh Convention Center, 500 S Salisbury St, Raleigh, NC 27601

When: Oct. 26 - Oct. 29, 2022 

Who: District Teams (District Leadership, School Leadership, Classroom Leadership)  

We’re thankful for the inaugural A.I.M Conference sponsorship through Lexia Learning. We can’t wait to see everyone back here in October 2022 for the second annual A.I.M. Conference.

YES! Social Studies Teachers These Professional Learning Sponsorships are Open to You Too!

*Application window: Monday, August 29 - September 16, 2022*

We are excited to announce, to Social Studies educators, that the NCDPI Multilingual Learner/Title III section is offering “Sponsorships” to attend professional learning opportunities offered this fall. “Sponsorship” covers all expenses including registration, travel (mileage or airfare), ground transportation, lodging, meals, and classroom coverage (if applicable), per State guidelines. There are six fall events eligible for Multilingual Learner/Title III “sponsorship”.  If you are teaching students in any of North Carolina’s public or charter schools you more than likely have ML students in your classes. Therefore, the first two events on the list may be just the thing you have been looking for. We encourage you to check both events out and apply for one of these generous “Sponsorships” supporting your professional growth.

If you are selected, you will be notified via email on September 23, 2022. Educators who receive confirmation of a sponsorship are required to attend one Q&A session BEFORE registering for the sponsored activity and submit a task upon participation in the event.

APPLY NOW! - Application form

NCDPI K-12 Social Studies On-Demand Professional Learning Sessions

Implementation of the K-12 Social Studies Standards began in August 2021.

To support districts, schools, and teachers, the NCDPI Social Studies team released four on-demand professional learning sessions during the 2021-2022 school year.  The following lists each session and a link to access it:

1. Webinar Recording: Using the Unpacking Documents 
   •  Password: Socialstudies!1 (case sensitive)
     
     
2. Webinar Recording: Using the Social Studies Strand Maps
   • Password: Socialstudies!1 (case sensitive)
     
     
3. Webinar Recording: Introduction to Revised Bloom's Taxonomy (RBT)
   • Password: Socialstudies!1 (case sensitive)
     
     
4. Webinar Recording: Integrating Inquiry and the Skills Indicators into your Classroom Instruction
   • Password: Socialstudies!1 (case sensitive)

The K-12 Social Studies team will begin releasing new 2022-2023 SY On-Demand Self-Paced Professional Development in October. Additional Self-Paced Modules will continue to be added over the course of the 2022-2023 SY.  Share this link: https://bit.ly/NCDPI_SSdocuments

Resources

• Use this link to access social studies related information that may be useful throughout the school year
• Use this new link to access these recorded sessions and other  K-12 Social Studies Professional Learning Resources and Tools

Personal Finance with a Global Mindset

September 15, 2022
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm ET via Zoom
0.5 CEU/5 PDCH offered

Cost: No fee, but registration is required

In 2019, the NC General Assembly mandated that K-12 students receive instruction on economics and personal finance. The NC State Board of Education developed economics and personal finance standards with the goal of providing students the opportunity to engage in application of the skills, concepts, processes, and knowledge in social studies courses and prepare them to be college, career, and civic ready. 

K-12 and community college educators are invited to register for this program that will discuss global dimensions of personal finance.

Thanks to the generosity of UNC World View private donors, this program is fully funded, and there is no registration fee to educators.

Register Today

You're Invited: Special Film Preview and Live Conversation for Educators

Tuesday, September 13 from 7–8 p.m. ET

A Live Conversation with Filmmakers Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, and Sarah Botstein

Deepen your understanding of the landscape of Holocaust education in the U.S. – tune in for a virtual conversation with the directors of the new three-part PBS documentary, “The U.S. and The Holocaust.”

In anticipation of the broadcast of their new film, The U.S. and the Holocaust, filmmakers Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, and Sarah Botstein, and moderator Gretchen Skidmore will examine America’s response to one of the greatest humanitarian crises of the 20th century, consider a range of questions that remain relevant to society today, and learn how media can be used as a tool to bring critical conversations about the Holocaust into the classroom. 

This event will be the first in a series of programs designed to support integrating film content into your teaching. Find additional event information on the registration page. By registering, you will receive access to all episodes and the recordings.

