Number 10

Aquarium Scholars Grant

NC Title 1 teachers! It's time to apply for an Aquarium Scholars grant! The program provides immersive STEM experiences from the NC Aquariums and Jennette’s Pier at little to no cost to your school. 

Visit the North Carolina Aquarium's website to learn more. The deadline to apply is September 15.

Number 9

Registration Open for 2023 North Carolina Defense Summit

The 2023 North Carolina Defense Summit will be held September 26-27 in Raleigh. The Defense Summit presents best practices in advancing North Carolina as the most military, veteran and defense industry-friendly state in the nation. The Summit's objectives are:

1. Advocate for individual, community and installation resilience
2. Build installation and military host-community partnerships
3. Coordinate installation, defense sector, education and research

Registration is free for awardees, military spouses and K-12 school liaison officers. Learn more and register here.

Number 8

Sign-Up for Delivery of COVID-19 Testing Kits

To help ensure that schools and families have the tools they need to stay healthy next fall, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will be shipping, upon request, free at-home COVID-19 testing kits to K-12 schools. These tests can be used at each school’s discretion and there are no reporting requirements associated with receipt of the testing kits.

Click here for more information including FAQs and contact information. To order, please complete this online form by June 26th. 

Number 7

Promising Practices Clearinghouse Updates

The Promising Practices Clearinghouse was recently updated! The mission of the Promising Practices website is to promote practices that motivate, engage, and provide measurable results in North Carolina’s Public School Units. 

Check out the new additions to the Promising Practices Clearinghouse here.

Number 6

Cary High School Mascot Voted Best in the Country

"Cary High School has something to celebrate.

After two months of voting and ascending in an NCAA-style tournament for the best high school mascot in the country, the Cary Imps are the champions.

The tournament featured 66 team mascots from high schools in the Midwest, South, West and East."

Read the full story here. Congratulations, Cary High School!

Number 5

Share Your Summer Program Using #NCSummer2Excel

If your district or charter school is holding a summer program between June and August, we want to hear from you!

We would love for you to share your photos, videos and stories with us using #NCSummer2Excel and tagging @OLR_NCDPI and @ncpublicschools!

Number 4

Arts Education Standards Writing Team Now Accepting Applications

The Standards Writing Team includes diverse perspectives and represents our state’s regions, districts, charter schools, and other educational organizations in the content area education field. This team must have broad stakeholder involvement, which could include, but is not limited to, educators from the following groups:

• Classroom teachers with various years of experience representing early learning, elementary, middle, and high school level expertise;
• District and charter school curriculum supervisors and/or instructional coaches;
• Higher education faculty members from the content area at early college, community college, and university programs and/or education departments;
• Individuals with previous standards writing experience or involvement in similar statewide initiatives, projects or teams;
• Members of content-area professional organizations at the local, state, regional, national, and/or international level.

View the scope of the work here and apply here.

Number 3

District Highlight: New Hanover County Schools - Teacher Sean Stanek Uses Surfing to Help Students Build Self-Esteem and Confidence

Is there a connection between surfing and education? Sean Stanek, an 8th-grade teacher at Holly Shelter Middle School believes so.

His Pathway Project with New Hanover County Schools Emerging Leaders teaches students who otherwise would not be exposed to the sport to build self-esteem and confidence.

Watch this video to learn more.

Number 2

Coffee with Catherine: Superintendent Truitt's Parent Newsletter

Last week the second edition of Superintendent Truitt's parent newsletter, Coffee with Catherine, went out last week! This edition focused on one of the most important parts of a child's education: literacy. 

Read the newsletter here. 

Number 1

Center for Safer Schools Launches Parent Engagement Committee

"The Center for Safer Schools (CFSS) is launching a Parent Engagement Committee to elevate parents’ voice in their children’s safety in schools.

The committee will be a 24-member advisory board made up of three (two from school districts and one from charter schools) parents/guardians from the state’s eight educational regions to ensure diverse geographical participation. Members will share their aspirations for and discuss challenges within the K-12 education system, helping to put together recommendations for elected officials and policymakers in North Carolina, and provide direct input to CFSS Executive Director Karen W. Fairley.

'What happens in the community goes over into the schools, and it all starts at home,' said Fairley. 'It’s vital for parents to be engaged in matters of school safety, and it’s the Center’s responsibility to keep them as informed as possible.'"

Read the full press release here.