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January 6, 2023 

OEL RtA Friday Update Memo

WELCOME 2023! ALONG WITH OUR NEW YEAR, WE ALSO

WELCOME OUR NEWLY HIRED EARLY LITERACY SPECIALISTS!

Congratulations to the Newly Hired ELS!

We are excited to share that we have nearly 50 Early Literacy Specialists (ELS) already hired or in the hiring process. Your collaboration in this process has been extremely helpful in making this another huge success for our state. For districts who do not have an ELS yet, feel free to encourage staff who would do well supporting your district in this role to apply. We have worked with individual districts to determine a starting date that works best for their current situation. We have candidates who have already started and others who are waiting until summer to avoid any vacancy hardships. Interviewing now does not mean the ELS has to begin immediately. Our goal is to continue to be collaborative in this process.

Mark Your Calendars! RtA Regional Meeting

We are excited to see you again at the end of the month for our quarterly RtA Regional Meeting. During this meeting we will use data to guide you through valuable protocols for analyzing DIBELS® 8 data and connecting this work to the Literacy Intervention Plan as well as Individual Reading Plans.  For this meeting, please invite the person who is most connected to MTSS work in your district to come with you so you can work through the protocols together. Our regional IABS partners will be joining us as well.  RtA Regional Meeting Calendar

Optional Reading Challenge Opportunity

Sign up today! READBowl 2023: The World Championship of Reading is open for registration. The past four years, we have had World Conference Champions in North Carolina. Students will compete for prizes including a visit from Malcolm! Click here to learn more about this fun reading challenge. Email john@readwithmalcolm.com for questions or help setting up your whole school. Let's Read NC!

Utilizing Teacher Assistants with DIBELS® 8 Progress Monitoring

We recognize that some districts may be interested in having teacher assistants (TAs) help with DIBELS 8 progress monitoring between benchmarks. Please click here to learn more about this process.

Reading Camp Planning Reminder

As your district begins planning for 22-23 Reading Camps, please remember the legislation only prioritizes funding for Grades 2 and 3. For this reason, you will see a significant decrease in the amount of PRC016 funds allocated. As you prepare, please make sure you are prioritizing accordingly.

Continued Implementation of NC ELI

Use of the formative assessment process is strongly encouraged by the NC State Board of Education. Should your district wish to continue using the NC Early Learning Inventory for this purpose in kindergarten, please make note of the remaining checkpoint due dates:                                                                        Winter: March 10, 2023                                                                                        Spring: June 2, 2023

Cohort 2 LETRS® for Early Childhood Educators License Expiring

This is a reminder that Cohort 2 NCDPI-funded LETRS for Early Childhood Educators licenses expire on January 31, 2023 and all online coursework for Early Childhood should be completed by that date. We recommend all district Course Managers log in to the LETRS platform and identify any teachers who have not yet finished the LETRS for Early Childhood Educators coursework. We encourage you to reach out to those teachers and remind them of the license expiration date of January 31, 2023. If a teacher does not complete the online course by January 31, Lexia will charge an additional fee to districts to extend the time on the course license.

OEL LETRS® Make-Up/Sustainability Sessions

January/February/March Calendar Link (registration link is also embedded in calendar)                                                                    These free sessions are offered by the Office of Early Learning NC Facilitators. January/February/March Sessions: Registration Link

Lexia LETRS® Make-up/Sustainability Sessions

UPDATE:  Participants can now register for a session out of their district’s cohort if needed. Links, dates, and registration instructions for these makeup sessions are organized by cohort below.

Johnston County's Glendale-Kenly Students Engage in Learning

Send Us Your Pics!

NC DPI OEL would love to feature pictures of your teachers and students engaging in learning experiences!  Please share your photos with us!  Email your photos to melissa.strickland@dpi.nc.gov, add the subject line: "RtA Photos" and tell us the name of your school and a little bit about what's going on in the image!

Questions

If you have questions about any of the topics in this weekly newsletter, please reach out to your Office of Early Learning Consultants. 

Links to Resources