PBS will provide a certificate of attendance for each one-hour virtual professional learning event.

Cohosted by PBS LearningMedia, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Association of Holocaust Organizations

Register Now for this Virtual Event

School of Character Application is
Now Available 

Has your school or district cultivated a supportive and caring community? Do you think your staff, students, and the larger community have successfully implemented the 11 Principles of Effective Character? Apply this fall for State and National School of Character to receive valuable feedback for improvement whether you reach School of Character status this year or not.

The 2023 School of Character Application deadline is Friday, November 11, 2022.

Learn More and Get Started! 

Watch webinars to help you complete the process: https://tinyurl.com/SchoolofCharacterResources

Do you want more information about Character Education in North Carolina?

• Please visit the website and sign up to receive the monthly newsletter.
• Check out the August 2022 Character Education Newsletter!

Highlighting Global Education in North Carolina: Day of Celebration Webinar

Global Education is the means to ensuring that our North Carolina public school graduates are globally engaged and productive citizens. 

Do you want to learn about Global Education in North Carolina? 

The Day of Celebration webinar was recorded during the 2021 International Education Week. Watch it to learn more about:

• Resources made available through International Education Week;
• NCDPI recognition opportunities in Global Education for students, teachers, schools, and districts; and
• Information about individuals and organizations that are leading the way in Global Education in North Carolina.

To watch the Day of Celebration Webinar, please use this link: https://bit.ly/NCIEW-Day-Of-Celebration (Password: JjG632K2 ) 

Important Update: Carolina Navigators becomes the Area Studies Culture Kit Collection

The Carolina Navigators program is undergoing big changes. To keep the Culture Kits accessible and to continue supporting global education across the state, the Area Studies Centers at UNC-Chapel Hill have stepped in to maintain this resource.

The goal is to keep these culture kits circulating to the most classrooms possible, but it will be with a more limited budget and fewer workers. Carolina Navigators’ appreciate your efforts to work with us by coordinating with other teachers at your school, circulating the kits beyond your classroom, and being flexible with us as we navigate a new check-in system together.

• MARK YOUR CALENDARS! The opening of the booking site for Fall 2022 Culture Kit and book set requests begins on THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8th!
• Book sets, DVD sets, and Learning Boxes from the UNC-Duke Area Studies Centers are also available to borrow through their joint booking site
• They are continuing to ship kits to your schools instead of your homes
• Resources must be reserved at least 14 days in advance
• The first date that you can receive a kit in the Fall will be SEPTEMBER 22nd, 2022

Learn More about the FALL 2022 Culture Kit!

Request a kit!

N.C. History Day: Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas

N.C. History Day, an affiliate of National History Day (NHD), is excited to explore “Frontiers in History: People, Places, Ideas” this school year with schools across the state! NHD is a free program for 6th - 12th-grade students that works with all Social Studies classes no matter their geographical focus or time period. By participating in NHD, students become writers, filmmakers, web designers, playwrights, and artists while learning to conduct research, formulate a historical argument, and present their findings. For teachers, it is a great project-based program model that helps you meet the new Social Studies Inquiry Standards. NHD works as an in-class project, an extra-curricular opportunity for select students, or in a history club or afterschool program setting. This year we are excited to provide free access to WeVideo for Schools to any NHD students and their teachers needing online video editing tools.  

The completely optional NHD contest season takes place every spring semester and is an excellent way for students to build presentation and interview skills, gain academic recognition, and have a chance for prizes and exceptional opportunities. Though entirely virtual in recent years, we are excitedly planning a return to in-person contests this school year! To learn more about the program and free resources, please visit www.nchistoryday.org or contact the state program coordinator at karen.ipock@ncdcr.gov. N.C. History Day is managed by the N.C. Dept. of Natural and Cultural Resources.

History-In-a-Box

Bring the North Carolina Museum of History to your classroom!

Through the innovative "History-In-a-Box" Kits, educators can use a fresh and fun approach to introduce topics in history. These multidisciplinary teaching tools provide you with background materials, reproduction artifacts, lessons, and activities that tie North Carolina history with language arts, science, math, and visual art.

Current kit offerings include:

• Primarily North Carolina
• North Carolina Pottery
• Tumultuous Times: Antebellum to Reconstruction in North Carolina (1830–1877)
• North Carolina: Colonial and Revolutionary War Times
• Everybody’s War: North Carolina and World War II
• From the Mountains to the Sea: The Coastal Region
• From the Mountains to the Sea: The Piedmont Region
• From the Mountains to the Sea: The Mountain Region

Request a physical kit

Request a digital kit

Want to explore one of the kits? Take a look at one of the interactive digitized kits! They include access to Canvas Classrooms with the same background information, lesson plans, and activities you know and love.

Learn more by visiting the History-in-a-Box site

2022 Gilder Lehrman North Carolina History Teacher of the Year

Congratulations to Kelly Dunbar, who was named the 2022 Gilder Lehrman North Carolina History Teacher of the Year!

Currently Kelly Dunbar teaches Civics Literacy, American History and AP U.S. History.  She inspires her students to move beyond the confines of a prescribed curriculum and imagine constructing new knowledge to share and inform others. She invites students to take primary sources in her local area to construct stories like a historian, thus helping them better understand their community.

In addition to a $1,000 honorarium, Kelly Dunbar will receive a core archive of American history books and Gilder Lehrman educational materials, recognition at a local ceremony in their honor, and becomes one of 53 finalists for the 2022 National History Teacher of the Year Award.

Would you like to nominate someone?

The  2023 Gilder Lehrman History Teacher of the Year award will honor exceptional elementary and secondary school American history teachers (including state and local history). The national winner receives a $10,000 prize presented at an award ceremony in their honor in New York City. State winners receive a $1,000 prize, an archive of classroom resources, and recognition at a ceremony in their state. 

Nominations for the 2023 Gilder Lehrman History Teacher of the Year awards are now open. Students, parents, colleagues, and supervisors may nominate K-12 teachers for the award by visiting gilderlehrman.org/nhtoy.

IMPORTANT CALENDAR DATES

• Deadline for 2023 nominations: April 30, 2023
• Deadline for 2023 nominees to submit supporting materials: May 31, 2023

For more information, visit the eligibility page.

National Humanities Center 

2022 NC Council for the Social Studies Award Winners

Congratulations to the 2022 North Carolina Council for the Social Studies (NCCSS) grant, scholarship, and award winners:

• Rho Kappa Scholarship Winner - Sarah Gonzalez
• NCCSS Elementary Teacher of the Year - Nakita Carson
• NCCSS Middle School Teacher of the Year - Patrick Vernon
• NCCSS High School Teacher of the Year - Lawtnee Frazier
• NCCSS Student Teacher of the Year - Heather Parra

NCCSS provides grants, scholarships, and awards to help students, teachers and future teachers make an even greater impact in their classroom, school district, and community. To learn more about each winner, view the NCCSS Newsletter. 

To learn more about NCCSS and their opportunities, please visit https://www.ncsocialstudies.org/.

Nominate someone for NCCSS Teacher or Student Teacher of the Year Here

Apply for Grants and Scholarships Here

Don't forget to save the date for the NCCSS Conference, March 2-3, 2023.

For information about Early Bird Registration, visit: https://bit.ly/NCCSS2023

Purple Star Award Designation

North Carolina is home to a large population of active duty, guard, reserve, and veteran armed services members, and the state’s public schools reflect that. In 2019, The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction launched the Purple Star Award Designation initiative to recognize the state’s strong military presence and its support for military families. The Purple Star designation is awarded to schools that demonstrate military-friendly practices and a commitment to military students and families.

Apply for the  2022-2023 NC Purple Star AwardToday!

For questions on the application, please email Dr. Angie Mullennix:  Angie.Mullennix@dpi.nc.gov

The Global Educator Digital Badge

The NCDPI Global Educator Digital Badge (GEDB)  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 

In this short video,  educators, who have earned the NCDPI Global Educator Digital Badge (GEDB), shared their thoughts on the benefits of getting the badge and how it has impacted their teaching.  The words of wisdom from the GEDB recipients may help you to make a decision about applying for the badge. For more information on the Badge (SBE Policy, FAQs, Process Flyer, Implementation Guide, MOA), please visit our website or email NCGlobalEducation@dpi.nc.gov.